FAFSA parent tax info missing - did I skip something important?

The new FAFSA is super confusing! Lots of parents r having this issue. Did you create your own FSA ID separate from your daughter's? They changed the system this year.

This sounds concerning. The FAFSA absolutely should have asked for parent tax information if your daughter is a dependent student (which most first-time college students are). The new FAFSA system is supposed to directly import parent tax information using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool after both parents consent with their FSA IDs. Did you get to a section where you had to give permission to access your tax records? Or a section identifying contributing parents?

The new FAFSA is pulling tax info directly from the IRS now! If you successfully added both you and your husband as contributors and continued through the application, it's likely the system pulled your tax information automatically without making it obvious. The direct data exchange is supposed to make things easier, but it's actually causing a lot of confusion for first-time filers. Look at your confirmation page or SAI calculation (if available) - does it show income numbers that match what you and your husband reported on your taxes?

I HAD THE EXACT SAME PANIC ATTACK LAST WEEK!!!! Thought I completely messed up my son's financial aid chances. Called my sister (who's done this before) crying. Turns out the system is actually working when it seems broken lol. Just make sure your SAI number eventually shows up - that's the Student Aid Index that replaces the old EFC.

If you want to double-check that everything processed correctly, I'd recommend calling Federal Student Aid directly at 1-800-433-3243. Be prepared to wait though - their hold times are ridiculous since the new FAFSA rolled out. I recently discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. Saved me hours of waiting on hold. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Even if your application correctly pulled your tax info, it's worth confirming everything processed properly, especially with your daughter being a first-time applicant.

The FAFSA system changed drastically this year with the FAFSA Simplification Act implementation. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool now works behind the scenes rather than as a visible step. As a financial aid counselor, I've seen hundreds of families confused by this exact issue. If you registered both parents with FSA IDs and added them as contributors, the system should have automatically imported your tax data. One thing to verify: check if you received confirmation emails for BOTH your student and each parent contributor. Sometimes the parent contributions don't properly link, which can affect your SAI calculation. You should be able to view your submitted FAFSA and see sections for each contributor's information, even if you didn't manually enter it.

My daughter's college financial aid office told me that like 40% of parents are having this exact confusion with the new system. Some schools are actually sending out special emails to parents explaining that yes, your application IS complete even if you didn't manually enter tax info. The whole "simplification" is backfiring for first-time users who don't know what to expect.

didnt they push back the FAFSA deadline this year because of all the problems with the new system? i think you have extra time to fix anything if needed

One more tip: If you're still concerned, you can check your FAFSA status at studentaid.gov - look for the processing status and especially whether your SAI calculation is complete. If you see "Processed Successfully" and an SAI number, you're good to go. The number itself is important too - lower numbers mean more aid eligibility.

I'd recommend documenting everything just in case. Take screenshots of your confirmation page and the processing status. If there are any issues later, having documentation of what you submitted and when can be incredibly helpful. Also, make sure to check both your email and your daughter's email regularly, as communications might go to either or both of you depending on the message type.

As someone who just went through this same panic with my twins' FAFSA applications, I totally understand your stress! The new system really is confusing for first-time users. It sounds like everything processed correctly if you can see your income information on the confirmation page. One thing that helped ease my mind was creating a checklist to track our progress: ✓ FSA IDs created for all contributors ✓ Contributors added to application ✓ Income data appears on confirmation ✓ Processing status shows "submitted" ✓ Waiting for SAI calculation. It really does take a few days for the SAI to appear, but once it does, you'll know for certain that everything went through properly. The fact that you're being so thorough and checking everything shows you're doing great as a parent navigating this process!

I'm going through the exact same thing right now with my son's FAFSA! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea the new system automatically pulls tax info without making it obvious. I kept thinking I missed some crucial step where I was supposed to manually enter our income information. The fact that so many parents are experiencing this same confusion really shows how poorly the "simplification" was communicated. I'm definitely going to check our confirmation page now to see if our tax data is actually there. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's such a relief to know we're not alone in this!