FAFSA family size question: Do we include my independent sister who lives with us?

This is a common point of confusion! For FAFSA purposes, your parents should NOT include your independent sister in their household size, even though she physically lives with them. The household size question is specifically asking about who your parents financially support, not just who lives under their roof. Your parents should only include: 1. Themselves 2. You (the dependent student) 3. Any other children who receive more than 50% of their support from your parents 4. Other people who live with and receive more than 50% of their support from your parents Since your sister is independent, files her own taxes, and presumably supports herself financially (even while living at home), she wouldn't be counted in your parents' household size for FAFSA purposes.

Had the EXACT same issue with my brother last year!! The FAFSA ppl told us that if someone is independent they DON'T count in your family size even if they live w/ you. Unless your parents provide MORE THAN HALF of her support costs (like if they pay her tuition or something) she's not in the count.

Wait, but what if the independent person living with you is a full-time student? Doesn't that change things for the FAFSA? I thought there was some special rule about that. My financial aid advisor told me something different last semester...

Omg the FAFSA is SO CONFUSING!!! 😡 I put my older sister on our family size last year because she lives with us and we got FLAGGED FOR VERIFICATION and had to submit like 50 documents to prove everything and our aid was delayed for MONTHS. The whole system is designed to trip people up and deny aid IMO.

We had this exact same situation with my independent daughter living at home while going to grad school. We made the mistake of including her in our household size on my son's FAFSA and got selected for verification. When I called Federal Student Aid, it took FOREVER to get through to anyone. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get past the wait times and connected with an agent in about 8 minutes. They confirmed that we should NOT have included my daughter in the household size since she was filing as independent, even though she lived with us. The agent was super helpful and walked me through how to correct it. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ

To give you the official answer: According to the Federal Student Aid Handbook, your parents should only include in their household size: 1. Your parents themselves 2. You (the dependent student) 3. Other children who receive more than 50% support from your parents 4. Other people who both live with AND receive more than 50% support from your parents The key point many miss is that for someone like your sister, BOTH conditions must be met - they must live there AND receive more than 50% support. If she's financially independent (pays most of her own bills, buys her own food generally, pays rent or would pay rent elsewhere), then she shouldn't be counted, even if she lives there. Incorrect household size is one of the top reasons FAFSA applications get flagged for verification, so it's good you're asking this question now!

btw has anyone filled out the new FAFSA yet? i heard they changed a bunch of questions for 2025-2026 and now im scared its gonna be even more confusing lol

When I was filling out my FAFSA last year, I just put down everyone who lived in our house including my older cousin who rents a room from us. My SAI came back super high and I got almost no aid. Now I'm wondering if that was part of the problem? Should I have not included my cousin?

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I feel much more confident about how to answer the household size question now. We will NOT include my sister in the household count since she's financially independent, even though she lives with us. I'm going to sit down with my parents this weekend to make sure we're all on the same page before completing the application. Really appreciate all the advice and personal experiences shared here!

You're making the right decision! Just to add one more helpful tip - when you're filling out the FAFSA, keep documentation handy that shows your sister's financial independence (like her tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements showing she pays her own bills). Even though you're answering correctly by not including her, if you do get selected for verification, having this documentation ready will make the process much smoother. Also, make sure your sister files her own FAFSA as an independent student if she's planning to go to school - her living situation won't affect her independent status for her own application. Good luck with your FAFSA!

Great advice from everyone here! I went through this exact same situation with my independent brother last year. One thing I'd add is to make sure your sister understands this decision too - sometimes family members get confused about why they're not included and think it might hurt their own future financial aid applications. But being excluded from your parents' household size actually has no impact on her own independent status if she ever applies for aid herself. The FAFSA system keeps these determinations completely separate. Also, if your parents ever do provide more than 50% of her support in a future year (like if she loses her job or goes back to school), you'd need to reassess and potentially include her then. But based on what you've described, you're definitely making the right call by not including her now!

Just wanted to chime in as someone who works in financial aid! You're absolutely right to exclude your sister from the household count. I see this confusion ALL the time, and it's one of the most common errors that leads to verification or delayed aid processing. One thing I'd add is that if your parents claim your sister as a dependent on their taxes (which they shouldn't if she's truly independent), that could create a conflict with the FAFSA reporting. Make sure your tax filing and FAFSA reporting are consistent - if she's independent for FAFSA purposes, she should also be filing her own taxes and not be claimed as a dependent. Also, don't stress too much about things like your parents buying groceries for the household or occasional help. The "more than 50% support" test looks at the big picture - housing, food, transportation, personal expenses, etc. If your sister is covering the majority of her own living costs, she's not receiving more than 50% support from your parents. You've got this!

As someone who just went through this process last year, I can confirm you're making the right choice by not including your sister! I had a similar situation with my older brother who's 26 and lives at home while working full-time. Initially, my parents wanted to include him because "he's family and lives here," but after talking to our school's financial aid office, we learned it's strictly about financial support, not physical residence. One tip that really helped us was creating a simple list of who pays for what in our household. We wrote down things like: Who pays the rent/mortgage? Who buys groceries? Who pays utilities? Who covers car insurance and gas? When we looked at it objectively, even though my brother lives at home, he contributes to household expenses and covers all his personal costs (clothes, phone, entertainment, etc.). That made it clear he wasn't receiving "more than 50% support" from my parents. The FAFSA can be intimidating, but you're asking the right questions and getting good advice here. Stick with your decision - it sounds like you have a clear understanding of your sister's financial independence!

This thread has been SO helpful! I'm a junior in high school and will be filling out my first FAFSA next year, and I had no idea household size could be this complicated. My older sister will be 24 by then and is planning to move back home after college graduation to save money while she looks for a full-time job. Based on everything I've read here, it sounds like whether we include her will depend on whether she finds work and how much financial support my parents end up providing her during that transition period. I love the idea of making a list of who pays for what - that seems like such a practical way to figure out the 50% support test. I'm definitely bookmarking this conversation for when we get to that point. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and breaking down the rules so clearly! It's really reassuring to see that there are people willing to help navigate this confusing process.

This is such a valuable discussion! I'm in a very similar boat - my older brother (25) moved back home after grad school and has been living with us for about 8 months now. He works full-time and pays my parents a small amount for "rent" each month, plus buys his own groceries and covers all his personal expenses. Reading through everyone's responses really confirms what I suspected - even though he physically lives with us, he shouldn't be counted in our household size since he's financially supporting himself. The breakdown about needing BOTH conditions (living there AND receiving 50%+ support) was especially helpful. I'm curious though - has anyone dealt with a situation where the independent family member pays some rent to the parents? Does that actually strengthen the case that they're NOT receiving more than 50% support, since they're contributing to household expenses rather than just receiving free housing?

This has been such an informative thread! I'm a parent who's been helping my daughter navigate the FAFSA process, and this household size question has been keeping me up at night. We have a very similar situation - my 25-year-old son lives with us while he's saving for a house down payment. He has a good job and pays for all his own expenses, plus contributes to our household bills. What really helped me understand this was the distinction everyone made between physical residence vs. financial dependency. I kept thinking "but he LIVES here, so surely he counts?" But now I see that the FAFSA is specifically asking about financial support relationships, not just living arrangements. The advice about keeping documentation ready is spot-on too. Even though we're confident we're reporting correctly by not including our son, I'm going to gather his pay stubs and bank statements just in case we get selected for verification. Better to be prepared than scrambling later! Thanks to everyone who shared their personal experiences - it's so reassuring to know that this confusion is common and that there are clear guidelines to follow.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm a college advisor who works with a lot of first-generation college students, and the household size question trips up families constantly. What I love about all the responses here is how clearly everyone has explained that it's about financial support, not just who sleeps under the same roof. One additional tip I always give families: if you're ever unsure about the 50% support test, try estimating actual dollar amounts for a few months. Add up what the person spends on housing (or what equivalent rent would cost), food, transportation, insurance, personal expenses, etc. Then compare that to what your parents actually provide. It makes the 50% threshold much more concrete than just trying to guess. Also, for anyone worried about verification - yes, it can be a hassle, but honest mistakes happen all the time and schools are used to helping families work through corrections. The key is being able to explain your reasoning and provide documentation when needed. You're all asking the right questions and giving great advice to each other!

As someone who works at a financial aid office, I can confirm everything that's been shared here is absolutely correct! Your sister should NOT be included in your parents' household size since she's financially independent, regardless of living arrangements. I wanted to add one more practical tip: when you're completing the FAFSA, pay close attention to the exact wording of each question. The household size questions have been refined over the years to be clearer about the support requirement, but some families still get confused by questions that ask about "people in your household" versus "people your parents support." Also, if you do get selected for verification (which is somewhat random), don't panic! About 18% of FAFSAs get selected each year. Having your sister's tax returns, pay stubs, and maybe a simple letter explaining her living/financial situation will make the process much smoother. Schools just want to verify that your reported information is accurate. You're being very thoughtful by asking this question upfront rather than guessing. That attention to detail will serve you well throughout the financial aid process!

This has been such an incredibly thorough and helpful discussion! As someone who's been lurking in this community for a while but finally creating an account to participate, I'm amazed by how generous everyone has been with their knowledge and experiences. I'm facing a very similar situation with my 23-year-old brother who just graduated college and moved back home while he job hunts. Reading through all these responses has made me realize that even though he's technically living with us, since he's using his savings to pay for his own expenses (car payment, phone, personal items) and actively looking for work, he probably shouldn't be counted in our household size either. The advice about making a list of who pays for what expenses is brilliant - I'm definitely going to sit down with my family this weekend and map that out. It'll help us feel confident about our decision and have clear reasoning if anyone questions it later. One thing I'm curious about: if my brother does find a job in the next few months (before we submit our FAFSA), would that strengthen the case for not including him? Or does it not really matter since he's already demonstrating financial independence by supporting himself with savings? Thanks again to everyone who's contributed to this thread - the community knowledge here is invaluable for those of us navigating this process for the first time!

This thread has been absolutely incredible to read through! As someone who just turned 18 and will be starting the FAFSA process soon, I had no idea that household size could be this complex. My situation is a bit different - I have an older cousin (26) who's been living with us for the past year while she saves money after a divorce. She works full-time and pays my parents rent, plus covers all her own personal expenses. Based on everything I've learned from this discussion, it sounds pretty clear that we shouldn't include her in our household size since she's definitely not receiving more than 50% support from my parents. If anything, she's contributing TO the household rather than being supported BY it. But I'm wondering - does the fact that she's a cousin rather than a sibling change anything? Or are the rules exactly the same regardless of the family relationship? I love how everyone has emphasized the importance of documentation and understanding the "why" behind the rules rather than just guessing. The tip about creating a list of who pays for what expenses is going to be so helpful when my family sits down to tackle this. Thank you to everyone who's shared their experiences - this community is amazing for helping newcomers understand these complicated processes! I feel so much more prepared now than I did an hour ago.

This has been such an enlightening thread to follow! I'm a newcomer to the FAFSA process and honestly had no idea that household size could be so nuanced. Reading through everyone's experiences has really opened my eyes to how important it is to understand the difference between physical residence and financial dependency. I have a somewhat unique situation that I'm hoping to get some insight on - my 22-year-old sister is technically still in college (graduating this spring) but she's been living at home and working part-time while finishing her degree online. She pays for her own tuition through a combination of her job earnings and student loans, buys her own food most of the time, and covers all her personal expenses. My parents provide free housing and occasionally help with groceries when she's running low on money. Based on all the helpful explanations in this thread, I'm thinking she probably shouldn't be counted in our household size since she's covering the majority of her own expenses? The "more than 50% support" test seems like the key factor here. But I'm a little uncertain because she is still technically a student and does get some help with groceries occasionally. The advice about making a list of expenses and calculating actual dollar amounts sounds like exactly what we need to do to figure this out clearly. Thank you to everyone who's shared their knowledge and experiences - this community is incredibly valuable for those of us trying to navigate this process for the first time!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm a high school senior getting ready to fill out my FAFSA for the first time, and I had no idea household size could be this complicated. My situation is pretty similar to what others have described - my older brother (24) moved back home after college and has been living with us for about 6 months while he works and saves money for his own apartment. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly helpful! The distinction between physical residence vs. financial dependency really clicked for me. My brother has a full-time job, pays for his own car, phone, groceries, and personal expenses. He even gives my parents a little money each month to help with utilities. Based on all the advice here, it's pretty clear we shouldn't include him in our household size since he's definitely supporting himself financially. I love the suggestion about making a list of who pays for what - I'm definitely going to do that with my family this weekend. It'll help us feel confident about our decision and have clear documentation if needed. The tip about keeping records ready in case of verification is also really smart. Thank you to everyone who shared their personal experiences and professional knowledge! This community has been such a valuable resource for understanding these confusing FAFSA rules. I feel so much more prepared now than when I started reading this thread. It's reassuring to know that this confusion is normal and that there are clear guidelines to follow once you understand them.