FAFSA missing asset information section before signature page - should I be concerned?
I'm filling out the parent portion of my daughter's 2025-2026 FAFSA and something seems off. It's already prompting me for my signature, but never asked for my checking account, 401k, or 529 plan information. I definitely have assets that should be reported (nothing huge, but they exist). I'm worried that if I proceed with the signature without reporting these assets, they'll flag her application for being incomplete or worse - think I'm hiding assets. Has anyone else experienced this? Is the asset section coming in a different part that I haven't reached yet? I'm hesitant to sign anything that feels incomplete.
18 comments
Join the conversation
Ellie Kim
The 2025-2026 FAFSA simplified formula doesn't require asset information for most families now. If your family's adjusted gross income is under $60,000 and you qualified for certain federal benefits OR simply filed a 1040 with standard schedules, assets aren't considered in the SAI calculation anymore. The system is working correctly - you can proceed with signing.
0 coins
Luis Johnson
•Oh really? I had no idea they changed that! Our AGI is around $78,000 though - would we still qualify for the simplified formula? I'm just nervous about missing something important.
0 coins
Fiona Sand
i had the same issue last month! freaked out thinking i broke the system lol. turns out they changed the rules for the new FAFSA. you should be good to sign.
0 coins
Luis Johnson
•Thanks for sharing your experience! Did you have any issues after submitting without entering asset info? No verification problems or anything?
0 coins
Mohammad Khaled
This is definitely confusing but it's part of the FAFSA Simplification Act changes. They eliminated asset reporting for many families to streamline the process. However, if your income is above $60k and below $500k, you MIGHT still need to report assets depending on your tax filing specifics. Did you use any special tax schedules? If you only filed a standard 1040 with basic schedules, you're probably exempt from asset reporting.
0 coins
Luis Johnson
•We just filed a regular 1040 with Schedule B for some minor interest income. Nothing fancy. So it sounds like we might be exempt? It still feels weird not to include this information!
0 coins
Alina Rosenthal
You're right to be cautious, but this is working as intended. For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, approximately 70% of applicants are exempt from asset reporting. The system knows based on your tax information whether to present the asset questions. If you didn't see them, it means you qualify for the simplified formula. Just make sure you've entered all tax information correctly, and you should be fine to proceed with signing.
0 coins
Luis Johnson
•That's reassuring, thank you. I did double-check all our tax info before entering it, so I guess I'll go ahead with the signature. It's just so different from when my older son applied a few years ago!
0 coins
Finnegan Gunn
Is anyone else having major issues just getting through to someone at Federal Student Aid when you have questions like this? I spent THREE HOURS on hold last week trying to ask about missing sections and eventually got disconnected. So frustrating!
0 coins
Miguel Harvey
•I was having the same problem until I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to a FSA agent in under 15 minutes. Saved me from waiting on hold forever. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Way better than the constant busy signals and disconnections!
0 coins
Finnegan Gunn
•Wait for real?? I'm going to check out claimyr.com right now because I'm still having issues with my son's verification process. Thanks for the tip!
0 coins
Ashley Simian
This new FAFSA is driving me INSANE!! Nothing is where it's supposed to be, entire sections are missing, and the help documentation hasn't been updated properly. I've been working in financial aid for 15 years and I can't even figure out what's going on half the time. The whole system is broken and students are going to lose aid because of it!
0 coins
Mohammad Khaled
•I feel your frustration! I think they rushed implementation without proper testing. But regarding this specific issue, the missing asset section is actually intentional - part of the simplification process.
0 coins
Luis Johnson
Update: I went ahead and signed after reading everyone's helpful comments. The submission went through fine and I got the confirmation email. It did mention our SAI would be calculated based on the simplified formula. Thanks everyone for your help! It's weird how they don't clearly explain these major changes upfront.
0 coins
Ellie Kim
•Glad to hear it worked out! This is definitely one of the biggest FAFSA changes in decades, and the communication about it has been less than stellar. Your daughter's SAI should be calculated within 3-5 days.
0 coins
Giovanni Martello
As someone new to this process, I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here! I'm in a similar boat with my daughter's FAFSA and was panicking when I didn't see the asset section. It's reassuring to know this is actually intentional and not a technical glitch. The fact that they changed such a fundamental part of the process without making it crystal clear to families is pretty frustrating though. At least we have communities like this to help each other figure it out!
0 coins
Marcelle Drum
•Absolutely agree! I'm also new to this and was completely lost when sections I expected to see just weren't there. It's kind of crazy that they made such major changes without better communication to families going through this for the first time. Thank goodness for communities like this where people actually help each other out instead of leaving us to figure it out alone!
0 coins
Fatima Al-Hashemi
This is such a helpful thread! As someone who just started the FAFSA process for my youngest, I was completely caught off guard by how different everything looks compared to when my older kids applied. I actually called my accountant thinking I had made some mistake with our tax information when the asset questions never appeared. It's honestly pretty poor communication on their part to make such sweeping changes without clearly explaining what families should expect. I'm glad to see it worked out for you @Luis Johnson - gives me confidence to move forward with ours too!
0 coins