FAFSA tax question: Do 'income taxes paid' include state taxes or just federal?

It's ONLY federal income tax paid (from your federal tax return, line 24). Do not include state income tax. The FAFSA specifically wants the amount from your Form 1040. This is a common point of confusion but including state taxes would incorrectly inflate what you paid and potentially give you a lower SAI than you should get.

I actually asked a financial aid advisor about this exact question last week! Just federal taxes - specifically the amount on your 1040 form. State taxes aren't included in the FAFSA calculation at all.

my cousin works financial aid office she says only federal not state. its confusing tho cuz taxes are taxes right? but i guess thats how they do it

I spent THREE HOURS trying to get through to the Federal Student Aid help line about this exact question last month!! Kept getting disconnected or put on hold forever. Finally I tried using Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through to a FAFSA agent in about 10 minutes who confirmed it's FEDERAL ONLY, no state taxes. You can see how their system works in this video: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - totally saved my sanity during application season.

The FAFSA instructions are confusing on this point. It's definitely ONLY federal income tax from your 1040. Line 24 on the most recent tax forms. This is a critical number because it directly affects your Student Aid Index calculation. Including state taxes would artificially lower your SAI and could potentially flag your application for verification, which adds weeks to processing time. If you're using the FAFSA app, there's actually a help button right next to that field that specifies federal only, but it's easy to miss.

Omg I totally screwed this up and included both federal AND state taxes...do I need to go back and correct my FAFSA now?? Will they flag me for this? I submitted like 3 weeks ago and haven't heard anything yet...

Pro tip: If you're using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool within FAFSA, it automatically pulls the correct federal tax amount from your return. No need to manually enter and risk making this mistake. Highly recommend using that feature if your situation allows!

Anyone else think its ridiculous how complicated they make this whole process?? Like why not just SAY "federal taxes only" right in the question instead of making everyone confused and stressed! My sister put both federal and state and got selected for verification which delayed her whole financial aid package by 2 months. The whole system is designed to trip people up I swear.

Just want to add another confirmation - it's definitely ONLY federal income tax! I made this same mistake on my first attempt and had to correct it. The key is looking at Form 1040 line 24 (or whatever line shows "Tax" on your specific tax year's form). State taxes, local taxes, FICA taxes - none of those count for the FAFSA income tax paid question. The federal government only cares about what you paid to them, not to your state. Good luck finishing up your application!

Just wanted to jump in as someone who's been through this process multiple times (older sibling helped me figure it out). Everyone here is absolutely correct - it's ONLY federal income tax from line 24 of your Form 1040. I learned this the hard way when I included state taxes on my first FAFSA and my Expected Family Contribution came out way higher than it should have been. Had to submit a correction which delayed everything by weeks. The wording on the FAFSA really should be clearer about this! But yeah, stick to just the federal amount and you'll be good to go. Hope this helps ease some of the stress!