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CASFAA Financial Aid Administrators

2025-2026 FAFSA Updates

Welcome!

Presented by:

[no clicks]

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first portion of today’s workshop where we’ll discuss the most recent version 2025-2026 FAFSA. This presentation has been created by members of CASFAA and CCCSFAAA, with a lot of input from our friends at CSAC.

FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is used to apply for need-based financial aid from the federal government, state governments and most colleges and universities. We’re going to cover a lot of ground today as we talk about the FAFSA form, process, and what’s new for the 2025-2026 application cycle for your students, whether they are high school seniors, students exiting adult education programs and are ready to attend college, or other soon-to-be college students. If you have questions, we’ll have time at the end of the presentation to answer them. (If this is a virtual presentation (online),) we have financial aid experts monitoring the Q&A portion of today’s Zoom meeting to answer questions along the way. [FOR VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS] Please enter your questions in the Q&A and not the chat!

Let’s get started.

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What Will You Learn at this Workshop?

Creating a StudentAid.gov Account

Completing the 2025-26 FAFSA

How to Appeal for More Financial Aid

Resources and Helpful Tips

Slide 2

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Creating a �StudentAid.gov Account

1

Slide 3

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Also Called the FSA ID

Creating a StudentAid.gov Account

01

StudentAid.gov accounts are used to start, complete and sign a FAFSA

02

Dependent students need their contributor(s) to create their own StudentAid.gov account

Each person must use their own email

03

Even contributors who do not have a Social Security Number must obtain an FSA ID

04

Tip: Use a personal, frequently checked email

Avoid temporary email addresses, such as school-assigned email addresses

Create StudentAid.gov account: studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch

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01 - The StudentAid.gov ID, also known as the FSA ID, is a digital signature. Dependent students and at least one custodial parent will each need an FSA ID and should create their own. They should also save them somewhere where they can find them. Students regularly forget their password and get locked out when they try to access the FAFSA site.

[click 1] 02 - There is a new term for anyone who is asked to provide information on the FAFSA- a contributor. This includes the student, the student’s spouse if they don’t file a joint tax return, a biological or adoptive parent, or the parent’s spouse (stepparent).

Most students coming out of high school will be considered dependents for financial aid. For a dependent student, at least one parent will need a StudentAid.gov account. If parents of a dependent student are married or live together, but they do not file a joint return, both parents are contributors. Contributors do not need to have a Social Security Number or live in the United States.

Remember, once someone has a StudentAid.gov account, it’s theirs for life. If a parent already has an account from when they were in college, or from providing parental information for an older sibling of the student, they can use the same account. They do not need to register for a new account. Creating an account takes about 10 minutes and can be done online at StudentAid.gov.

[click 2] 03 – Starting with the 2024-2025 financial aid cycle, even contributors without a Social Security Number need to obtain a StudentAid.gov ID. We’ll cover this later in the presentation in detail.

[click 3] 04 - We strongly recommend everyone use a personal email address for their account. When a contributor uses a work or school email address, they may not always have access to that email account, and that makes it harder to recover their password or access the emails sent to them about their financial aid.

Students and parents should each create a StudentAid.gov ID (FSA ID) at studentaid.gov/fsaid.

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Which of a Dependent Student’s Parents Needs an FSA ID?

If that parent remarried�+ DIDN’T file taxes together = both the parent and step-parent need accounts

The parent who provided more financial support �in the last 12 months �needs an account

If parents are �divorced/separated �+ NOT living together

Both parents�need accounts

If parents are �unmarried�+ living together

OR

+ DIDN’T file �taxes together = both parents �need accounts

+ File taxes together �=�only one parent �needs an account

If parents are

married

OR

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If both parents are married and file separate federal income tax returns, they each need separate StudentAid.gov accounts. This includes those who file as Head of Household or Married Filing Separately for their federal income tax returns.

[click 1]

If the parents are not married but they live together, they are treated as though they are married and both parents need StudentAid.gov accounts.

[click 2]

If the parents are not living together, as they are divorced or separated, the parent who provided more than half of the student’s financial support in the last 12 months, prior to filing the FAFSA, needs an FSA ID (StudentAid.gov account). If the parent remarried, the step-parent is a contributor whether they filed a joint tax return or separate returns. Prenuptial agreements are not recognized by Federal Student Aid.

If one parent has a Social Security Number (SSN) and one does not, but they file a federal income tax return as Married Filing Jointly, only one parent is required to obtain a StudentAid.gov account. It’s best to have the parent who has an SSN create an account for themselves.

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Majority of FSA ID creation process is similar to those with SSNs
Identity validation is used for

Students from Freely Associated States
Parents or spouses without SSNs

Users without SSNs may be presented with knowledge-based identity validation questions
The FSA ID is available to use immediately
The contributor will manually enter their 2023 federal tax return information into the FAFSA

FSA ID: Parent(s) without SSNs

Slide 6

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Parents who do not have an SSN but who complete the FAFSA are required to create a FSA ID. They will be guided through several knowledge-based identity validation questions. These questions are specific to the person. They’ll see one or more multiple-choice questions generated by TransUnion to validate their identity. Regardless if their identity is validated or not, they can use their FSA ID to sign the FAFSA.

If their identity can’t be validated, there may be a manual process in the future. Although we were initially informed the manual process would be “on hold” for 2025-2026, Federal Student Aid is developing on on-line Attestation form for such a process. No release date is known at this time.

Parents will be able to use their Studentaid.gov account to sign the FAFSA. They will manually enter their federal tax information, assets and family size.

If the contributors do not answer the knowledge-based questions correctly they can use the FSA ID to file the FAFSA, but the identity validation process may still need to be completed before financial aid is disbursed.

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Digital Attestation & Validation of Identity

As of September 29, 2024, there is a new online process for completing the attestation form during the account creation process. The contributor should check the confirm and certify box.

Knowledge Center Update on December 6: “As we continue this work to improve our process, we are pausing the acceptance of new identity documents to the email inbox for manual identity review and validation. The email address IDVerification@ed.gov will be disabled.”

https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2024-12-06/update-regarding-studentaidgov-account-creation-individuals-without-social-security-number

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For the 2025-26 FAFSA, the most significant change in the attestation process is that all contributors, including those without a Social Security Number (SSN), can now access and complete the online FAFSA form directly without needing to separately submit an attestation form; the identity verification process is currently being waived for this cycle, meaning you can create an FSA ID and submit the FAFSA without additional documentation. The IDverification email has been disabled.

If the contributor indicates they do not have a Social Security number, they may be presented with a short series of questions, with multiple choice answers, from the credit union Transunion. IF they get these questions and answer them all correctly, they have met the verification requirements and can proceed to do their portion of the FAFSA. If they do not get the Transunion questions or get them and answer one or more incorrectly, they can submit the electronic form, pictured here, which will allow them to immediately access and complete their portion of the FAFSA.

Finally, The U.S. Department of Education continues to work on providing a longer-term solution for accepting and reviewing identity documents through a secure system that does not fully rely on a manual review by Department representatives – currently planned to begin implementation in the 2026-27 FAFSA cycle.

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When Parents Without SSNs Live in Another Country

StudentAid.gov account creation errors
Difficult or impossible to call FSAIC to get a case number
Acceptable ID may not look the same from another country

Known Problems

Assistance available via FSA Live Chat on StudentAid.gov
In account creation:

Use a ‘period’ or ‘zero’ or ‘space’ for street address or leave it blank and edit later
Skip the phone number

Some Workarounds

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There are also barriers for non-SSN contributors who live in another country. Some problems we are aware of include: errors while creating a StudentAid.gov account when entering an address or phone number from another country. Also, we are aware that the forms of acceptable ID requested by the U.S. Department of Education are not always available to people who live in another country.

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There are some workarounds we’ve discovered. These are not perfect solutions, and we know that everyone is looking for solutions. For parents in other countries, the FSA Live Chat feature could be more helpful, since calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center, or FSAIC, is sometimes very slow, difficult or impossible. Also, during the account creation process, we recommend parents from other countries leave the address fields blank, or use a 0 (zero) for the address fields if that doesn’t work. They can (and should) go back and edit the account later to add the correct address before starting the FAFSA. These parents should also skip the phone number section during FSA ID account creation.

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FAFSA Issue Alerts

https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/fafsa-simplification-information/fafsa-issue-alerts

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Completing the

2025-26 FAFSA

2

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Direct Unsubsidized Loan Only Question

Changed the wording of the Direct Unsubsidized Loan Only question
Defaulted to answer as No
Added a pop-up warning if student selects yes

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Parent Information on the FAFSA Form

If the student is a dependent student, they’ll need to report parental information on their FAFSA. Students should visit the Federal Student Aid Page with the Parental Information section and use the Parent Wizard Tool to see who needs to be a contributor for their FAFSA.

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If the student is considered a dependent student for FAFSA purposes, they’ll need to provide information about their legal parent or parents on the application. It can be confusing for families to know which parent, or if both parents, are required to be a contributor and provide information on the FAFSA. To help make this easier to understand, students should visit the Reporting Parent Information page to help determine who counts as their parent, what students should do if they don’t live with their parent(s) and what to do if they don’t have access to their parent’s financial information. The information found in the Parent Wizard will walk student through a step-by-step process making it easier to determine if one parent or both parents need to be contributors and provide financial information. Remember that parental information is not required if the student is an independent student.

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Parent information is required for dependent students even if the:

What if Parents Won’t Complete the FAFSA?

Student

Is financially self-sufficient
Isn’t claimed on the parents’ �federal income tax returns
Does not live with the parents

Parents

Refuse to complete FAFSA
Live in another country
Are foreign citizens
Are undocumented

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If parent information is not provided, the most financial aid that the student can get is unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans unless the college financial aid administrator performs a dependency override
Dependency overrides are rare and generally involve an involuntary dissolution of the family relationship, such as:

Both parents incarcerated or institutionalized
An abusive home environment
Abandonment
Parent whereabouts unknown
Death of the custodial parent

What if Parents Won’t Complete the FAFSA? [cont’d]

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Which Year’s Information is Reported?

Reported as of the date the FAFSA is filed

Based on the second previous tax year �(the prior-prior year)

Example: The 2025-26 FAFSA is based on income and tax information�from 2023

Do not substitute 2024 income and tax information for 2023 income and tax information
If the family income has changed, file an appeal with the college financial�aid office

Assets

Income

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The net worth of assets is reported as of the date the FAFSA is filed.

[click] Income reported on the FAFSA is based on the second previous tax year, otherwise known as the prior-prior year. For example, the 2025-2026 FAFSA is based on income from 2023.

�Most people will have filed their 2023 federal income tax returns by October 1, 2024, the start date for the 2025-2026 FAFSA. If the student or parent federal income tax returns have not been filed as of the date of FAFSA submission (e.g., members of the U.S. Armed Forces on active duty in a combat zone), it is OK to use estimated 2023 income information. Remember, families should not substitute 2024 income and tax information, even if it is available and even if it is lower than 2023 amounts.

�If the family’s income has decreased in 2024 or 2025, the student should contact the college financial aid office to ask how to file a financial aid appeal, which we will discuss in more detail toward the end of this presentation.

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New IRS Import Screen

Added screen to indicate tax information is being imported into FAFSA

Confirmation screen indicates status of importing tax information

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This page imports the parent’s federal tax information by directly transferring it into the FAFSA form from the IRS to help complete the “Parent Financials" section. The confirmation screen indicates if tax information was successfully imported or if Data Not Received if contributor is a non-filer or FSA was unable to transfer information.

If tax information cannot be imported to the FAFSA because the contributor does not pay taxes or has not paid taxes for the corresponding tax year, they can provide alternative documentation If they currently receive taxable income by providing their income alternative documentation such as pay stubs.

If the contributor does not have any income or they only receive untaxed income, or their income is under the IRS filing threshold they should indicate this fact on the online application

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Family Size

2025-26 FAFSA

Family size is based on federal tax information transferred directly from the IRS:

Student
Student’s parents or student’s spouse (if any)
Dependents from applicable federal income tax return

Applicants may update family size if it changed after filing the tax return

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Family Size, previously referred to as Household Size, is determined using federal income tax return data.

There is a filtering question asking if the current family size is the same as what is on the tax return. [click] If it is different, the applicant and/or contributors will be encouraged to update it while completing the FAFSA.

So, for the 2025-2026 aid year, the family size for Dependent Students will include:

The student
The student’s parent(s), even if the student is not living with them
The student’s siblings who live with student’s parents or live elsewhere to attend college, and receive and will continue to receive more than half their support from student’s parents during the 2025-2026 academic year, and
Other persons if they now live with the student’s parents AND receive and will continue to receive more than half their support from student’s parents during 2025-2026 academic year.

For Independent Students, they should include:

The student
The student’s spouse, if applicable,
The student’s dependent children if they now live with student AND receive and will continue to receive more than half their support from student during academic year, AND
Other persons who live with student AND receive and will continue to receive more than half their support from student during academic year

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After the student completes the online FAFSA®, a FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) is sent to the student

An electronic FSS is sent if a student email address is provided
A paper summary is mailed if no student email address is provided

An electronic copy of the data is sent to each college or university listed on the FAFSA
Student should keep a copy of the FSS with other financial aid documents

FAFSA Submission Summary (formerly called Student Aid Report)

2025-26 FAFSA – What Happens Next?

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We recommend students keep a copy of the Confirmation page, since it documents the date the FAFSA was submitted. Also, keep a copy of all documents used to complete the FAFSA.

The student will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, or FSS, within a few days or a few weeks after submission of the FAFSA. It will be sent electronically if the student provides an e-mail address on the FAFSA.

If the student does not provide a valid e-mail address, a paper FSS will be mailed to the student at the address entered on their FAFSA.

If the student does not receive the FSS within two weeks, they should contact the FAFSA processor to check on the status. Call 1-800-4-FED AID (that’s 1-800-433-3243) or check on the status of their FAFSA by going to StudentAid.gov using the student’s FSA ID.

The student can make corrections on the electronic or paper FSS as well as add additional colleges they want their information sent to.

[click 1] Each college or university the student lists on the FAFSA will receive an Institutional Student Information Report or “ISIR.” This is an electronic record of all the information the student and contributors reported on the FAFSA, except for the full list of colleges.

[click 2] Students should make sure to keep a copy of the FSS with the rest of their financial aid documents. Private scholarship agencies may require a copy of the FSS as part of their application materials.

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Was the FAFSA successfully submitted?

Draft: Your section of the FAFSA form is incomplete.

In Progress: You provided your consent, approval, and signature to your section of the FAFSA form, but the FAFSA form has not been submitted yet.

In Review: Your FAFSA form was submitted but hasn’t been processed yet.

Action Required: You are missing your consent and approval or signature or the FAFSA form was processed, but a correction is required.

Processed: Your application was processed successfully. No further action is needed.

Closed: Your FAFSA form was never submitted and can no longer be submitted because the federal FAFSA deadline passed.

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Read definitions carefully!

DO NOT confuse student with parent or sibling information

DO NOT switch child support paid with child support received

DO NOT report value of qualified retirement plans or family home as assets

DO NOT report 529 college savings plans based on the beneficiary

DOUBLE-CHECK all basic demographic items: Name, Date of Birth, Social Security Number, E-mail address, Address, Zip code

Avoid Common Errors on the FSA ID and FAFSA

Slide 20

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A great way to avoid errors on the FSA ID or the FAFSA is for students and parents to make sure they are only filling out their sections. The FAFSA tries to make this clear, but we still see issues arise when parents enter information into student sections, and vice versa. Avoid switching the student’s Social Security Number with that of the parent or the student’s sibling. Parents should not create a StudentAid.gov ID for the student and vice versa.

Child support paid is different from child support received, so make sure parents understand which, if either, they need to report on the FAFSA.

Qualified retirement plans include 401(k), 403(b), IRA, Roth IRA, Roth 401(k), SEP, SIMPLE, Keogh and pension plans - These are not reported as assets or investments on the FAFSA.

Only contributions and distributions that show up on federal tax returns will be reported (automatically) on the 2025-2026 FAFSA. So, Roth distributions, including a tax-free return of contributions, will be reported but some other contributions will not be reported.

529 plans owned by the student or a dependent student’s parent are reported as a parent asset on the FAFSA. Grandparent-owned 529 plans are not reported as an asset on the FAFSA. 529 plans owned by parents for other children in the household should not be reported as assets for the student applying to college – only the 529 plan that is specifically for that given student.

Students should use their legal name as it appears on their Social Security card and birth certificate or U.S. Naturalization Certificate. They should not use an Americanized name or shorten their name to fit in the spaces.

Students and all Contributors should ensure their contact information, including their email addresses and mailing addresses, are accurate. Data matches with the IRS could be affected if the address is incorrect. Little mistakes can mean missed emails and communications from Federal Student Aid, CSAC, as well as colleges and universities.

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How to Appeal �for More Financial Aid

3

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Appeal for more financial aid if the family’s financial circumstances have changed (including mid-year) or differ from the typical family

Special circumstances include documented:

Changes to family income, assets, etc.
Recent unemployment
Dislocated worker
High unreimbursed medical/dental expenses
High dependent care expenses
Housing change due to homelessness
One-time events (e.g., a bonus) that do not reflect ability to pay

How to Appeal for More Financial Aid

Free tip sheet about how to appeal for more financial aid is available at�kantrowitz.com/books/appeal/

After submitting the FAFSA, discuss special circumstances with the college �financial aid office

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Special circumstances can occur when the student or contributor experiences significant changes to their financial situation. Examples might include, loss of employment or financial assets, reduction in income, tuition expenses at an elementary or secondary school, and unusual medical or dental expenses not covered by insurance (as well as other financial circumstances that differentiate the family from a typical family).

The term ‘dislocated worker’ is defined as:

lost a job or laid off or received a layoff notice
receiving unemployment payments due to being laid off and are unlikely to return to a previous occupation

The college financial aid office can use current income, and/or assets, with appropriate documentation, to determine the student’s eligibility for federal, state and college student aid. The college will request documenttion that supports their current circumstances. The more current financial information would provide a truer picture of the family's ability to pay for college.

[click] A free tip sheet about how to appeal for more financial aid is available at kantrowitz.com/books/appeal/. We encourage you to download a copy to better assist your students and their families.

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Resources and�Helpful Tips

4

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Complete the FAFSA before California’s priority deadline of March 3, 2025
Apply for financial aid regardless of income or assets
Include at least one college in California, even if the student plans to study out-of-state
Keep a copy of the final Confirmation page and all documents used to complete the FAFSA
Check CSAC’s WebGrants for Students once the FAFSA/CADAA is completed (mygrantinfo.csac.ca.gov)
Keep checking your email for important notices (Check junk and spam folders!)

Helpful Application Tips for completing the FAFSA

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Answers to common questions about the FAFSA process

studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out/help

Contact information for Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC)

1-800-433-3243

studentaid.gov/help-center/contact

Tips on the FSA ID

studentaidpolicy.com/FSA-ID-Tip-Sheet.pdf

FAFSA Preview Presentation and PDF

Financial Aid Toolkit

Federal Student Aid Assistance

Contact

Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC)

Live Chat

1-800-433-3243

Email

Slide 25

[no clicks]

This slide provides additional information and resources for students and parents completing the FAFSA. They can get helpful information on the studentaid.gov website, they can call, email or do a live chat. But be aware that the call center hours have been reduced due to Federal budget woes.

The U.S. Department of Education now has FAFSA interpreters for Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), Tagalog, Vietnamese, French, Korean, German, Arabic, Russian and French Creole. So, that's the 11 languages ED promised. Support for Spanish is built into the form.

The FSAIC call center will add special FAFSA-only evening and weekend hours from November 22, 2024 to May 2, 2025.

The hours, including the extra hours on weekdays and weekends, will be:

M 8-10

TW 8-10

RF 8-10

Saturday 9-2

Sunday Closed

Normal hours are:

M 8-9

TW 8-8

RF 8-6

Saturday Closed

Sunday Closed

�

Tips on the FSA ID can be found at studentaidpolicy.com/FSA-ID-Tip-Sheet.pdf

Check CSAC’s website for additional resources to assist your families in completing their FAFSAs.

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National College Attainment Network (NCAN)

Financial Aid Resources for Students and Counselors

Uaspire.org

Financial Aid Resources for Counselors and College Financial Aid Administrators

California Cash for College
How to evaluate award offers plus more! https://www.csac.ca.gov/post/resources

Additional Resources

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Host a Cash for College event at your school in your district
Invite students and parents to financial aid workshops
Hold workshops for specific audiences, such as first-generation students
Ask your local college or university financial aid folks for assistance
Keep connected with CSAC, FSA, and other good resources on financial aid
Sign up and disseminate �information and public service�announcements from FSA �social media
Write articles and emails

How Counselors Can Help

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Q & A

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Thanks for joining us!