Has anybody actually looked at whether this makes mathematical sense? I mean if your parents are close to retirement they might have a lower income soon which could qualify them for lower payments under ICR. If you refinance, you're stuck with the full payment no matter what. Just make sure you RUN THE NUMBERS before making this decision. I know ppl who regretted refinancing because they lost all flexibility when life circumstances changed!!

just fyi i forgot to mention in my first post - when i refinanced they gave me options for 5, 10, 15, or 20 year terms. the shorter terms had better interest rates but higher monthly payments. i went with 15 years to keep payments manageable but still not be paying it off until im 50 lol. shop around bc every lender has different term options!!

I want to add an important detail about the transition from community college to a 4-year institution that many miss. For transfer students, there's often special "transfer scholarships" that aren't automatically considered with the general financial aid process. Make sure your son specifically asks about: - Phi Theta Kappa transfer scholarships (if he's a member) - Academic merit scholarships specifically for transfer students - Departmental scholarships from his intended major - Community college partnership scholarships (many 4-year schools have special relationships with local CCs) These are completely separate from the FAFSA/federal aid process and require separate applications with different deadlines. I've seen transfer students miss out on thousands in scholarships simply because they focused solely on FAFSA and didn't realize these other options existed.

i just remembered someting else..... make sure u tell ur son to request his official transrcipt from the community college ASAP!!! my son almost missed a deadline because they take forever to process those requests especially during graduation time. the university wont finalize his aid package without the final transcript!!

One important clarification: This is actually not a FAFSA issue directly, but rather a tax filing sequence issue. The FAFSA uses tax information, but it doesn't create conflicts with the IRS filing system itself. For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, your daughter's dependency status for financial aid purposes is determined by specific FAFSA criteria (age, marital status, degree level, etc.), which are different from IRS tax dependency rules. The issue you're experiencing is purely on the tax side - the IRS system is flagging contradictory information between your return and your daughter's. The quickest solution is having your daughter file Form 1040-X checking the box that she can be claimed as a dependent. This won't require you to refile your FAFSA.

dont forget this stuff can affect ur daughters SAI score on FAFSA 2! make sure whatever u report to IRS matches wut u put on FAFSA or they might flag u for verification which is a WHOLE other headache!!!

This is definitely a display issue with the parent/contributor portal that the Department of Education is aware of. The SAI (Student Aid Index) calculations are being correctly applied for 2024-2025 even when the display shows 2023-2024 in some areas. I recommend these steps to ensure you're submitting for the correct year: 1. Check that your student initiated a 2024-2025 FAFSA application (they should confirm this on their end) 2. When you complete your contributor section, the thank you/confirmation page will usually display the correct year 3. Have your student check their SAI calculation once you've completed your section If you do find yourself in a situation where the wrong year was processed, you can submit a correction after the fact, but this will delay the SAI calculation and potentially impact priority deadlines.

Actualización: ¡Logré resolverlo! Después de todos sus consejos, decidí intentar una cosa más antes de llamar. Borré todas las cookies y caché de mi navegador, y luego accedí a la cuenta de mi hijo primero (no directamente a mi sección de contribuyente). Desde su cuenta, usé el enlace para invitar al padre contribuyente, me envié una nueva invitación a mí misma, y esta vez cuando accedí a través del nuevo enlace, ¡todo mostraba correctamente 2024-2025! Parece que había algún problema con mi sesión anterior o con cómo accedí inicialmente. Gracias a todos por su ayuda.

THE WHOLE FAFSA SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!!! My daughter's application got stuck in verification for FIVE MONTHS last year because her dad doesn't file taxes either (independent contractor). Meanwhile her friends whose parents make twice as much but have "normal jobs" with W-2s got their aid packages right away. It's like they PUNISH families that don't fit in their neat little boxes. And good luck getting ANY help from FSA - it's like they WANT us to fail!!!!

Update: My ex got the Verification of Non-filing Letter from the IRS! It only took about two weeks. He's also put together a signed statement about his cash income with as much detail as possible. My son's school financial aid office actually gave us a template to use for the income statement which was super helpful. Feeling much better about this whole process now. Thanks again everyone for your advice!