FAFSA status showing 'cannot calculate' - tax processing delay or missing spouse signature?

Yup, your spouse DEFINITELY needed to sign. If you file jointly, both spouses have to create FSA IDs and sign the FAFSA electronically. It's one of the most common reasons for the 'cannot calculate' status. My husband forgot to sign mine too and I got the same message until we fixed it.

Actually, there are multiple reasons why 'cannot calculate' appears - it doesn't necessarily mean a missing signature. The specific error is usually listed somewhere in your FAFSA portal or in any notifications you received. Common causes include: 1. Missing signatures from you or contributors (like your spouse) 2. Unverified/rejected tax information 3. Incomplete sections on the form 4. Income verification issues 5. Conflicting information between what you entered and what the IRS has on file I'd recommend logging into studentaid.gov and checking for any specific messages about why it can't calculate. There should be an 'Action Required' section somewhere.

had the same problem last year. turned out the problem was my taxes havent been processed by the irs yet. they were showing as recieved but not processed. the FAFSA system couldnt pull my tax info with the data retrieval tool. super annoying!!

This happened to me too!! So frustrating. For me it was that my birthdate didn't match between my SSA records and what I put on FAFSA. Check everything carefully.

Financial aid advisor here. When you see 'cannot calculate' on a FAFSA, it means there's a significant issue preventing the system from determining your Student Aid Index (SAI). Based on what you've shared, it sounds like you have two likely issues: 1. Missing spouse signature: If you filed taxes jointly, your spouse absolutely needs their own FSA ID and must sign the FAFSA. This is required by federal regulations for joint filers. 2. Tax processing delay: If your taxes haven't been fully processed by the IRS, the FAFSA Data Retrieval Tool can't verify your information. What to do now: - Have your spouse create an FSA ID if they don't have one - Log in to your FAFSA and check the 'Action Required' section for specific instructions - Both you and your spouse will need to provide electronic signatures - You may need to manually enter tax information if the IRS hasn't processed your return The SSN verification you mentioned was likely part of the review process that identified these issues.

You don't need to resubmit the entire application. Once your spouse creates their FSA ID, they can log in to studentaid.gov, go to the FAFSA form section, and provide their signature on the existing application. They'll need to navigate to the signature page and complete that section. Regarding the tax processing delay, you may want to consider using the 'Will File' option if your taxes haven't been processed yet, then update the application once the IRS has your information in their system. This approach can help prevent further delays in your financial aid processing.

I dealt with this exact problem last month, and I was pulling my hair out trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid. After being on hold for 2+ hours multiple times and getting disconnected, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual person at FSA in about 15 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent I spoke with confirmed it was both issues - my spouse hadn't signed AND my taxes were still processing. They walked me through exactly what to do to fix it. Definitely worth it to speak to someone directly rather than guessing what the problem is.

THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!! I've been dealing with this garbage for THREE application cycles now. Every single time there's some new problem. One year it was a "missing signature" (that wasn't actually missing), next year it was "tax verification" (that was already verified), now it's some OTHER random thing. And you can NEVER get anyone on the phone who knows what they're talking about. They just read from scripts and transfer you around until you give up. Meanwhile my kid almost lost his scholarship last year because these idiots couldn't get their system working right. BEYOND FRUSTRATING.

Just a heads up - even after your spouse signs, it might take 3-5 business days for the system to update and calculate your SAI. Don't panic if it doesn't change immediately!

Quick update question: Have you been able to find any specific error messages when you log into studentaid.gov? Sometimes they hide the actual error details in the Message Center rather than displaying them prominently on the dashboard.