FAFSA missing tax and child support questions - Medicaid affecting parent section?

did u use the data retrieval tool thing? if u connect ur irs info maybe it just pulled all that automatically

The 2025-2026 FAFSA has been completely redesigned and is much more streamlined than previous versions. If your household income falls below certain thresholds (~$60,000 for most families) AND you indicated Medicaid coverage, the system may have automatically determined you qualify for the simplified needs test or auto-zero EFC calculation, which skips many financial questions. This is actually good news as it likely means your daughter will qualify for maximum aid eligibility! The system is working as designed in this case.

SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME!!!! I was freaking out because I thought I broke the system or something lol. Called FSA 7 TIMES and couldn't get through to anyone. So frustrating!!!!!

You likely qualified for the simplified formula path. The redesigned FAFSA uses receipt of means-tested benefits like Medicaid as an automatic qualifier for simplified processing. If your income is under the threshold AND you have benefits, the system assumes you'll qualify for maximum aid and skips a bunch of questions. However, you should still see a summary page before final submission that shows all the information used for your application. Check that to make sure everything looks right. If your child support isn't listed anywhere but should be counted as income, you might need to make corrections.

I actually HATED the new FAFSA. Spent 4 hours trying to get through it with all the glitches and then when I finally did, it crashed at the signing part and I had to start over. Then when I finally submitted, my daughter's SAI came back way higher than expected. Called FSA like 20 times and couldn't get a human on the line. The whole system is broken if you ask me.

The new FAFSA has specific "skip logic" built in that determines which questions you need to answer based on your previous responses. As others have mentioned, the Medicaid indicator combined with income below certain thresholds automatically puts you on the simplified formula path. One thing to double-check though: make sure you actually completed the parent section and didn't just complete the student portion. When you log back in, you should see checkmarks next to both the student and parent sections, and it should show your application as "Processed" or "Submitted" rather than "In Progress.

my cousin works in financial aid office at state college and she said lots of people are confused by the new fafsa this year especially with medicaid. the good news is that medicaid usually means more aid! my nephew got automatic pell grant eligibility bc of it

Quick update for everyone: The Department of Education confirmed that for the 2025-2026 FAFSA, they implemented what they call "smart pathing" which dynamically adjusts what questions you see based on your circumstances. For families with certain means-tested benefits (like Medicaid) and incomes below approximately $60,000, many financial questions are skipped entirely. This is all working as designed and actually helps ensure eligible students get maximum aid with minimum paperwork. If your application shows as submitted/processing, you're all set!

anybody know how long it takes to get the sai score thing now? my son submitted 3 weeks ago and still nothing

As someone who also just went through this process, I can confirm what others have said - the new FAFSA really is designed this way! I was initially panicked when it skipped over all the detailed financial questions I was expecting based on what older parents had told me about previous years. But it turns out that if you qualify for the simplified needs test (which sounds like you do with your income level and Medicaid coverage), the system automatically assumes you'll get maximum aid and doesn't need all those extra details. My daughter's application processed smoothly and she received a great aid package. The key thing is just making sure your basic information is accurate since that's what really matters for verification purposes. Don't stress - you did everything right!