FAFSA suddenly skipped tax questions section for parent portion - is this normal for 2025-2026?

This actually happened to me too with my son's application! From what I understand, the new FAFSA is supposed to directly import your tax information through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool without asking you the detailed tax questions anymore. Did you consent to the IRS data retrieval when you first started the application? There should have been a section where both you and your daughter had to give permission for the FAFSA to access your tax records. If you did that part before getting kicked out, the system might have already pulled your tax info, which is why it's only asking about non-tax investments now.

ya i had same issue it frze for like a month then let me back in but didnt ask me for lots of info i put in b4. i think they changd how it works this year n its all messed up.

The 2025-2026 FAFSA has been completely redesigned. The system now pulls tax information directly from the IRS once you provide consent. You'll only need to manually enter non-tax assets like stock investments, real estate, and business holdings that aren't reported on tax returns. The direct data sharing is meant to simplify the process and reduce errors. If you consented to the IRS data retrieval when you started the application, the system has already imported your tax information. The SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation will include this data even though you don't manually enter it. This is why you're only seeing questions about investments now - the tax portion is handled behind the scenes. You'll be able to review the imported information on your SAI report after submission.

I'm having the exact same issue but was afraid to submit without confirming our income information! My daughter is applying to 6 colleges and I'm terrified her financial aid will be messed up if the FAFSA doesn't have our correct income. Does anyone know if there's a way to verify what tax info they pulled before submitting?

The new simplified FAFSA is a DISASTER. They've been having technical problems since day one. My nephew's application has been "processing" for over 6 weeks with NO updates. I don't trust any of these "improvements" they've made. Even if it did pull your tax info correctly (which is a big IF), how would you know if there were errors? The whole system is a mess and the Department of Education should be ashamed. We're talking about students' futures here!

After you submit the FAFSA, you'll receive your SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation which will show what income and asset information was used in determining your daughter's aid eligibility. If you notice any discrepancies at that point, you can submit a correction. One important thing to remember: the new FAFSA is using tax information from 2023 for the 2025-2026 application year. Make sure that's the tax year information you're expecting to see reflected.

For anyone dealing with this issue, here's what to expect with the new FAFSA process: 1. After submission, you'll receive your SAI calculation within 3-5 days (if the system isn't backed up) 2. The SAI report will show what tax information was used in the calculation 3. If there are discrepancies, you can submit a correction 4. All schools listed on your FAFSA will receive the information automatically The new system has eliminated about 26 questions from the previous FAFSA, including many of the detailed tax questions, which is why it feels like information is missing. But rest assured, the core financial information from your tax return is being used in the calculation - you just don't have to manually enter it anymore.

my daughters friend did this new fafsa and she got more finacial aid than last year so maybe the new system is better even if it's confusing lol

I just went through this exact same situation last week! The new FAFSA system is definitely confusing at first. What helped me was understanding that the "Direct Data Exchange" (DDX) with the IRS is now automatic - once you consent, they pull your tax info behind the scenes. I was worried too about not seeing our income reflected anywhere, but after we submitted, I got the SAI report within 4 days and could see that all our 2023 tax information was correctly included in the calculation. The system actually worked better than I expected, even though the process felt incomplete without manually entering all those tax details we're used to from previous years. If you're still nervous, definitely call to confirm they have your tax data before submitting - but based on what you described, it sounds like everything is working as intended with the new streamlined process.

Just want to add my experience as another data point - we went through the exact same thing with my son's 2025-2026 FAFSA. The system kicked us out in January, we got back in last month, and suddenly all the detailed tax questions were gone. I was honestly terrified we'd messed something up! But after reading through this thread and talking to other parents, it seems like this is just how the new system works. We ended up submitting anyway, and got our SAI report back in about a week. All our 2023 tax information was correctly reflected, even though we never manually entered any of it. The new process definitely takes some getting used to, but it actually saved us probably 30-45 minutes of data entry compared to previous years. My advice: if you consented to the IRS data retrieval at the beginning and you're only seeing investment questions now, you're probably good to submit. The behind-the-scenes tax data pull really does work, even though it feels weird not being able to see it happening.

I'm going through this exact same situation right now with my twin daughters' applications! It's such a relief to find this thread because I was convinced we had somehow broken the system. We consented to the IRS data retrieval back in February before getting locked out, and when we finally got back in last week, it went straight to asking about investments and completely skipped all the income questions I remember from my older son's FAFSA two years ago. Reading everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful - it sounds like this is actually how the new system is supposed to work, even though it feels completely wrong as a parent. I think I'm going to follow the advice here and call the helpline to confirm they have our tax information before submitting, just for my own peace of mind. Has anyone had issues with the Direct Data Exchange not working properly, or does it seem pretty reliable once you get past the initial technical problems?

As someone who just completed this process with my daughter last month, I can confirm this is exactly how the new 2025-2026 FAFSA is supposed to work! The Direct Data Exchange (DDX) automatically pulls your tax information from the IRS once you provide consent, which is why you're only seeing questions about investments and assets that aren't on your tax return. I was equally confused when it happened to us - after years of manually entering every line from our tax forms, it felt wrong to skip that entire section. But our SAI came back correctly with all our 2023 tax data included in the calculation. The new system has eliminated about 26 questions from previous years, and most of those were the detailed tax questions we used to have to answer manually. If you already consented to IRS data retrieval before getting kicked out, you should be good to submit. The lack of transparency is definitely unsettling, but the technology actually works pretty well once you get past the learning curve!