How does selling property right before FAFSA filing impact SAI for adopted grandson?

The simplified FAFSA doesn't directly ask about property sales, but the proceeds will show up in your AGI on your tax return, which is what the FAFSA pulls from. The system looks at your prior-prior year taxes, so this sale would impact the 2027-2028 FAFSA, not the upcoming one. For 2025-2026 FAFSA, they'll use your 2023 tax info, which wouldn't include this sale. You should be fine for now.

my daughter got way more than we thought with new fafsa.. we make like 120k and still got some grants. the new formula is weird, definitely apply!

THE WHOLE FAFSA SYSTEM IS COMPLETELY RIGGED AGAINST MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES!!!! We make decent money but live in a high cost area and they act like we're RICH. My son got ZERO aid last year even though we're drowning in mortgage payments. Doesn't matter what property you sell - they'll find some way to count it against you!!! The Beta testers who got more probably just got lucky or had some special circumstances that normal families don't have.

To directly answer your question: The 2025-2026 FAFSA doesn't specifically ask "Did you sell property?" but capital gains from property sales are reported on your taxes and will be captured in your AGI. However, since you're selling in November 2023, this will show up on your 2023 tax return, which is exactly what the 2025-2026 FAFSA will use (they look at taxes from two years prior). Here's where things get interesting for your adopted grandson: The state adoption benefit covering tuition is excellent, but you might qualify for more help with room and board than you expect. The new FAFSA has different calculations for families with adopted children in some circumstances. Make sure you accurately reflect his legal status on the application. Also, since you mentioned retirement accounts - if you're putting the property sale proceeds directly into qualified retirement accounts (like an IRA rollover), some of that might not impact your FAFSA as significantly, depending on how it's recorded on your taxes.

we had similar situation last yr with my niece we adopted. you need to mark YES on the question about whether the student is an adopted child (its somewhere in the new fafsa) and you should also have documentation ready if they do verification. most schools wanted proof of the adoption and the state tuition waiver for us

Have you tried calling Federal Student Aid directly? They can answer specific questions about your situation better than anyone here. I used to spend HOURS trying to get through to them until I found Claimyr.com. It keeps your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Saved me so much time when I had questions about my daughter's unusual financial situation last semester.

One important thing to understand is the difference between reportable assets on the FAFSA. After your property sale, how you handle those funds matters: 1) Money in qualified retirement accounts (401k, IRA, etc.) is NOT reported on the FAFSA 2) Money in regular investment accounts IS reported 3) Home equity in your primary residence is NOT reported 4) Cash in checking/savings IS reported If the proceeds are genuinely going into retirement accounts (not just investment accounts), they won't impact your FAFSA calculations as assets. However, if selling the property creates significant capital gains that appear on your tax return, that WILL impact your AGI, which affects the FAFSA calculation. Since your grandson has the state adoption benefit for tuition, I recommend you also explore outside scholarships specifically for adopted students to help with room and board expenses. Many are available but not widely advertised.

i think your missing something important here - if you've legally adopted your grandson then YOU are his parents now, not his grandparents! the FAFSA doesn't care about biological relationship, only LEGAL relationship. so he's your SON for FAFSA purposes!!! this might change how things work so make sure your filling it out correctly!!

Since your income is already $160k, and the property sale would be on top of that, you might want to focus on schools that meet 100% of demonstrated need or those with good merit scholarships that aren't need-based. The property sale might push you further into the 'no need' category for federal aid, but plenty of schools offer scholarships based on academics rather than financial need.

As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to share that I'm in a similar situation with property sales and FAFSA concerns. Reading through these responses has been incredibly helpful! I had no idea about the prior-prior year rule or how retirement account contributions are treated differently. The clarification about legal vs. biological relationships for adoption is also crucial information I hadn't considered. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it's reassuring to know there are knowledgeable people here willing to help navigate these complex financial aid questions. I'll definitely be applying regardless of income level based on what I've learned here about the new FAFSA calculations potentially being more favorable.