Will FAFSA cross-check with IRS if my ex-husband filed as primary parent?

The FAFSA and tax filing status are two separate things. The parent who provides more than 50% of the student's financial support should be the one completing the FAFSA, regardless of who claims them on taxes. For divorced parents, it's usually the parent the student lived with more during the 12 months prior to filing the FAFSA. While the FAFSA does use IRS Data Retrieval Tool to import tax information, they're not checking who claimed the student as a dependent on taxes - they're just importing income data. As long as your ex-husband accurately reports his income and assets on the FAFSA, you claiming your daughter on taxes shouldn't cause issues with the financial aid process.

Actually, this is a common misconception. In my experience working with divorced families, there IS some cross-referencing between FAFSA and IRS data. The financial aid office at my daughter's college flagged her application for verification specifically because I (the non-custodial parent) claimed her on taxes while her mother completed the FAFSA. We had to provide additional documentation explaining our situation. It wasn't a major issue, but it did delay her aid package by almost a month. Just be prepared for possible verification requests.

The school can absolutely request verification and theyll ask for proof of who the student lived with. My exwife and I got into this whole mess last year with our sons FAFSA. Even though we have 50/50 custody the financial aid office wanted to know who he lived with MORE, even if it was just by a few days!! So annoying. They made us show custody agreement and everything. But at least they didnt care about who claimed him on taxes.

UGH this whole system is DESIGNED to be confusing for divorced parents!!! When I filed FAFSA for my son last year, we got flagged for verification because my ex claimed him on taxes but I did the FAFSA as the custodial parent. It took FOREVER to get resolved, and his first semester aid was delayed by weeks. They literally told me "parents need to coordinate better" - like excuse me?? The IRS and Dept of Education need to coordinate better! Not my job to fix their broken systems!

try calling the Federal Student Aid hotline to ask them directly. I spent 2 hrs on hold last month with a similar question and never got through lol

wait i'm confused...does the parent who claims the kid on taxes have to be the one who fills out fafsa? my parents are divorced and my dad does my fafsa but my mom claims me on taxes and nobody said anything about it being a problem???

Thank you everyone for the input. This has been really helpful. I think I'll gather documentation showing my daughter lived with her father more last year, just in case they request verification. I'm also going to make sure my ex knows to anticipate possible questions from the financial aid office. Better to be prepared than caught off guard!

Just wanted to add that if you do get selected for verification, don't panic! I went through this with my son two years ago (similar divorced parent situation). The school's financial aid office was actually really helpful once I explained our custody arrangement. They just needed to see our divorce decree and a simple signed statement about where he lived most of the time. The whole process took about 2 weeks once I submitted the documents. The key is responding quickly to any verification requests - delays happen when families don't provide the requested documentation promptly.

As someone who works in financial aid administration, I can confirm that while FAFSA and tax dependency are separate systems, mismatches can sometimes trigger verification requests. The good news is that this is completely manageable! The key documents you should have ready are: 1) Your divorce decree showing custody arrangements, 2) Documentation proving where your daughter lived more than 50% of the time (school enrollment records, medical records, etc.), and 3) A simple written explanation of your custody situation. Most schools understand that divorced families often have different arrangements for tax purposes vs. FAFSA purposes. The important thing is that your ex-husband accurately completes the FAFSA based on his financial information, and you both can document the living arrangement if asked. Don't stress too much about it - verification is routine and the financial aid office deals with these situations regularly.