FAFSA planning for 2025-2026 - When to start gathering tax info for high school senior?
Hello everyone! I'm trying to be proactive about my son's FAFSA for next year when he'll be a high school senior (class of 2026). I've heard so many horror stories about people scrambling last minute. When should we actually start gathering tax documents and other financial info? Is there anything specific we should be doing now to make the process smoother? I'm especially worried because my husband is self-employed and our tax situation is... complicated. Any advice from parents who've been through this recently would be so helpful!
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Keisha Jackson
Start NOW! The 2025-2026 FAFSA will use your 2023 tax information, so hopefully you already have that filed. The application typically opens October 1st, and you want to submit as early as possible for the best aid packages. Here's what I recommend: 1. Create FSA IDs for both you and your son (studentaid.gov) 2. Gather 2023 tax returns and W-2s for all contributors 3. If self-employed, collect Schedule C and other business forms 4. Make a list of all your assets (excluding primary home and retirement) 5. Research schools' priority deadlines for financial aid The self-employment complicates things because of business assets vs personal assets. My daughter just finished freshman year, and I wish we'd started organizing earlier!
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StarGazer101
•Thank you so much! I didn't realize they'd use 2023 taxes - that makes me feel better since those are done. Do we need to report my son's part-time job income too? He makes about $4,500 a year at the local grocery store.
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Paolo Romano
done worry about it to much my son got into college and we didnt even start the fafsa until january lol. still got decent scholarships!!
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Keisha Jackson
•While some students do get aid applying later, many schools distribute institutional aid on a first-come, first-served basis. Some state grants run out of funding early too. I wouldn't recommend waiting until January unless you're certain your schools have late priority deadlines.
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Amina Diop
Speaking from recent experience (just went through this with my twins), self-employment definitely complicates your FAFSA. The new FAFSA uses the Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the old Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and business assets can significantly impact your calculation. For self-employed individuals, they look at: - Business equity if you own >49% of the business - Farm equity (if applicable) - Investment real estate One thing to consider: if your business has significant paper assets but low liquidity, you might want to consult with a financial aid advisor at your son's target schools. Sometimes they can adjust your SAI if you can demonstrate the business assets aren't actually available for education expenses. Also, start checking which schools might require the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA - many private colleges do, and it asks for more detailed financial information.
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StarGazer101
•Oh gosh, I hadn't even heard of the CSS Profile! I'll definitely look that up. We do own >49% of our business, so it sounds like we'll need to report that. Do they look at the total value or just what we could reasonably sell it for?
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Oliver Schmidt
Anyone else notice how RIDICULOUS the new FAFSA system is?? Took me FIVE TRIES to upload our tax info last year because the IRS Data Retrieval Tool kept crashing. Then they calculated our SAI wrong and we had to appeal. What a NIGHTMARE!!
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Natasha Volkov
•Ugh, we had the same problem with the IRS Data Retrieval Tool! I finally gave up and just entered everything manually, which took forever. Then we got selected for verification and had to submit everything AGAIN. So frustrating.
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Javier Torres
My daughter just graduated high school, and I wish someone had told me sooner about Claimyr! When we had issues with our FAFSA (the system kept rejecting our application for some reason), I spent DAYS trying to get through to Federal Student Aid. Someone in my daughter's college Facebook group recommended claimyr.com, and it got us connected to an actual FSA agent in minutes instead of hours on hold. They have a video demo if you want to see how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Totally worth it when you're dealing with self-employment questions because the agents can actually explain what forms you need rather than just reading from a script.
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StarGazer101
•Thanks for the tip! I'll bookmark this for when we actually start the application. With our complicated taxes, I'm sure we'll have questions.
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Emma Wilson
Everyone here is giving good advice about starting early, but don't forget to research merit scholarships too! My son's SAI was too high for need-based aid, but he still got $17,000/year in merit scholarships from his school. Many merit scholarships have early deadlines (some in November/December), and some require separate applications even after you submit FAFSA. Also, the self-employment thing can be tricky. Make sure you understand how business assets are reported. We had to submit additional documentation showing that our family business assets weren't liquid and couldn't easily be used for college expenses. The financial aid office was actually pretty understanding once we explained.
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Oliver Schmidt
•Merit scholarships are DEFINITELY the way to go!! My daughter got a full ride at her safety school even though our income was too high for any need-based aid. Just make sure your son's grades and test scores are competitive!
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Natasha Volkov
i wish i could help but we're in the same boat... my daughter will be a senior next year too and i'm just starting to research all this FAFSA stuff. it seems so complicated! especially since my husband and i divorced 2 years ago and now i don't know which parent is supposed to fill everything out? does anyone know if it's the custodial parent or the one who claims the kid on taxes or what?
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Amina Diop
•For divorced parents, FAFSA only requires information from the custodial parent - that's the parent the student lived with more during the past 12 months. If time was split equally, it's the parent who provided more financial support. If that parent has remarried, the step-parent's information must be included too. This is different from taxes - the parent who claims the student as a dependent for tax purposes isn't relevant for FAFSA. Also, some private schools require the CSS Profile, which might ask for non-custodial parent information too.
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StarGazer101
Thank you all for the helpful advice! I'm going to start organizing our 2023 tax documents this weekend and look into the FSA ID setup. One more question - my son is interested in some private colleges that might be out of our price range without significant aid. Is there any way to estimate what kind of aid he might get before we go through the whole application process? I don't want him to get his hopes up for schools we ultimately can't afford.
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Keisha Jackson
•Yes! Most colleges have Net Price Calculators on their financial aid websites. These tools ask for simplified versions of the information you'll put on FAFSA and give you an estimate of what you might pay after aid. Keep in mind these are just estimates, but they can help you identify which schools might be more generous. Some high-end private colleges actually offer better aid packages than state schools if your income is in the right range. Also look for schools that meet "100% of demonstrated need" - these tend to be more expensive but often provide better aid packages for qualifying students.
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Javier Torres
•Also remember that financial aid offers can be negotiated! When my daughter got accepted to her top choice, their initial offer was about $7,000 short of what we needed. I submitted an appeal letter with a competing offer from another school, and they increased her scholarship by $5,500/year. Don't be afraid to ask for more if the initial offers don't work for your family.
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