How to report child's disability payments on FAFSA when they end during college?

Yes, you'll need to report those disability payments on the FAFSA. Since the payments will continue for part of the 2025-2026 academic year, they count as part of your daughter's untaxed income. The FAFSA asks for untaxed income from the prior-prior year (so 2023 for the 2025-2026 FAFSA), but there's a section where you can note special circumstances. As for who should be the contributing parent - since you're the custodial parent providing more support, YOU should be the parent on the FAFSA. The payments she receives are tied to her father's disability status, but that doesn't make him the contributing parent for FAFSA purposes. The contributing parent is determined by who the student lived with most during the 12 months prior to filing the FAFSA. Since that's you, you're the one who should be listed.

went thru something similar w/ my younger brother last yr. the SSDI payments go on ur daughters section not urs. but heres the annoying part - even tho they end during the yr, FAFSA still counts the full annual amount from 2023 in the calculation. its stupid AF but thats how it works. when u submit the FAFSA youll need to contact each financial aid office seperately to explain the payments r ending. each school handles it diffrent.

I'm in the exact same situation with my son except his SSA benefits from his dad already ended last summer. When I called the Federal Student Aid number, they told me to report it under the student's untaxed income (Question 92q I think?) and then submit a special circumstances form to each college explaining when the benefits end. You'll need to get a letter from Social Security showing the end date. But I was on hold for nearly 2 HOURS trying to get this info!

This is actually a common question with a clear answer under the 2025-2026 FAFSA guidelines: 1. Disability payments received by your daughter should be reported in question 38 under student untaxed income (not parent section). 2. You are DEFINITELY the contributing parent since you're the custodial parent providing more support. The source of her disability payments is irrelevant to who counts as the parent for FAFSA. 3. You MUST report the full annual amount from the base tax year (2023), but you SHOULD also submit a special circumstances form to each college financial aid office explaining the payments will end during the academic year. 4. Most colleges have a specific process for adjusting the SAI (Student Aid Index) when income changes significantly from the reported year. One more thing - your income of $72,000 is what matters for determining the Parent Contribution portion of the SAI calculation. Your ex's income is completely irrelevant since he's not the custodial parent.

OMG did anyone else notice that the new FAFSA has completely changed how they handle this stuff???? My nephew had disability payments from his mom and when we filled out the FAFSA last month, there was this whole new section about "untaxed income from government programs" that wasn't there before. The whole system is completely different now and NOBODY at my son's high school guidance office even knew how to handle it right!!! This new FAFSA is a NIGHTMARE and the instructions are so confusing!!!

when my daughter was getting benefits from her dads disability we reported it under HER untaxed income on the fafsa. we called the college financial aid office and they told us to write a letter explaining when the benefits would stop. then they adjusted her aid package after they got the letter. just make sure you do this EARLY because once aid is distributed its harder to get more.

dont 4get that the new FAFSA also has that confusing SAI number instead of EFC. so when u look at the final number ur like "wtf does this even mean?" my cousins SAI was negative $1500 and we had no clue if that was good or bad lol. turns out negative is good! but nowhere does it actually explain that clearly.

One final tip that's really important in your situation: Make sure you understand the verification process. Since your situation involves disability benefits that will change, there's a higher chance your FAFSA might be selected for verification. If that happens, you'll need to provide documentation proving all the income you reported. For disability benefits, that documentation would be: 1. The SSA-1099 form (or benefit statement) showing the annual amount your daughter received 2. The official SSA notice showing when benefits will terminate About 30% of FAFSA applicants get selected for verification, and having unusual circumstances increases those odds. Keep all documentation organized and ready to submit if requested.