FAFSA showing 'unable to calculate SAI' due to family size mismatch - can't find where to fix it!

This is actually a pretty common issue this year with the new FAFSA. The family size discrepancy is usually related to how dependents were reported on your tax return versus how you entered household members in the FAFSA. The tricky part is that it's not obvious where to fix it. Look for the "Household Information" section in your son's FAFSA (not in the contributor section). You need to check two things: 1. The number of people in your household 2. The number of people in college If those numbers don't match what's on your tax return for dependents claimed, that's causing the error. The system runs a verification check between IRS data and what you manually entered.

I had the EXACT same problem with my daughter's application! Took me three weeks and about 15 phone calls to figure it out. The issue was that I had divorced and remarried, and even though we claimed her on our taxes, the FAFSA system was pulling household size data from BOTH biological parents somehow. The solution for us wasn't even in the regular FAFSA sections - we had to submit a special correction form. Go to your son's main FAFSA dashboard, click on "Make FAFSA Corrections" and look for "Special Circumstances." You might need to check a box indicating unusual household configuration and then re-enter all the household members manually with their relationships.

cant u just call fafsa and ask them? thats what i did when my app got stuck

I'm dealing with this issue for three different students right now at our college. The mismatch between tax household size and FAFSA household size is one of the most common issues with the 2024-2025 FAFSA rollout. Here's the technical explanation: The new system is pulling your household size directly from IRS tax data (specifically from dependent exemptions claimed), but it's comparing that to what you manually entered in the FAFSA household section. If there's any discrepancy, even a small one, you get the "unable to calculate SAI" error. The fix depends on your specific situation: 1. For blended families (like yours with a stepparent): Go to your son's FAFSA, select "Make FAFSA Corrections" and look for the "Special Circumstances" section. You need to check the box for "Family structure complexity" and complete the household grid that appears. 2. If that doesn't work, you may need to submit documentation directly to each college's financial aid office explaining the family structure. They can manually override the error on their end. Be sure to contact each college where your son applied and let them know you're working on resolving this specific issue.

I went through this EXACT nightmare last month! The FAFSA system is a DISASTER this year!! After TWO MONTHS of trying to fix our "unable to calculate SAI" error, we finally got it resolved last week. What worked for us was getting our daughter's financial aid officer at her top choice school to manually override the system on their end. We had to send them: 1. Our complete 2023 tax return 2. A letter explaining our household structure 3. Birth certificates showing relationship 4. Marriage certificate for step-parent relationship I'm still FURIOUS that we wasted so much time trying to fix something that wasn't even our mistake. The college told us they're seeing this issue with THOUSANDS of applications. The whole system is broken!!

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to a FAFSA agent? It's the only way I was able to finally talk to someone. They basically wait on hold for you then call you when they have an agent on the line. I tried for weeks to reach someone before finding this. Check out claimyr.com and they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. The agent I finally spoke with was able to see exactly what was causing the family size mismatch and helped me submit a special correction form. Saved me so much frustration after weeks of getting nowhere.

Quick update: I got a notification today that my daughter's SAI has FINALLY been calculated after our financial aid office manually fixed the household size issue. Definitely recommend reaching out directly to your son's college financial aid offices rather than continuing to try to fix it through the FAFSA portal itself. They have access to override certain errors that we can't fix from our end.

One more important tip - if you're using the Claimyr service or manage to reach FSA directly, ask specifically about the "household verification mismatch code" on your application. This is the internal error code that financial aid professionals can see. Having this code will help the college financial aid offices know exactly what they need to override in their system.

UPDATE: We finally got this resolved! For anyone facing the same issue, here's what worked for us: 1. We used Claimyr to actually reach a human at Federal Student Aid (after 3 weeks of failed attempts) 2. The agent confirmed there was a "household verification mismatch" between our tax data and FAFSA entries 3. We had to submit a special form through our son's FAFSA portal (it was hidden under Special Circumstances → Family Structure) 4. We also sent documentation to each college (tax returns, marriage certificate showing step-parent relationship) 5. His SAI was calculated 4 days later! The most frustrating part is that there was no way to see or fix this issue on our own - the edit option simply didn't exist where it should have been. Thank you to everyone who helped us figure this out!

Wow, this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation with my daughter's FAFSA - we keep getting the "unable to calculate SAI" message and her college's financial aid office mentioned something about a family size issue. I had no idea about the Special Circumstances section or that the system was automatically comparing IRS data to what we entered manually. For those who successfully resolved this - how long did it typically take once you submitted the special form or got the college to override it? My daughter's aid package deadline is coming up fast and I'm getting nervous about the timing. Also, did anyone have issues with multiple colleges requiring separate documentation, or was it something that got fixed system-wide once resolved? Thanks so much for sharing your experiences - this is way more useful than anything I've gotten from the official FAFSA help resources!