Reporting joint assets on FAFSA when parents file taxes separately - login confusion

same issue here! my parents have been freaking out about this. they ended up just splitting everything 50/50 but idk if thats right??

Did your parents already submit their contributor portions? I'm worried because my dad thinks they should each report 100% of the joint assets, but that seems like it would double-count everything.

Actualy FAFSA rules say joint assets need to be reported by BOTH parents at 100% of value. This prevents parents from hiding assets by moving them between accounts. The system is smart enough to recognize they're the same household and won't double-count!

That's completely wrong. If both report 100% of value, the system WILL double-count. The official guidance is to split 50/50 for truly joint assets. I just went through this with my ex-husband for our daughter's application.

Financial aid counselor here! With the new FAFSA, married parents who file taxes separately should indeed split joint assets 50/50 when each logs in to complete their contributor information. This includes bank accounts, investments, and real estate beyond your primary residence (like your vacation property).\n\nHowever, assets that are clearly owned by just one parent (like a retirement account in just one name) should only be reported by that parent. The system is designed to accommodate separate reporting while still calculating your SAI (Student Aid Index) based on your family's total financial picture.\n\nIf you're concerned about verification, just make sure both parents use the exact same valuation for the total assets before splitting them. For example, if the joint savings is $32,000, each should report $16,000.

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed to know. One follow-up question - what about our family home? My mom's name is on the deed but they both pay the mortgage. Would that follow the same 50/50 rule?

Your primary family home is NOT reported on the FAFSA regardless of whose name is on the deed! Only investment and vacation properties are reportable assets. So your parents don't need to worry about reporting your primary residence at all.\n\nAlso, make sure your parents know that while they'll report their investment values separately, both will retrieve their tax information directly from the IRS using the Data Retrieval Tool (if they're eligible). This helps ensure accuracy for the income portion.

wait so my parents shouldnt have reported our house?? 😳 they already submitted and included it! can they go back and fix that or are we screwed???

my parents got DIVORCED right before i started college and let me tell you, that was a whole other mess with FAFSA! had to get all kinds of extra documentation and the financial aid office gave us different answers every time we called. the system is so broken, specially for non-traditional family situations.

THIS! The entire system punishes anyone who doesn't fit their narrow definition of a

I went through the exact same situation with my parents last month! Found out you can actually reach FSA agents pretty quickly using Claimyr.com - they keep your place in line and call you when an agent is ready. Saved me hours of frustration dealing with these joint asset questions. There's a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ\n\nThe agent I spoke with confirmed the 50/50 split advice and also helped my parents figure out how to handle some other weird situations (like my dad's business assets).

I'll check out that service - thanks! I've been trying to get through to the FSA helpline for days with no luck. Did they explain if there's a way your parents can leave notes explaining the asset split in case of verification?

Yes, the agent told us that if you're selected for verification, you'll have an opportunity to upload documentation explaining how assets were split. They suggested keeping a simple spreadsheet showing the total value of each asset and how it was divided between parents. But honestly, they said the 50/50 split for married-filing-separately parents is standard practice and rarely causes verification issues.

This is good advice. I always recommend students take screenshots of their assets calculations and save them with any relevant account statements showing the valuation date. Makes verification much smoother if it happens. Most schools understand the confusion around the new contributor system and are being flexible during this transition period.

Can someone please answer my question about reporting our house by mistake?? I'm freaking out that we messed up our whole application and my aid will be denied!! 😰

Don't panic! If your parents accidentally included your primary residence, you can submit a correction. Log into StudentAid.gov, go to your FAFSA form, select \

My ex husband and I had this EXACT problem last year. Here's what you should know - financial aid offices are NOT COMMUNICATING properly about these split reporting issues. Each parent needs to save PDF copies of their completed contributor info because many schools are incorrectly flagging these applications. We had to appeal twice because they kept saying we \

That's really concerning... Did the schools eventually fix it? Did you have to provide additional documentation beyond the PDFs?

Yes, it got fixed eventually but it took WEEKS of back and forth. We had to provide bank statements showing both names on the accounts, then a signed statement explaining how we divided everything. One school wanted copies of our divorce decree even though we explained multiple times we were still married, just filing separately! The whole system is designed for the simplest family situation and falls apart for anything complicated.

Thats why I always say students with complicated family situations should apply to more schools than they actually want to attend. Different financial aid offices have totally different approaches to handling these edge cases. Some are reasonable, others are impossible to work with.