FAFSA investment section - Do I include my primary home with mortgage in net worth calculation?

You're absolutely right - you do NOT include your primary residence (the home you live in) in the investments section, and you also do NOT include the mortgage on that home in the debts calculation. The FAFSA specifically excludes the primary residence and any debt associated with it from the investment calculations. You only need to report other real estate you may own (rental properties, vacation homes, etc.) along with their associated mortgages or debts when calculating net worth of investments.

ya dont include where u live on fafsa... i made that mistake and had to fix my whole application lol. only put investment properties like if u own a rental house or something

This is a common point of confusion. To clarify: your primary residence (the home you live in) is excluded from the FAFSA calculations completely - both the value of the home AND the mortgage attached to it. Here's what to include as investments: 1. Real estate other than your primary residence (vacation homes, rental properties) 2. Trust funds, UGMA/UTMA accounts (if you're the owner, not the beneficiary) 3. Money market funds, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, CDs 4. 529 college savings plans (report as parent investment, not student asset) Here's what NOT to include as investments: 1. Your primary residence (the home you live in) 2. The mortgage on your primary residence 3. The value of life insurance policies 4. Retirement plans (401k, pension plans, annuities, IRAs) Hope this helps clarify the FAFSA investment section!

Yes, that's exactly right! For your vacation cabin, you would report the net worth of $60,000 ($125,000 value minus the $65,000 mortgage) in the investments section. That's a perfect example of how to calculate the net worth of investment properties.

my financial aid advisor told me the same thing. primary home = not included anywhere on fafsa. only other properties count. good luck with your daughter's application!!

I spent HOURS trying to reach someone at Federal Student Aid to clarify this exact same question last month! Kept getting disconnected or waiting forever. Finally I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual FAFSA agent who confirmed everything people are saying here - primary residence and its mortgage are completely excluded from the calculation. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ and it saved me so much frustration. The agent I spoke with was super helpful explaining all the asset reporting requirements.

It's definitely legit - they just help you get through the phone system faster. You're still talking directly to the actual Federal Student Aid representatives. I was desperate after trying for 3 days to get through on my own with no luck. Worth it for my sanity alone!

THEY MAKE THIS SO FREAKING CONFUSING ON PURPOSE!!! I swear it's to trip people up so they can deny aid. Last year I accidentally included my house value and got almost ZERO aid for my son. Then had to go through this whole verification and correction nightmare that took MONTHS to fix. By then most grant money was gone!!!! Always remember: PRIMARY HOME = NOT INCLUDED ANYWHERE!!

We only got about half of what he should have received originally. The school said most of their grant funds were already allocated by the time our correction went through. Complete disaster. Make sure you double check EVERYTHING before submitting.

When I was doing my daughter's FAFSA last week, I was thinking about this too! I actually went back and checked our old tax forms from last year to see what we did then. Definitely don't include your primary home - that's what we did both times and her SAI calculation seemed correct.

One additional clarification that might help others reading this thread: if you have a second mortgage or home equity loan on your primary residence that you used for purposes OTHER THAN buying/improving that home (like paying for college or starting a business), that portion IS reported as debt on the FAFSA. This is a small technical detail but important for some families with complex financial situations.

I went through this same confusion last year! Just wanted to add one more reassurance - you're interpreting it correctly. Your primary residence and its mortgage are completely excluded from FAFSA calculations. The key phrase is "the home the parent lives in" - that's your primary residence, period. Don't overthink it! I made the mistake of second-guessing myself and almost included my home value, but thankfully caught it before submitting. The FAFSA language is definitely confusing, but everyone here has given you the right guidance. Good luck with your daughter's application!