How to correct wrong child support amount on FAFSA without affecting SAI score?

You need to submit a correction ASAP. Login to studentaid.gov, go to the FAFSA form section, and click on 'Make FAFSA Corrections.' You can update the child support amount there. It will affect the SAI, but accurately reporting lower income usually HELPS the SAI (lower is better for aid purposes).

I did the exact same thing last yr!!! Put $400 instead of $250 for child supprot. The correction took like 3-4 days to process but my daughters SAI went DOWN after fixing it which is good!!!

To clarify what others have said: child support is considered untaxed income on the FAFSA. When you reduce the reported child support amount from $840 to $640 per month, you're reducing untaxed income by $2,400 annually. This will likely IMPROVE your niece's SAI score (lower = better). Corrections typically process within 3-5 business days. Be sure to save the confirmation page after submitting the correction.

my brother told me child support doesnt even count on fafsa anymore with the new FAFSA simplification? is that wrong??

I deal with FAFSA corrections frequently in my work. Here's the process: 1. Log into studentaid.gov with the FSA ID used to sign the FAFSA 2. Select "FAFSA Form" then "Make FAFSA Corrections" 3. Navigate to the income section and update the child support amount 4. Re-sign with the FSA ID(s) and submit The correction should process within 3-7 days. If you're approaching a school deadline, I recommend also emailing the financial aid office at each school on the FAFSA to notify them of the correction. This can prevent delays in packaging aid.

Has anyone been able to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid by phone to ask about corrections? I've been trying to call about a similar issue for days and can't get through!!

UPDATE: The original FAFSA is now processed and I was able to submit the correction to the child support amount! The confirmation page says it should be processed within 3-5 days. Thank you everyone for your help and reassurance that this will likely improve her SAI score rather than hurt it. I'm still a bit nervous but feeling much better about the situation.

Another thing - make sure she checks her email regularly after making the correction!!! My daughter almost missed an important verification request that came after we fixed our child support amount. They sometimes do random verifications after corrections.

Final tip: After the correction processes, download and save a copy of the corrected SAR (Student Aid Report). This documents that the correction was properly submitted and processed, which can be invaluable if questions arise later. You can find this on the studentaid.gov dashboard after logging in.

As a newcomer here, I'm dealing with a similar situation and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I just wanted to add that if anyone is still struggling with the correction process, you can also contact your school's financial aid office directly. They often have direct lines to help with FAFSA issues and can sometimes expedite processing if you're approaching deadlines. My daughter's school was able to make a provisional aid offer based on the corrected information while we waited for the official correction to process. Don't hesitate to reach out to them - they're usually very understanding about honest mistakes like this!