FAFSA household size confusion - Should working adult child living at home be included?

For 2024-2025 FAFSA, household size includes you, your spouse, your children (including those not in college) IF you provide more than half their support, and others who live with you IF you provide more than half their support. The key question is: do you provide more than 50% of your daughter's support? If she pays for her own food, clothes, medical expenses, etc. and just lives rent-free, you might NOT be providing more than half her support. But if you're covering most meals, utilities, health insurance, etc., then you probably ARE. I recommend calculating it out - add up everything you pay for her vs what she pays herself. This gets tricky with shared expenses like utilities and groceries.

my parents kicked me out the SECOND i got my degree lol ur daughter has it made!! but for real tho i think its abt if u pay for more than half her stuff. my brother stayed home after college and my parents counted him on fafsa bc they paid for everything except his car payment

This is a common question! According to the new FAFSA guidelines for 2024-2025, you should include your daughter in your household size IF you provide more than 50% of her financial support, regardless of whether she filed her own taxes. I've worked with many families in similar situations. Generally, including an additional household member who isn't in college can potentially INCREASE your son's aid eligibility, as it shows more people being supported by the same income. However, if your daughter earns substantial income that would be counted in the household income calculation, that could offset the benefit. For most accurate results, I suggest: 1. Calculate if you truly provide >50% support (housing value counts!) 2. If yes, include her in household size 3. Remember her income won't be counted if she's not required to file FAFSA herself The living at home rent-free is actually a significant form of support when properly valued! Don't underestimate it in your calculation.

we had the EXACT same issue last yr w my brother!!! the financial aid office told us if they dont pay rent and u buy food for them theyre part of ur household PERIOD. we counted him and got more aid so IDK maybe it helps?

The FAFSA system is SO FRUSTRATING!!!! They make these questions deliberately confusing. Last year I put my working son in our household and got AUDITED for verification!!! Had to provide ALL these documents proving we supported him. Then this year I didn't include him and our EFC went up by $5000!!! Can't win either way with this corrupt system. They WANT us to make mistakes so they can give less money!!! 😡😡😡

I work in college admissions and see this question ALL THE TIME. The real test is the 50% support rule, but most families underestimate how much support they provide. Free housing, utilities, food, family cell phone plans, auto insurance, health insurance - these all count! For the 2024-2025 FAFSA specifically, including your daughter will likely benefit your son because it increases household size without adding another college student (which would split the EFC). The new SAI formula still considers household size as a factor in determining aid eligibility. Be prepared though - about 30% of FAFSAs get selected for verification, and household size questions are commonly verified. Keep documentation of expenses you cover for her just in case.

wait i just realized something - doesn't the new FAFSA ask for contributors not parents?? my friend said something about this, like if your daughter makes over a certain amount she might need to be a contributor which could mess things up? idk maybe I'm confused about the new system

i think this depends on if ur daughter is under 24??? my brother lived at home after graduation but since he was over 24 they said he wasnt part of the household for FAFSA. anyone know if thats right?

UPDATE: I called our university's financial aid office and the advisor confirmed what most of you said - since we provide housing, utilities, health insurance and most food, we're well over the 50% support threshold. We should count our daughter in the household size even though she works full-time and files her own taxes. Thanks everyone for your help! The advisor also mentioned it will likely increase my son's aid eligibility since our income is supporting more people.

That's great news! It's always helpful to get confirmation directly from a financial aid office. For anyone else reading this thread - this is exactly the right approach. When you're unsure about FAFSA questions, don't guess! Call the financial aid office at your school or the Federal Student Aid Information Center (1-800-433-3243). They can walk you through your specific situation and help you avoid costly mistakes. Plus, if you get selected for verification later, you can reference that conversation if any questions come up about your household size reporting.

As someone who just went through this exact scenario last year, I can confirm that calling the financial aid office was the smartest move! We had a similar situation with my older daughter who graduated but was living at home while job hunting. The 50% support rule really is the key - and like others mentioned, don't forget to factor in the value of free housing when calculating that percentage. One tip I learned the hard way: if you do get selected for verification, having a simple spreadsheet showing monthly expenses you cover vs. what they pay themselves makes the process SO much smoother. Include things like rent value, groceries, utilities, phone, insurance, etc. The verification process isn't as scary as it sounds when you're prepared! Glad everything worked out for your son's aid package!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a very similar situation - my 25-year-old son graduated last year and is living at home while saving up for his own place. He has a decent job but we still cover his health insurance, car insurance, most meals, and obviously housing. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like we definitely meet the 50% support threshold. I really appreciate the practical advice about keeping documentation and that phone number for the Federal Student Aid Information Center. It's reassuring to know that so many families deal with these same confusing situations. The new FAFSA terminology definitely makes everything more confusing than it needs to be! One question - for those who went through verification, how long did the process typically take once you submitted all the requested documents?

This is such a helpful discussion! I'm currently dealing with a similar situation with my 23-year-old daughter who graduated last spring and moved back home while she looks for a job in her field. She's working part-time at a retail store but we're still covering most of her expenses. Reading through all these responses, it's clear that the 50% support rule is really the deciding factor. I hadn't thought about putting an actual dollar value on the free housing we provide, but that makes total sense - especially in today's rental market! For anyone else navigating this, I found it really helpful to look at the FAFSA completion guide on studentaid.gov which has some examples of how to calculate support. It specifically mentions that housing, food, clothes, medical care, and transportation all count toward the support calculation. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's made me feel much more confident about including my daughter in our household size for my younger son's FAFSA!

As a newcomer to this whole FAFSA process, I just want to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been! I'm facing a very similar situation with my 22-year-old daughter who graduated last year and is living at home while working her first job out of college. Reading through everyone's experiences and advice has really clarified the 50% support rule for me. What I find most valuable is how many people emphasized actually calculating the support rather than just guessing. The free housing component alone is huge - in our area, a decent apartment runs $2000+ per month, so that's already a significant portion of support even before considering utilities, food, insurance, etc. I'm definitely going to follow the advice about calling our school's financial aid office to confirm, and I love the tip about keeping a spreadsheet for potential verification. It's reassuring to know that including an adult child who isn't in college can actually help with aid eligibility for the younger sibling who is attending. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences - both the success stories and the verification challenges. This community is such a valuable resource for navigating these confusing processes!

As someone who's completely new to the FAFSA process, this thread has been incredibly educational! I'm in a similar boat with my 24-year-old son who graduated last year and moved back home while he builds up his savings. He works full-time but we still cover his health insurance, car insurance, groceries, and of course housing. What really opened my eyes was everyone's emphasis on actually calculating the dollar amounts rather than just estimating. When I think about it, between free rent (easily $1800/month in our area), utilities, food, and insurance premiums, we're definitely providing well over 50% of his support even though he has a decent salary. I appreciate all the practical advice about documentation and the Federal Student Aid phone number. It's reassuring to know that including him in our household size will likely help our younger daughter's aid eligibility. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's made what seemed like an impossible decision much clearer!

As a newcomer to the FAFSA world, this entire discussion has been a lifesaver! I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation - my 23-year-old daughter graduated last year with her teaching degree and moved back home while she job hunts (the education job market is tough right now). She's working as a substitute teacher and babysitting to earn some income, but we're definitely covering the majority of her expenses. Reading through everyone's calculations about the 50% support rule really opened my eyes. I hadn't considered putting a dollar value on free housing, but when I think about it, rent in our area is easily $1500+ for a one-bedroom apartment. Add in utilities, groceries, health insurance, car insurance, and her cell phone plan that we cover, and we're clearly well over that 50% threshold. The advice about calling the financial aid office directly is so smart - I was planning to just guess and hope for the best, but that could have been a costly mistake! I'm also going to start keeping better records of what we pay for her, just in case we get selected for verification like some of you mentioned. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences and practical tips. This community makes such a complicated process feel much more manageable for those of us just starting out!

As someone who's brand new to the FAFSA process, this thread has been absolutely invaluable! I'm in a very similar situation with my 25-year-old son who graduated with his engineering degree last year and moved back home while he pays down student loans from his undergraduate years. He has a good job now, but we're still covering his housing, most meals, health insurance, and car insurance. What really struck me from reading everyone's experiences is how important it is to actually calculate the numbers rather than just making assumptions. When I think about it, free housing alone in our market would be $2000+ per month, which is $24,000+ annually before even considering utilities, food, and insurance premiums. That puts us way over the 50% support threshold even with his full-time salary. I had no idea about the verification process or the importance of keeping documentation until reading this discussion. The spreadsheet idea that several people mentioned sounds brilliant - both for FAFSA purposes and just for our own budgeting clarity. The consistent advice to call the financial aid office directly rather than guessing has really resonated with me. I was planning to just wing it, but after seeing how much this decision can impact aid eligibility, I'm definitely going to get official guidance first. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences and practical tips - you've turned what felt like an overwhelming decision into something much more manageable for newcomers like me!

As a complete newcomer to the FAFSA process, this entire thread has been incredibly enlightening! I'm in a nearly identical situation with my 26-year-old daughter who graduated with her master's degree last year and moved back home while she searches for a position in her field (she's in environmental science, which has a pretty competitive job market). She's working part-time at a local nonprofit to gain experience, but we're definitely covering the bulk of her living expenses. Reading through everyone's detailed calculations about the 50% support rule has been so helpful - I never would have thought to put an actual dollar value on the free housing we provide, but in our area, a decent one-bedroom apartment runs about $1,900/month. When you add that to utilities, health insurance, car insurance, groceries, and her phone plan, we're clearly well above the 50% threshold despite her part-time income. The consistent advice throughout this thread about calling the financial aid office directly instead of guessing has really convinced me that's the right approach. I was originally planning to just estimate and hope for the best, but seeing how much this decision can impact my younger son's aid eligibility, I'm definitely going to get official confirmation first. I also had no idea about the potential for verification or the importance of keeping detailed records. The spreadsheet suggestion that multiple people mentioned sounds like it would be useful both for FAFSA purposes and just for our own financial planning. Thanks to everyone who shared their real-world experiences - you've made what seemed like an impossible decision much more manageable for those of us just starting this journey!

As a newcomer to this community and the FAFSA process, I can't tell you how helpful this entire discussion has been! I'm facing a very similar situation with my 24-year-old son who graduated last year with his computer science degree and moved back home while he builds up savings for his own place. He's working full-time as a software developer, but we still cover his health insurance, car insurance, groceries, and obviously housing. What really opened my eyes was reading everyone's actual calculations of the 50% support rule. I initially thought that since he has a decent salary, we probably weren't providing majority support. But when I actually think about it - free rent in our area would be at least $2,200/month ($26,400 annually), plus utilities, insurance premiums, and most of his food costs - we're definitely well over that 50% threshold even with his tech salary. The consistent advice throughout this thread about calling the financial aid office for official confirmation rather than guessing has been mentioned so many times that I'm convinced that's the smart approach. I was planning to just estimate, but seeing how this decision affects my daughter's aid eligibility for her sophomore year, I definitely want to get it right. I also had no idea about the verification process or keeping documentation until reading everyone's experiences. The spreadsheet idea sounds brilliant - both for FAFSA purposes and our own budgeting. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences and made this complex process feel much more manageable for newcomers like me!

As someone completely new to the FAFSA process, this thread has been absolutely incredible! I'm in a similar situation with my 22-year-old daughter who graduated last year with her psychology degree and moved back home while she applies to graduate programs. She's working part-time at a local clinic to gain experience, but we're definitely covering most of her expenses. Reading through everyone's detailed breakdowns of the 50% support calculation has been so eye-opening. I never thought to put actual dollar amounts to the free housing we provide, but rent in our area is easily $1,600+ per month for a decent place. When you add utilities, health insurance, car insurance, groceries, and her phone plan that we cover, it's clear we're well above that 50% threshold despite her part-time income. The overwhelming consensus about calling the financial aid office directly instead of guessing has really convinced me that's the right approach. I was originally planning to just estimate and submit, but after seeing how much this decision can impact my son's aid eligibility for his freshman year, I want to make sure I get it right. I had no idea about verification or the importance of keeping detailed records until reading this discussion. The spreadsheet idea that so many people mentioned sounds like it would be helpful whether verification happens or not. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences - you've turned what felt like an overwhelming decision into something much more manageable for newcomers like me!