<p>Am I misunderstanding? I read this as reducing the income that gets an AUTOMATIC 0 EFC, but that many families would still qualify for a 0, or very close to 0 EFC based on the full calculation. I think that there are some issues with the Automatic 0 EFC, and with the much simplified FAFSA in use now, not a lot of reason to assume that financial circumstances and assets look close to the same for all families earning around $30K.</p>