What bank statements does FAFSA require for joint accounts when twins applying?

For FAFSA 2025-2026, you technically don't submit bank statements directly to FAFSA. The FAFSA asks for the total balance of cash/savings/checking accounts as of the date you complete the application. However, if your students are selected for verification later, you might need to provide documentation. For verification purposes, you would need to report ALL accounts owned by both parents, even if one has a zero balance. The verification looks at a snapshot of your financial situation, and they want to see everything. So yes, include your husband's empty account in your reporting, but you'll only need to submit statements if specifically requested during verification.

when we did my sons fafsa last yr they did ask for verification and we had to show statements for ALL accounts even my husbands business acct that barely had anything in it. super annoying but they want to see everything!

To clarify some information here: 1. The FAFSA itself only asks for the total value of all cash/savings/checking accounts as of the day you complete the application - you don't upload statements initially. 2. If selected for verification (about 30% of applicants are), you'll need to provide documentation of all accounts that were included in that total - including zero balance accounts. 3. For verification, they typically want statements showing the balance on the specific date you submitted the FAFSA, not historical statements. 4. Since you have twins applying simultaneously, it's more likely one or both will be selected for verification (the system often flags multiple students from the same household). 5. Make sure to count all accounts where either parent is an owner, regardless of who actually uses it. Best practice: Create a spreadsheet listing all accounts with their balances now, so when you're filling out the FAFSA, you have accurate information ready.

good luck with twins in college at the same time! we've got ours a year apart and the FAFSA was already complicated. make sure you tell them they're twins on the application somewhere since sometimes that can factor into aid calculations.

To address your follow-up question - there's no specific place on the FAFSA to indicate twins. However, it's automatically factored in through the household size and number of college students questions. When you list your household size as 4 and indicate 2 in college, the system recognizes the impact of multiple simultaneous college students. Regarding verification documentation: If selected, you'll typically need the following: 1. Account statements showing balances on the date of FAFSA submission 2. You might need a bank letter for accounts that don't generate regular statements 3. For the unused account, a simple statement showing the zero/low balance is sufficient The most important thing is being consistent - the account balances you report on FAFSA should match what your statements show. Discrepancies trigger additional verification steps.

i tried calling the fafsa people like 10 times about verification stuff and always got disconnected or waited hours just to get someone who didn't know anything. waste of time!!!

Thank you all for the help! I think I understand better now. I'll make a list of ALL our accounts (including my husband's empty one) when filling out the FAFSA and have statements ready just in case we get selected for verification. And I'll try adding a note about them being twins since that might help with the institutional aid. Does anyone know how long verification usually takes if we get selected? I'm worried about missing deadlines.

something else nobody mentioned if your twins are going to different schools make sure you put both schools on BOTH of their fafsas! my friend didnt do this and it messed up her kids sai scores!!

That's actually not correct information. Each student should only list the schools they're applying to on their own FAFSA. The FAFSA calculates the Student Aid Index (SAI) based on family information, not which schools are listed. The schools listed simply determine who receives the FAFSA data. However, what IS important is that you complete both FAFSAs consistently with the exact same parent information. Any discrepancies between the two applications could trigger verification. Many parents find it easiest to complete both applications in the same sitting to ensure consistency. For twins applying to college simultaneously, also look into: 1. Twin-specific scholarships (yes, they exist!) 2. Sibling discounts at private universities 3. CSS Profile if applying to private schools (this form does consider multiple children more favorably than FAFSA) Most importantly, contact the financial aid offices directly at your top choice schools and inform them of your twin situation. Some schools have discretionary funds they can use in these cases.