FAFSA student section for my daughter: Does her job and bank account impact our household income calculation?

Yes, your daughter's income and assets will be reported on the FAFSA, but they're treated differently than parent income. Student income above $7,600 (for the 2025-2026 FAFSA) is assessed at 50% after applying the income protection allowance. Her checking account will be considered a student asset assessed at 20%. But don't worry too much - student income/assets generally have a smaller impact on the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation than parent income and assets. Your contribution as parents will still be the more significant factor. And yes, the student section is separate - she'll need to create her own FSA ID and complete her portion. You'll do your part with your FSA ID. The system links them together through the information you both provide.

they will definitely ask about ur daughters job and bank account. my son had to put all that info and it def counted against us! we got wayyyy less aid than we expected bc they count everything!!

To add to what others have said - for the 2025-2026 FAFSA, your daughter's section will ask specifically about her 2023 income (you'll need her W-2 or tax return if she filed one) and her current bank account balances. The new FAFSA does calculate the Student Aid Index differently than the old EFC, but student income and assets still have a much smaller impact than parent finances. One important thing to know: if your daughter's bank account is a custodial account (UGMA/UTMA), it actually counts as her asset, not yours, even if you're technically the custodian until she turns 18/21. Make sure you don't double-report it in both sections. Also, yes - she'll need her own FSA ID (username and password) to sign her portion. You can sit with her while she does it, but she needs to create the FSA ID herself.

I spent 5 HOURS on hold with the Federal Student Aid helpline trying to get answers about this exact situation last month! The FAFSA is such a nightmare. Finally gave up and used Claimyr to get through to them (claimyr.com). They have this service that calls FSA for you and then connects you when a real person answers - saved me so much time! There's even a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Anyway, what the agent told me was that student income is evaluated using the income protection allowance - which is $7,600 for 2025-2026. So only income above that amount is counted, and only 50% of that excess gets factored into the calculation. Student assets (like bank accounts) are assessed at 20%.

For what its worth, my daughter has worked all through high school and has about $5k in her bank account. We still qualified for a decent financial aid package including grants. Don't stress too much about her part-time job - its good for her to learn work ethic anyway and wont totally kill your aid.

One important thing I haven't seen mentioned: the 2025-2026 FAFSA will use 2023 tax year information for income. So make sure you're looking at her income from 2023, not 2024, when you're filling out the form. The SAI formula allows for the income protection allowance ($7,600), then 50% of anything above that counts toward the SAI calculation. Regarding the process - your daughter creates her FSA ID first, then starts the FAFSA with her information. At some point in her section, she'll be prompted to add you as her parent/contributor. You'll get an email notification, create your own FSA ID (if you don't already have one), and complete your section. Then your daughter will review everything and submit the final application. The system merges both sections into one application.

i actually had the same question last year lol. yeah they ask about her job and bank stuff but it doesnt really matter that much tbh. my kid had like $2k in the bank and a summer job and we still got a ton of finaid. the fafsa website is super glitchy tho so be ready for that nightmare

Something else to keep in mind - if your daughter's income was all from work (W-2 wages) and she earned less than the filing threshold, she might not have been required to file taxes for 2023. The FAFSA will ask if she filed taxes, and if not, it will just ask for her W-2 income information. Don't worry if she didn't file - that's completely normal for many high school students with part-time jobs.

ok but does ur daughter HAVE to make her own FSA ID?? My kids super busy with sports + AP classes and i just wana fill this out for her. can i make the id for her using her info or will that mess things up??

Just to add a bit more clarity on the student section process: when your daughter creates her FSA ID, she'll need her social security number, full legal name, date of birth, and contact information. After logging in, she'll be able to start a new FAFSA application. The system will walk her through demographic information, school selection (she can add up to 10 schools), and then her financial information. For most dependent students, this financial section is relatively brief compared to the parent section. After she completes her part, but before final submission, she'll need to add you as a contributor. That's when you'll get the notification to complete your section.

BTW if ur worried about her bank account just spend it down before filing FAFSA lol. My nephew bought a car right before they submitted their FAFSA and that money didn't count toward their SAI. Not saying you SHOULD do that but just saying what people DO do...

does anybody know if scholarships count?? my daughter got a $2000 scholarship from her dads work but we havent gotten the money yet. do we have to tell fafsa about that??

Hey Ryan! I just went through this exact same process with my daughter last month, so I totally get the overwhelm. A few quick tips to add to what others have shared: 1. Have your daughter gather her documents first - her 2023 W-2, bank statements, and SSN card. This makes the process much smoother. 2. The good news is that with her 2023 income being around $6,500 (based on your comment above), that's entirely under the $7,600 income protection allowance, so her wages won't impact your SAI at all! 3. Her $3,400 in the bank will be assessed at 20%, so about $680 would be factored into the calculation - not terrible in the grand scheme of things. 4. One thing that helped us: we did a "practice run" where my daughter logged into the FSA website and just browsed around to get familiar with it before actually starting the application. Made her feel more confident. The whole process took us about 2 hours total (including both our sections), and honestly the hardest part was just getting started. You've got this! The fact that you're asking these questions shows you're being thoughtful about it.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who works in financial aid at a community college! You're getting great advice here. One thing I'd add - don't let the FAFSA stress keep your daughter from working. We see this all the time where families worry that student employment will hurt aid eligibility, but the income protection allowance is specifically designed to encourage students to work part-time. With her 2023 income under the $7,600 threshold, her wages won't count against you at all. And even if she earns more in future years, remember that work experience and the financial responsibility she's learning are valuable for her future - often worth more than the small impact on aid calculations. Also, a pro tip: when you get to the school selection part, you can always add or remove schools later by logging back into the FAFSA. So don't stress if her college list isn't finalized yet. Just make sure to submit the initial application by your state's deadline to maximize aid opportunities!

As a first-time FAFSA parent myself, I completely understand your stress! I just went through this process with my son last fall and had the exact same worries about his part-time job affecting our aid. Here's what I learned: your daughter's situation actually sounds pretty ideal for FAFSA purposes. Since her 2023 income was around $6,500 (based on your comment above), that's completely protected under the $7,600 income protection allowance - meaning $0 of her wages will count toward your Student Aid Index calculation! Her bank account will be assessed at 20%, so about $680 from her $3,400 savings would factor in. That's really not bad at all when you consider the bigger picture of college costs. One thing that really helped us was creating a checklist before starting: her SSN card, 2023 W-2, recent bank statement, and making sure she had time to create her FSA ID without rushing. The actual FAFSA took us about 90 minutes total once we had everything organized. Don't let the process scare you away from encouraging her work ethic - the financial aid system is designed to support students who are working part-time while in school. You're doing great by asking these questions ahead of time!

Hey Ryan! I'm also a first-time FAFSA parent and just wanted to add one more reassuring perspective. My daughter is in a very similar situation - she's 16, works at Target making about $7,800/year, and has around $2,800 in her savings account. I was absolutely panicking about this same issue a few weeks ago, but after talking to our high school guidance counselor and reading through all these helpful comments, I feel so much better about it. The key thing that helped me was understanding that the FAFSA is really designed to help families, not punish students for working part-time jobs. One practical tip: when your daughter creates her FSA ID, make sure she uses an email address she checks regularly and remembers the username/password. We had to reset my daughter's twice because she forgot her login info! Also, the system will time out after about 20 minutes of inactivity, so have all your documents ready before you start. You're clearly being a thoughtful parent by researching this ahead of time. The fact that her 2023 income is under that $7,600 threshold is such a win! Don't stress too much - you've got this!