FAFSA separated parents confusion - 2022 joint tax return but now separated in 2023?
I'm completely stuck on this FAFSA parent contribution section! My husband and I legally separated in May 2023, but we filed our 2022 taxes jointly (when we were still together). The 2025-2026 FAFSA now lets you indicate separation status "to date" which I marked, but then there's this confusing instruction: "make sure the tax information you provide below reflects only the parent's 2022 income." Is this asking for JUST MY income from our joint 2022 return? Or both parents' income since the word "parent's" could be possessive plural? I don't want to mess this up for my daughter's aid! Do I need to somehow figure out what portion of our joint $96,300 income was mine alone? I made about $41,800 of that if so. I tried calling the FSA helpline three times but kept getting disconnected. My daughter's college deadline is in two weeks and I'm freaking out!
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Zainab Ali
same thing happened to my sister last yr... its asking for JUST YOUR part of the income not both of u. u have to split it up somehow
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Miguel Herrera
•Thanks! Did your sister have to submit any kind of documentation to prove which portion was hers? I have all my W-2s but I'm worried they'll reject the application if the numbers don't match our tax return exactly.
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Connor Murphy
The wording is definitely confusing! Since you are the one completing the FAFSA as the custodial parent (I'm assuming), the "parent's 2022 income" refers just to YOUR portion of the joint income. You're correct to separate out your $41,800 from the total $96,300. This is exactly how the system is designed to work when parents separate after filing jointly. You should have your 2022 W-2 forms or other income documentation ready in case verification is required later. The financial aid office understands this situation happens frequently.
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Miguel Herrera
•Oh thank goodness! Yes, I'm the custodial parent (my daughter lives with me over 50% of the time). I'll use just my income then. Do you know if there's anywhere on the form to explain this situation? I'm worried the numbers won't match what they pull from the IRS.
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Yara Nassar
i actually think ur supposed to report the whole amount from ur joint return. that's what we had to do last year with my son's fafsa. the school told us later we did it wrong by splitting it up!!!! had to fix it after submission.
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Miguel Herrera
•Wait, really?? That's the opposite of what others are saying. This is so confusing!! Did your situation also involve separation during the application year but joint filing for the tax year they were asking about?
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StarGazer101
I work in a financial aid office, and I can clarify this for you. When the FAFSA instructions refer to "parent's income" in the context of separated parents, they are asking for ONLY YOUR income, not the combined amount from your joint tax return. You should report: - Only your portion of the adjusted gross income ($41,800) - Only your portion of income taxes paid - Only your assets and information The other parent's information should be excluded completely. You WILL likely be selected for verification because the FAFSA data won't match the IRS data, but this is normal in your situation. When verification happens, you'll submit your W-2s and possibly a statement explaining the separation.
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Miguel Herrera
•That makes so much sense. Thank you! I've been stressing about this for days. What about things like investment income or interest that wasn't separated on our tax forms? Should I report half of those amounts?
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Keisha Jackson
why does everyone always say different things about this??? FAFSA is LITERALLY THE WORST!!! 😡 I swear they make it confusing on purpose so more people mess up and get less aid!
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Connor Murphy
•I understand the frustration! The system definitely could be more user-friendly. The recent FAFSA simplification was supposed to help with issues like this, but clearly there's still confusion, especially in less common situations like separation after joint filing.
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StarGazer101
For jointly held interest, dividends, and other investment income, you should generally report half unless you have documentation showing a different split was appropriate. The key is consistency - if you're asked to verify, you'll need to show how you arrived at these figures. For jointly owned assets (as of today, not 2022), you should report only assets that are in your name or your portion of jointly held assets. This means half of joint bank accounts, investments, etc. unless legal documentation specifies otherwise.
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Miguel Herrera
•This is incredibly helpful. I'll divide our joint investment income from 2022 in half and report just my portion. For current assets, we've already separated most accounts so that's easier. Thank you so much!
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Paolo Romano
I was in your exact situation last year with my FAFSA submission. After trying to call FSA for THREE DAYS with no luck, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual FSA agent in about 20 minutes. They have this demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed I should only report MY portion of income from the joint return, and explained exactly how to handle things like joint bank interest. Saved me so much stress since I was on a deadline too!
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Miguel Herrera
•That's exactly what I need! I've wasted hours on hold only to get disconnected. I'll check out that service right now - thanks for the recommendation! I really need to talk to someone official to make sure I'm doing this right.
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Amina Diop
This is such a mess! My husband and I seperated in 2022 and I've had to submit FAFSA forms for 3 kids... each school interpreted the rules differently!!!! One school told me to use my income only, other school demanded combined income, and community college wanted combined but then divided by 2??? The whole system is broken good luck figuring it out
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StarGazer101
•This shouldn't happen - FAFSA rules are federal and should be applied consistently. The official guidance is that separated parents should report only their own income, even from a joint return. If schools are giving contradictory instructions, I'd recommend getting clarification directly from FSA. The schools may be confusing FAFSA rules with their own institutional methodology for school-specific aid.
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Zainab Ali
my neighbor had this exact problem and ended up gettin selected for verification becuz the numbers didnt match the IRS data. took FOREVER to sort out but they still got aid eventually
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Miguel Herrera
•Thanks for the heads up! I'll prepare my documentation now so I'm ready if we get selected for verification. Did your neighbor have to submit anything special beyond the W-2s?
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StarGazer101
To address your original question more directly - the wording "parent's 2022 income" is using the possessive singular form (note the apostrophe before the 's'), referring to just one parent - you, as the parent completing the FAFSA. If it were meant to be both parents, it would be "parents' income" with the apostrophe after the 's'. Regarding verification: Beyond W-2s, having a copy of your separation agreement (if formal) or documentation showing separate residences during 2023 can be helpful. Each school's verification process varies slightly, but most will request a statement explaining the discrepancy between FAFSA data and IRS data, along with supporting documentation.
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Miguel Herrera
•Thank you for the grammar explanation! That makes perfect sense now. I do have our separation agreement and documentation of separate addresses since May 2023. I'll scan those and keep them ready along with my W-2s and a written explanation.
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