The FAFSA Simplification Act  (https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/fafsa-simplification-act) was passed by Congress in 2020 and represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid. This includes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, the needs analysis that determines eligibility for federal aid, changes in terminology, and many policies and procedures for schools participating in federal student aid programs.

Availability of the FAFSA 2024-2025

The FAFSA has been available beginning October 1 of each year. However, due to significant changes in the application and the rebuilding of the FAFSA processing system, the FAFSA 2024-25 will not be available until December 2023. The exact date will be posted as we learn it.

Important:

Both students and parents must create a Student Aid Account to obtain an FSA ID before completing the form.

If the student's parents are married to each other and file their taxes as “married filing jointly,” then only one parent needs an FSA ID. If the parents file their taxes as “married filing separately,” both will need an FSA ID.

The Social Security Administration will now require verification of FSA IDs before tax information can be accessed, so applicants must wait at least three days for this process to be completed.

What is changing with the FAFSA?

There are a number of benefits of the FAFSA simplification law, including a streamlined application process and improved user experience, increased eligibility for federal student aid, and reduced barriers for certain student populations (e.g., homeless and unaccompanied youth, incarcerated). students, English language learners, and low-income students).

Fundamental changes include, among others:

  • The FAFSA will be shorter and easier to use.
  • The FAFSA will reduce the maximum number of questions from 108 to 46. Because the FAFSA on the Web is dynamic, some students will not even be presented with all 46 questions.
  • This format will simplify the application process and make it more streamlined for students and their families.

Language availability on the FAFSA

Currently, the FAFSA is only available in English and Spanish. The application for 2024-25 will be expanded to include the 11 most common languages spoken by English language learners and their parents.

Applicants must use the IRS Direct Data Exchange (as applicable).

Previously, users had the option of entering their tax information manually or using the IRS data retrieval tool. Beginning in 2024-25, all individuals on the FAFSA must consent for the Department of Education to receive tax information or confirmation of non-filing status directly from the IRS. In a very small number of cases, students and families will have to enter their tax data manually, but in most cases, that data will be automatically transferred to the application. This change makes it easier to complete the FAFSA and reduces the number of questions to answer.

For Puerto Rico, data related to payroll income must be entered manually.  Untaxed earned income must be entered manually.

All “taxpayers” must provide financial information.

A contributor, a new term introduced in FAFSA 2024-25, refers to anyone who must provide information on a student's form (such as a parent, stepparent, or spouse). A student's or parent's responses on the FAFSA will determine which contributors (if any) must provide information.

Taxpayers will receive an email informing them that they have been identified and must log in with their own FSA ID (if they do not already have an FSA ID, they can log in at  Create account | Federal Student Aid.

Student Aid Index (SAI) replaces the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

One notable term update within the new FAFSA is the replacement of the term Expected Family Contribution (EFC) with Student Aid Index (SAI). This name more accurately describes the number used to determine aid eligibility and, unlike the EFC, the SAI can be a negative number up to -1500.

The number at the university will not be used to calculate the SAI.

The FAFSA used to calculate the number of household members attending college in the EFC, dividing it proportionally to determine eligibility for federal aid. Beginning with the FAFSA 2024-25, the application will continue to ask how many household members are in college, but your answer will not be calculated in the SAI.

Students who will automatically receive a Pell Grant.

Families earning less than 175% and single parents earning less than 225% of the federal poverty level. (https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/federal-poverty-level-fpl)  will see that their students will receive a maximum of Pell.

Which parent is required to file the FAFSA in cases of divorce or separation has changed.

For dependent students, financial information was previously required from the parents with whom the student had lived the longest, for the last 12 months. With the new FAFSA, financial information will be required for the parents who provided the most financial support to the student for the past 12 months.

Family farm businesses and small businesses must be reported as active.

Where required, families must now report the value of their small business or family farm. If the family farm includes the principal place of residence, applicants should determine the total net value of all farm assets and subtract the net value of their principal residence to determine the final value of their farm assets.

What is not changing?

While the FAFSA is receiving an update and the aid eligibility calculation has been revised, there are a number of aid-related areas that will not change.

The FAFSA will continue to be required for federal and state financial aid consideration each year.

Questions about dependency status (Dependency Status | Federal Student Aid) that determine whether your parents must complete the FAFSA will remain the same.

FAFSA will continue to request prior year tax information, which means you will report 2022 income and assets on your 2024-25 application. Families with significant reductions in income may consider filing an appeal.  For guidance regarding the appeal you can visit your campus or local Financial Assistance office.

Questions about an applicant's gender, race and ethnicity will have no effect on eligibility for federal student aid and are included for statistical and data collection purposes only.