Married parents filing taxes separately - do both need to fill out FAFSA 2025-2026?

For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, if your parents are married but filed taxes separately, you MUST include BOTH parents' information. This is one of the most common mistakes people make. The simplified FAFSA still requires all legal parents living in the household to contribute information, regardless of their tax filing status. If you only include one parent, your application will almost certainly be selected for verification, and your SAI calculation will be incorrect.

i had this exact issue last yr lol. ended up having to get both parents to do it. mom was fine but dad took FOREVER and almost made me miss deadlines for some schools. super annoying

This is a question I answer multiple times every FAFSA season. Yes, BOTH parents must provide information and electronically sign the FAFSA if they are married, regardless of tax filing status. Each parent needs their own FSA ID for the electronic signature. Here's what you need to do: 1. Both parents need to create FSA IDs at studentaid.gov 2. You'll need income information from BOTH 2023 tax returns (Form 1040) 3. Both parents must electronically sign the application If only one parent completes their portion, your application will be considered incomplete, and you won't receive an official SAI calculation until it's resolved.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO BE DIFFICULT!! I went through this last year and wasted WEEKS because they kept rejecting my FAFSA saying I needed both parents even though my dad doesn't even contribute to my education AT ALL!!! Why should his income count against me??? And then when we finally got both parents to complete it, they STILL put us in verification and delayed my aid until after the semester started. The system is BROKEN!!!

I ran into this exact problem when helping my daughter with her FAFSA application last fall. Both parents absolutely need to be included if they're married, regardless of tax filing status. We learned it can actually work against you financially if you only include one parent, as the system will flag the application as incomplete and potentially delay your aid package. I found that setting aside a specific time (Sunday evening worked for us) when both parents could sit together with all tax documents made it go much more smoothly. The good news is that with the new simplified FAFSA, the process is actually quicker than before once you have both parents on board.

Has anyone else been trying to call the Federal Student Aid helpline about this kind of thing? I was stuck on hold for over 2 hours yesterday and then got disconnected. Tried again today and couldn't even get through. Is there a better way to reach them?

Getting back to your original question - we found out that if you don't include both parents when they're married (even filing separately), it can cause several problems: 1. Your SAI calculation will likely be higher (hurting your aid eligibility) 2. Your application will likely be selected for verification 3. Your college's financial aid office may put a hold on your aid package 4. You might miss priority deadlines while resolving the issues It's frustrating but definitely worth doing correctly the first time. Make sure both parents create their FSA IDs well before you plan to submit the application, as the verification process can sometimes take 1-3 days.

when my cousin did this they told him just use the parent who claims u on taxes but idk if thats right

Update: We finally got both parents to create FSA IDs (took forever because dad's email verification was delayed) and completed the FAFSA! Both parents definitely had to provide information and sign. Thanks everyone for your help - would have done it completely wrong without your advice.

Congratulations on getting it all sorted out! This thread is going to be so helpful for other students dealing with the same confusion. I went through something similar last year and it's such a relief once you finally get both parents through the process. The email verification delays are the worst - my mom's took 3 days! For anyone else reading this who might be in the same situation, I'd definitely recommend starting the FSA ID setup process at least a week before you plan to actually fill out the FAFSA. And don't forget to save your login info somewhere safe - you'll need those FSA IDs again if you get selected for verification or need to make corrections later.