FAFSA household size confusion - will listing adult child affect our aid?

According to the official FAFSA guidelines, household size includes: 1. The student 2. The parents 3. Parents' other children if parents provide more than half their support 4. Other people ONLY if they live with you AND you provide more than half their support The key question is: do you provide more than 50% of your adult daughter's support? If she pays for her own food, contributes to housing costs, and covers her personal expenses, then she shouldn't be counted in your household size for FAFSA purposes - even if she physically lives with you. Since she files taxes independently and works full-time, it sounds like she shouldn't be counted unless you're still covering most of her expenses.

i had the EXACT same issue last yr!! my son is 22 and lives at home but has a job and does his own taxes. i put 5 on fafsa (us, him, and 2 younger kids) and got flagged for verification!! huge headache that delayed everything by 2 months!! they made me change to 4 and resubmit everything. so annoying

This is a common question with FAFSA. The financial aid office is probably right that it won't impact the SAI calculation significantly in your case, but technically you should be accurate. The specific rule is the "more than half support" test. Even if she pays some rent and buys her own food, do you still provide more than 50% of her total living expenses when you factor in the below-market rent, utilities, cell phone plan, health insurance, etc.? If you're unsure, you can use the worksheet on the Federal Student Aid website that helps calculate this: https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out/dependency#dependent-or-independent

I work in a college financial aid office, and honestly we see this all the time. The official rule is about providing more than half support, but the system rarely flags this specific issue for verification unless there are other inconsistencies in your application. If you want to be 100% by-the-book accurate: Don't count her if she provides more than half her own support. Count her if you provide more than half. But practically speaking, this single question about household size is unlikely to trigger verification on its own or significantly change your SAI (Student Aid Index) unless you're right on the border of a specific aid threshold.

Getting through to anyone at Federal Student Aid to ask these questions is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE. I spent 3 days trying to reach them to ask about a similar situation with my stepson. After being on hold for hours and getting disconnected multiple times, I found Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed that adult children who file independently should NOT be counted in household size unless you provide more than half their total support - regardless of their physical address. Cleared everything up for me!

I got TRIGGERED by this post!!! 😤 The whole FAFSA household size thing is SUCH A MESS this year with the new system! Last year my husband's adult son from previous marriage lived with us temporarily and I counted him (because he lived with us!) - got SELECTED FOR VERIFICATION and had to provide bank statements, tax forms, proof of address for EVERYONE! Took 2.5 months to resolve and almost lost our kid's financial aid package. The system is BROKEN. They make the rules impossible to understand then punish YOU when you get confused by their terrible instructions.

im confused why the school said changing it "wouldn't make a difference"? changing household size definitely can affect aid amounts. maybe they meant in ur specific situation it wouldn't matter bc of income level? id want a clearer answer tbh

antoehr thing to think about - will ur daughter be on your taxes next year as a dependent? if no then definitely dont count her on fafsa

Just to add one more thing - the guidance for the 2024-2025 simplified FAFSA actually makes this clearer than in previous years. The official definition now explicitly states that other household members must "receive more than half of their support from your parents and will continue to do so during the award year." So if your daughter is supporting herself through her full-time job and filing independent taxes, the official guidance is to NOT include her in your household size, even if she lives with you. The system is designed to count dependents, not just household residents.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation and was also confused about the household size rules. It's really reassuring to see that multiple people have confirmed the "more than half support" test is the key factor, not just where someone lives. For anyone else reading this - it sounds like the consensus is: if your adult child files their own taxes, works full-time, and covers most of their own expenses (even if they live with you), they shouldn't be counted in your FAFSA household size. Better to be accurate from the start than deal with potential verification issues later! Madison, it sounds like you've got your answer - changing to 4 is the right call. Good luck with the rest of the financial aid process!

As a newcomer to the FAFSA process, this thread has been incredibly enlightening! I'm preparing to file my first FAFSA for my daughter next year and was already worried about making mistakes. Reading about the verification issues some of you experienced with incorrect household sizes is both scary and helpful - it's clear that being accurate from the start is crucial. The "more than half support" test seems to be the golden rule here. I have a similar situation brewing - my 22-year-old son will likely be living with us when my daughter starts college, but he'll be working full-time. Based on everything discussed here, it sounds like as long as he's financially independent (paying his own expenses, filing his own taxes), he shouldn't be counted in our household size regardless of his physical address. Madison, thanks for asking this question! It's probably helping a lot of families who are in similar situations. The consensus seems pretty clear - go with 4 household members in your case. Better safe than sorry when it comes to potential verification headaches!

As someone who just went through this exact scenario last year, I can confirm that accuracy is definitely worth the peace of mind! My 25-year-old daughter moved back home during COVID and stayed, but she has a full-time job and pays her own way. I initially included her in our household size (making it 5) but then realized my mistake after reading the FAFSA guidelines more carefully. I ended up calling the school's financial aid office to ask about making the correction, and they walked me through updating it to 4. The key questions they asked were: Does she file her own taxes? Does she pay for more than half of her own living expenses? Since the answer was yes to both, they confirmed she shouldn't be counted. The good news is that making corrections early in the process is much easier than dealing with it during verification. Most schools are understanding about honest mistakes, especially with household size questions since they're genuinely confusing. I'd definitely recommend making that change to 4 - it sounds like your daughter is truly financially independent based on your description.

As someone new to navigating FAFSA, this entire discussion has been incredibly valuable! I'm in a very similar boat - we have a 23-year-old who recently graduated and moved back home while job hunting, but she's financially independent and files her own taxes. Reading through everyone's experiences, especially the verification nightmares some of you dealt with, has really driven home how important it is to get these details right from the start. The "more than half support" test seems to be the consistent theme across all the advice here. Madison, it sounds like you've gotten great guidance from everyone - definitely go with 4 for your household size since your daughter is supporting herself. I'm bookmarking this thread for when I fill out our FAFSA next year! It's amazing how something that seems like it should be straightforward can have so many nuances. Thank you for asking the question that so many of us needed answered!

As someone just starting to navigate the FAFSA world with my first college-bound child, this thread has been a goldmine of information! The household size question has been keeping me up at night because we have a 22-year-old who lives with us but works full-time and handles all his own expenses. Reading through everyone's experiences, especially the verification stories, has convinced me that getting this right from the beginning is crucial. The "more than half support" test that Julian and others have mentioned seems to be the definitive answer - if your adult child is financially independent (working, filing their own taxes, covering their own expenses), they shouldn't be counted in household size regardless of their physical address. Madison, it sounds like changing to 4 is definitely the right move for your situation. Your daughter paying rent and covering her own expenses clearly indicates she's providing more than half of her own support. Better to be accurate now than deal with potential verification headaches later! This community is such a valuable resource for navigating these confusing processes. Thank you for asking the question so many of us needed answered!

As someone who's been helping families navigate FAFSA for years through my work as a college counselor, I want to echo what everyone here has said about the "more than half support" test being the key factor. Madison, you're absolutely making the right decision to change your household size to 4. What I often tell families is to think about it this way: if your adult child moved out tomorrow, would your family's financial obligations change significantly? In your daughter's case, since she pays rent, buys her own food, and covers her personal expenses, the answer is probably no - which confirms she shouldn't be counted. One practical tip for anyone reading this: keep a simple record of who pays for what (rent, groceries, insurance, etc.) for adult children living at home. If you ever do get selected for verification, having that documentation makes the process much smoother. But based on your description, Madison, you should be in good shape with household size of 4. The fact that she files independently and works full-time makes this a pretty clear-cut case.

As someone who just went through this exact situation with my 21-year-old son, I can definitely relate to the confusion! Last year I made the mistake of including him in our household size even though he was working and filing his own taxes - just because he lived with us. Big mistake! Got selected for verification and it was a complete nightmare. The key thing I learned (the hard way) is that physical residence doesn't matter - it's all about financial support. If your daughter is paying you rent, buying her own food, and covering her personal expenses, then she's clearly providing more than half of her own support. That means household size should be 4, not 5. I'd definitely recommend making that change now rather than risking verification later. Even if the financial aid office said it wouldn't affect your aid package, having accurate information is always better. Plus, like you said, you'll be doing this for years - better to establish the correct pattern from the start! The verification process was honestly traumatic and delayed our aid package by months. Don't risk it when you already know the right answer. Change it to 4 and sleep better at night!

As someone who's completely new to the FAFSA process (my daughter will be applying next year), this entire thread has been incredibly educational! I had no idea that household size could be such a complex issue, and reading through everyone's experiences has really opened my eyes to how important it is to get these details right from the beginning. The "more than half support" test that keeps coming up seems to be the crucial factor - not where someone physically lives, but who's actually providing their financial support. Madison, based on everything you've described about your daughter (working full-time, filing her own taxes, paying rent, buying her own food), it sounds like she's clearly supporting herself and shouldn't be counted in your household size. I'm definitely taking notes from all the verification horror stories shared here! It seems like being accurate upfront is so much better than dealing with the paperwork nightmare later. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world guidance that you can't find in the official FAFSA instructions. This community is such a valuable resource for families navigating this confusing process!

As someone who just completed my first FAFSA last month, this discussion has been incredibly helpful! I made the mistake of overthinking the household size question initially - we have my 23-year-old nephew living with us temporarily, and I almost counted him even though he pays us rent and has his own job. After reading through all the advice here about the "more than half support" test, it's so clear that the key isn't physical address but financial dependency. Madison, your daughter sounds exactly like someone who shouldn't be counted - working full-time, filing independently, paying rent, and covering her own expenses means she's definitely providing more than half of her own support. The verification stories shared here are honestly terrifying! It really drives home how important it is to be accurate from the start rather than having to deal with months of paperwork and potential delays to financial aid packages. I'm so glad I found this thread before submitting - it's probably saved me from making the same mistake. Change it to 4 and avoid the headache!