FAFSA parental section confusion - who needs to fill out the contributor part?

For the 2025-26 FAFSA, only ONE parent needs to complete the contributor section. Since you have 50/50 custody but your daughter lives with you slightly more, YOU should be the parent completing the form. The parent who provides more financial support or where the student lives more of the time is considered the contributing parent for FAFSA purposes. Your ex-husband's income won't be considered unless you're remarried and have a new spouse.

when i filled out my kids fafsa last year it was so confusing!!! ended up having to do it twice bc i messed it up. good luck lol

The FAFSA rule for divorced parents is clear but often misunderstood. The contributing parent is the one the student lived with more during the 12 months prior to filing the FAFSA. If it's exactly equal (which is rare in practice), then it's the parent who provided more financial support. Since your daughter lives with you slightly more, you are definitely the parent who should complete the contributor section. Your ex-husband's income is completely irrelevant for FAFSA purposes regardless of how much more he makes. Just make sure you have your tax information ready (2023 tax return for the 2025-26 FAFSA) and your FSA ID set up correctly.

This whole FAFSA system is RIGGED against divorced parents!!! My ex makes 3x what I do but because my son stays with me 4 nights vs 3 with his dad, I had to use MY income which totally screwed up his aid package. He got barely anything because they don't care about ACTUAL financial situations!!

I had the same exact confusion with my son's application! I ended up calling Federal Student Aid to clarify who needed to fill out what, but was on hold for almost 2 HOURS before I got disconnected. Eventually I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person at FSA who confirmed that only the parent with whom the student lives more should complete the contributor section. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - saved me so much headache when I had other questions about the parent section later.

Just to clarify the process a bit more - when your daughter created her FAFSA, she would have entered your information as the parent she lives with more. Then the system automatically sent you that invitation email to complete your part. You'll need to create your own FSA ID (if you don't already have one) that's separate from your daughter's. This is how the new 2025-26 FAFSA works - the student initiates, then the parent gets invited to contribute their information separately.

One more important thing - when you log in to complete your part, you'll be asked for your 2023 tax information. The new FAFSA has direct data transfer from the IRS using your FSA ID, which makes it easier, but you should have a copy of your 2023 tax return handy just in case you need to reference specific line items. The student aid index (SAI) calculation only looks at your income, not your ex-husband's.

my freind had this issue and she asked her ex to give her money for tuition anyway even tho he wasnt on the fafsa. maybe u can do that to?

To summarize for you and anyone else with divorced parents completing the 2025-26 FAFSA: 1. Only ONE parent completes the contributor section 2. That parent is the one the student lived with MORE during the 12 months before filing 3. If equal physical time (rare), then it's the parent providing more financial support 4. Income of the non-custodial parent is NOT considered 5. Child support received MUST be reported as untaxed income 6. Both the student and contributing parent need separate FSA IDs The system actually simplifies things by only looking at one household, but it can sometimes result in significantly different aid depending on which parent is used.

As someone who just went through this process with my daughter last year, I wanted to add that you should also make sure to keep all your documentation organized throughout the process. The FAFSA might ask for verification later, so having copies of your 2023 tax return, W-2s, bank statements, and records of any child support received will save you time if your daughter's school requests additional documents. Also, don't stress too much about making a mistake - you can always go back and make corrections if needed. The key thing everyone has explained correctly is that since your daughter lives with you more, you're definitely the right parent to complete the contributor section. Good luck!

I'm new to this community but going through the exact same situation! My daughter is applying for college this year and I got that same confusing email from studentaid.gov. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea that only the parent the student lives with more completes the form, regardless of income differences. In my case, my ex-husband makes significantly more than I do, but our daughter lives with me about 60% of the time. I was about to ask him to fill out the contributor section thinking his higher income would somehow be better for the application, but now I understand that I'm the one who needs to complete it. Thank you everyone for breaking this down so clearly! The FAFSA process seems so much more complicated than it needs to be, but at least now I know where to start.

I'm a newcomer here and just wanted to say how helpful this entire thread has been! I'm in a very similar situation - divorced parent, shared custody, and completely confused about the FAFSA contributor requirements. My son will be starting college next fall and I've been dreading this whole process. Reading through everyone's explanations about how only the parent the student lives with more needs to complete the form (regardless of income) has cleared up so much confusion for me. I especially appreciate the detailed breakdown from Max Knight and the practical tips about keeping documentation organized. It's such a relief to find a community where parents are willing to share their experiences and help each other navigate these complex financial aid requirements. Thank you all for taking the time to explain everything so thoroughly!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and currently going through the FAFSA process with my daughter who's starting college this fall. I'm also a divorced parent with shared custody, so this thread has been incredibly helpful! My situation is almost identical - my ex-husband and I have been divorced for 6 years, we split custody about 60/40 (she stays with me more), and he earns considerably more than I do. I was completely confused when I got that email invitation to complete the contributor section and was actually planning to forward it to him since I assumed the higher-earning parent should handle it. Thank you all for explaining that it's purely based on where the student lives more, not income levels! This community is such a great resource for navigating these confusing federal aid requirements. I feel so much more confident about moving forward with my portion now.

Hi! I'm new to this community and facing the exact same situation as you with my son who's applying for college this year. My ex-husband and I divorced 5 years ago, we have joint custody but my son lives with me about 65% of the time, and his dad makes roughly $25k more than I do annually. I was so confused when I got that contributor invitation email and honestly thought there might be some mistake since I'm not the higher earner! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly enlightening - I had no idea that FAFSA only considers the custodial parent's income regardless of who makes more money. It's actually reassuring to know that my lower income might work in my son's favor for financial aid eligibility. Thank you to everyone who explained the rules so clearly, especially about reporting child support as untaxed income - I definitely would have missed that detail. This community is such a valuable resource for navigating these complicated federal aid requirements!

Hi everyone! I'm brand new to this community and stumbled across this thread at exactly the right time. I'm going through the FAFSA process with my daughter who's heading to college this fall, and like so many others here, I'm a divorced parent completely confused about the contributor section! My ex-wife and I have been divorced for 4 years with shared custody, but our daughter stays with me about 70% of the time. My ex makes about $15k more than I do, so I was planning to have her handle the FAFSA thinking the higher income parent should do it. Reading through all these responses has been such an eye-opener - I had absolutely no idea that it's purely based on where the student lives more, not who earns more! It's actually kind of a relief knowing that my lower income could potentially help my daughter qualify for better aid. Thank you to everyone who took the time to explain these rules so clearly, especially the details about child support reporting and keeping documentation organized. This community is incredible for helping parents navigate what feels like an unnecessarily complicated system!