FAFSA confusion with married parents filing taxes separately - need form guidance!

I can help with this! When your parents file separately but are married, the FAFSA still requires information from both parents. You'll need to manually add their AGIs together - don't just use one parent's information. For the Schedule C income, that should be entered in the "Business Income or Loss" section, not with the W-2 information. The form separates these income types on purpose. I went through this exact situation last year with my parents.

Dont stress too much bro you still got 3 weeks thats plenty of time lol. My parents did the same thing and i just put whatever numbers i had and got approved for financial aid anyway

For married filing separately situations, you need to report BOTH parents' information on the FAFSA. Here's the exact process: 1. Add both parents' AGIs from line 11 of their separate 1040s 2. For Schedule C income, you'll find it under the "Business and Farm" section after you enter the basic W-2 information 3. Make sure you're reporting all untaxed income from both parents as well 4. If you get stuck at a specific question, use the "Help" button on each screen which explains exactly what to enter for your situation The FAFSA wants a complete picture of your household financial situation, regardless of how your parents file taxes. I recommend having both tax returns in front of you as you complete this section.

is anyone else annoyed that the FAFSA makes this so complicated??? like why cant they just pull the info from the IRS directly instead of making us do all this math ourselves??? my parents are divorced and its even worse, i have to decide which parent to use and then theres all these rules about who counts in the household, ugh

Been dealing with Federal Student Aid for 15+ years as a parent and now for my own kids. The "married filing separately" situation is a nightmare with FAFSA. After trying for DAYS to get through to someone at FSA to explain the exact procedure (kept getting disconnected), I found Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual FSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent explained that you need to combine ALL assets and income from both parents, even if they file separately. This includes checking/savings accounts, investments, and real estate (except primary residence). It's worth getting this right because they will verify your info during the review process.

For your question about business income - this goes in the section that asks about "income earned from work" which is separate from AGI questions. Schedule C net profit (line 31) is what you should report there. And yes, you absolutely need to combine all investment accounts and bank balances from both parents as of the date you submit the FAFSA. The form is looking for total household resources regardless of how they file taxes.

Retirement accounts (like 401k, 403b, IRA, etc.) are NOT reported as assets on the FAFSA. This is one of the few exceptions. You only report accounts that can be liquidated for current expenses. So your mom's retirement account can be excluded. Also, once you've entered all the information correctly, be sure to save a PDF copy of your completed FAFSA for your records. If you get selected for verification later (which is more common with married-filing-separately situations), you'll need to reference what you submitted.

my cousins parent filed seperate too and she said if u just use the higher income parent it all goes faster lol but idk if thats allowed officially

Just wanted to update everyone - I got it figured out! I followed the advice about adding both parents' AGIs and finding the business income section. I also called FSA using that Claimyr service someone mentioned and actually got through to a person who confirmed I was doing it right. My SAI score came out higher than I expected, but at least I know the information is correct. Thanks to everyone who helped!

Great to see you got it sorted out! For anyone else dealing with married-filing-separately situations, I'd also recommend keeping copies of both parents' tax returns handy when filling out the FAFSA. I made the mistake of only having one parent's return available and had to start over twice. Also, if your parents have any business partnerships or rental properties, those can get tricky too - the FAFSA treats different types of business income differently, so don't hesitate to use the help resources or call FSA if you're unsure. The verification process is much smoother when everything is accurate from the start!