FAFSA household size confusion - college student not claimed as dependent but have high schooler

This is actually a common question! For FAFSA household size, it's based on who you SUPPORT financially, not just who you claim on taxes. If you provide more than 50% of your college student's support (even if you don't claim them as a tax dependent), they should be included in your household size. So if you're still helping with their expenses significantly, your household size would be 4. If they're completely self-supporting, then 3 would be correct.

The exact FAFSA rule is that your household includes: you, your spouse, your children (even if they don't live with you) IF you provide more than half their support between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025. The key is the SUPPORT test, not where they live or tax filing status. Add up ALL expenses - tuition, housing, food, medical, etc. If you're covering more than 50% of those costs, count them in your household size as 4. If not, then 3.

ugh the fafsa is so annoying with these questions. i went through this with my son last year and we just guessed. nobody ever questioned it. i think they just want to make this process painful on purpose.

I work in college financial aid (15+ years) and I always tell parents to do the math on support. Add up ALL costs for the college student - tuition, housing, food, medical, cell phone, car insurance, etc. Then figure out who pays what. Include student loans in the STUDENT'S contribution (not yours), but any Parent PLUS loans count as YOUR support. If your contribution exceeds 50%, include them in household size and count them as a college student too.

One mistake I made last year - don't include the value of letting them live at home during breaks! I thought that counted toward the 50% support test but my financial aid officer told me they only count actual expenses you pay. So summers at home don't count unless you're paying for something specific.

OMG i was on hold with the federal student aid people for THREE HOURS yesterday trying to get this exact question answered!!! finally gave up. the fafsa website is totally broken too - kept logging me out when i tried to save my progress. has anyone found a faster way to actually talk to a human being at fafsa? this is insane!!

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I did the math and we are definitely providing more than 50% support when I factor in tuition contribution, health insurance, car insurance, and phone plan. I'm going to list our household size as 4 and include both children in the count. Just to be super clear - for the "number in college" question, I should put 1 (just the college student) not 2 (since the high schooler isn't in college yet), right?

I always thought FAFSA was just about who you claim on taxes!! I've been doing this all wrong for years probably costing us thousands in aid eligibility! why don't they make this clearer???? now i have to go back and look at everything again ughhhhh

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who went through this exact situation last year! The 50% support test can be tricky to calculate, but here's what helped me: I created a spreadsheet with two columns - "We Pay" and "Student Pays" - and listed every single expense for the year. Don't forget smaller things like textbooks, lab fees, transportation costs, and even groceries when they're home. It really adds up! Also, if you're unsure about whether something counts, err on the side of including it in your calculation. The financial aid office at your high schooler's target colleges can always review your household size if they have questions during verification. Good luck!

This thread has been so helpful! I'm in a similar situation with my oldest starting her senior year of college and my youngest a junior in high school. One thing I learned from our financial aid counselor that might help others - if you're right at the 50% support threshold and not sure, keep detailed records of everything you pay for. Things like family cell phone plans, auto insurance where they're listed as a driver, medical expenses, and even airline tickets home for holidays all count toward your support calculation. I also discovered that if your college student has a 529 plan that you fund, those contributions count as your support too, not theirs. The key is being able to document it if the school asks during verification!

As someone new to this process, I'm finding this entire thread incredibly valuable! I have a question that builds on what everyone's been discussing - what happens if your support percentage changes during the academic year? For example, if we start the year providing 60% support but our college student gets a better paying job mid-year and becomes more self-sufficient, dropping our support below 50%? Do we need to update the FAFSA or does it stay locked in based on what we reported initially? I'm trying to plan ahead since my daughter will be starting college next year and I want to make sure I understand all the potential scenarios we might face.

As a parent just starting to navigate this process, I can't tell you how helpful this entire discussion has been! I have twins who are currently high school juniors, so I'll be dealing with FAFSA for the first time next year. Reading through everyone's experiences and advice has given me a much clearer understanding of how the household size calculation actually works. I had no idea it was based on the support test rather than tax dependency - that's such an important distinction! I'm definitely going to start keeping track of all our expenses now and create that spreadsheet someone mentioned. It sounds like being prepared with documentation is key. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and making this intimidating process feel more manageable for those of us who are new to it!

Thank you all for this incredibly detailed discussion! As someone completely new to the FAFSA process (my oldest is currently a high school sophomore), I'm feeling so much more prepared after reading through everyone's experiences. The key takeaway for me is that it's all about the support test - who pays for more than 50% of the student's expenses - not about tax dependency or where they live. I love the spreadsheet idea for tracking expenses, and I'm definitely going to start documenting everything now so I'm ready when the time comes. It's also really helpful to know that things like health insurance, car insurance, cell phone plans, and even 529 contributions count toward the support calculation. This community is amazing - thank you for making such a confusing process so much clearer for those of us just starting this journey!

As a parent new to the FAFSA process, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly thorough discussion! My daughter is a high school junior, so I'll be tackling this next year. The distinction between the support test and tax dependency is something I never would have understood without reading this thread. I had always assumed it was just about who you claim on your taxes! The spreadsheet idea for tracking all expenses is brilliant - I'm definitely going to start one now to document everything from insurance to groceries to transportation costs. It's reassuring to know there's such a knowledgeable community here to help guide us through what seemed like an overwhelming process. Thank you all for sharing your real-world experiences and making this so much clearer for newcomers like me!

As a newcomer to this process, I can't express how grateful I am for this detailed thread! My son is currently a high school sophomore, so I have a bit of time to prepare, but reading everyone's experiences has been incredibly enlightening. The biggest revelation for me is understanding that FAFSA household size is based on the support test rather than tax dependency - I had no idea these were different! The spreadsheet approach for tracking expenses sounds like a game-changer. I'm planning to start documenting everything now: tuition contributions, insurance premiums, phone bills, groceries, transportation costs, and even those 529 plan contributions I never realized counted as support. It's amazing how all these "little" expenses can add up to determine whether you cross that crucial 50% threshold. Thank you all for creating such a supportive environment where newcomers like me can learn from your real-world experiences. This process seemed so intimidating before, but now I feel like I have a roadmap to follow!

As someone who's been lurking in this community while preparing for my first FAFSA experience (daughter is a high school junior), I just had to jump in and say how incredibly helpful this entire discussion has been! I came here completely confused about household size calculations and had NO idea that it was based on a support test rather than tax dependency. That's such a critical distinction that seems to catch so many parents off guard! The spreadsheet idea for tracking all expenses is brilliant - I'm definitely implementing that immediately. Reading through everyone's real experiences has transformed what felt like an impossible maze into something I can actually navigate with confidence. It's amazing how this community comes together to help newcomers understand these complex rules. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge so generously!