Filling out the FAFSA and CSS for the first time for my 2018 grad. I wasn’t sure whether I had to include my 2015 grad’s 529 money when I report all of my assets–as she’s only a college junior, she still has some left. When I called the CSS hotline they told me I had to report both kids’ 529 assets, but when I called the FAFSA hotline they told me I should only report the 529 assets of the current applicant. Help!
If you or your spouse is the 529 account owner for your older child’s 529, then you need to report it as a parent asset on the younger child’s FAFSA. If the older child is the account owner and you or your spouse are only acting as a custodian, then the account is not reported on the younger child’s FAFSA.
For CSS Profile, all parent-owned 529 accounts should be reported as a parent asset. If a child has a student-owned 529 account, it should not be reported on a sibling’s Profile. A student filing Profile who is a 529 account owner should report the account as a student asset, but a note should be made in the remarks section indicating the balance at the time of filing of this student-owned 529 account (some schools will count a student-owned 529 as a parent asset the same way that FAFSA does, but the school must be made aware of this situation).
Thank you!
529 are considered parental asset if you are the owner. It does not matter who is the beneficiary as it is transferable.
just clarifying, on fasfa, if i have multiple 529 accounts (one for each of my children), but we are listed as the owner, then we are detailing each 529 account balance when we fill out fasfa each year regardless of which child it is for.
If YOU the parent are the one of the 529 accounts…ALL must be listed on the forms.