I’ve read that the FAFSA for the 2017-18 school year can be submitted starting in Oct. 2016 and is based on the 2015 tax returns. Is this correct? Wouldn’t the FAFSA for the 2017-18 school year be based on the 2016 tax return?
What if one’s income is significantly different on the 2016 tax return vs. the 2015 return?
My son got significant financial aid for the 2016-17 school year based on my 2015 taxes. However, I anticipate my income to increase and want to get a realistic idea of how much aid he would get in 2017-18 if my income is higher. It does not seem to make sense to submit 2015 taxes for two years in a row. I’m new to the FAFSA and college financing world so maybe I am not understanding this correctly.
There are likely a number of reasons for the change to prior prior tax year for the FAFSA.
The old way, the FAFSA became available on January 1 for the school year beginning that fall. Tax return deadline is April 1, but parents were urged to complete them ASAP. For some folks this was easier than for others.
Under the new way, the FAFSA (and Profile) for the 2017-2018 school year wI’ll become available Octiber 1 2016. They will use the 2015 tax return data. Everyone (even those who have file extensions until October) should be able to have their 2015 tax returns completed before completing the 2017-2018 financial aid application forms.
Students applying ED were getting estimated awards because their taxes were not completed. Many ED schools use the Profile which has been available in October for a long while. But some don't. This way...even ED applicants will be able to get an actual award with their acceptance.
Having the applications available in October gives colleges a way to get financial aid awards to students earlier in the process than with the current dates.
I believe all schools want you to link to the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. If you read this forum, you will see that some students continue to not be able to do this because They filed taxes later, owed taxes and paid by check, and/or mailed in a paper return rather than filing electronically.
This will not be an issue using prior prior tax year. As noted, by October, folks will have their 2015 tax returns completed, and should easily be able to link to the IRS DRT for the FAFSA. The info from th tax return will populate right onto the FAFSA form, and should make completion of the FAFSA easier.
Your 2016 tax return information will be used for the 2018-2019 financial aid applications.
This next year will be the transition year…and some folks might get caught in the income change thing…but really after that…it will be the way it is!
@kelsmom what have I missed…and maybe…what is the real reason for the change
@Maple47, good news for you, if your son, based on 2015 income reported on the FAFSA, got a lot of aid, he should get similar aid this coming year as well. Because it’s also based on 2015 income.
Assets still get reported as of the day FAFSA is filed.
I think the goal was to have financial aid information available to students and parents closer to the time admissions decisions are coming in.
Sadly for our family doing FAFSA in October for Ed application class of 2021. Has given us less aid then we need. The income on that return has drastically reduced. So now we have to file an appeal. Being able to use our 2016 return would have been better for us. Anyone else have this issue with having to use 2015 return?
Your 2016 income will be used for the 2018-2019 school year.
When you did the net price calculator for the ED school, did you use 2015 income…or 2016?
You can ask the school to reconsider your aid…but honestly since the 2016 income WILL be used for the next school year, I’m wondering how many schools will actually revisit these awards.
In any event, you need to contact this early decision school and inquire. Schools have a process for reconsideration. Some schools will do it…and some simply will not. In addition, if they do choose to review your case, there is no guarantee you will get a change made as these are handled on a case by case basis.
How much MORE aid do you need? $3000 or $30,000.
What is your annual income? Do you substantial assets?
On your other post, you state that the NPC now says $55,000. If that is the case, your income would need to be in the $150,000 a year range…or you have some assets that are driving this UP.
You also only mention the FAFSA. Does this college require the CSS Profile also?
The bottom line is that FAFSA is for federal aid. The vast majority of students who will benefit from federal grants (Pell, SEOG) do not have large income fluctuations from year to year. The move to earlier filing and prior-prior year is based on research that shows the benefits to those who are most likely to receive federal grants far outweighs the problems some will experience as a result. There has to be some baseline for income, and PPY is best for those who will benefit most from federal need-based aid.
For any student considering colleges, it is a bonus to not have to scramble to get taxes filed early enough to meet deadlines that have to be early in order to be able to get packages to students in time for decisions to be made based on comparison of aid packages.
And yes, you will have the 2016 income used next year, so the decrease will be considered at that point. Some schools may do a professional judgment to factor in the decrease in income, but many will not … because, again, it will come into play next year. Not fair for some, perhaps, but there will always be some that get the short end of the stick with any rules.
Yes we had to do the CSS. The NPC I did in October said our EFC would be $8,000 for ED school This was with the 2015 Tax return numbers.I did the first NPC several times with the same outcome. When I used the same numbers in December in the NPC it was an EFC of $55,000 Re did it in December after seeing posts here about drastically different ammounts people were getting when they did it in December.
We have basic finances, an income well below $150,0OO no assets.and 2 other children in college. Since our child was accepted into the ED school we are just trying to look at financing the next 4 years.
The process is not new to us we just feel wre might have recived more grant aid if they had our current financial information.We have contacted the college and have submitted updated income information to the college for an appeal.
I just wondered if other parents had issues with using the 2015 Tax return info and receiving grant aid.
Was your EFC $55,000 … or was the amount you had to pay after all aid offered $55,000? Although it may seem to be the same thing, it is not. It is quite possible that the school switched its financial aid policies for 2017-2018 and the NPC now reflects the new policies. Perhaps they used to offer grants to bridge the difference between EFC and a certain portion of total costs for families with an income of less than X, and now they offer grants only to families with an income of X+Y. Or perhaps they no longer offer a particular automatic scholarship that they used to offer. Or perhaps the NPC for that school was flawed when you used it in October (in other words, it may have been a mistake the first time around). It seems odd that there would be such a huge difference using the same info, so I lean toward the NPC being wrong when you first did it.
I used to work at a school that offered a grant to make sure the EFC + all grant/scholarship aid was at least the average cost of tuition. But anyone with an EFC of over a certain amount got nada. Tuition was somewhere around $9800 … so if a family had an EFC over $9800, they got nothing. And if the school no longer has the funds to give that grant, even a family with an EFC of $6,000 might not get any grants at all. If the total COA was $15,000 then a Pell-eligible family with an EFC greater than 0 might get only their Pell, loans, and FWS. So they might have an EFC of 5000 - they’d get a Pell of $865 & no other free aid. So while the EFC is 5000, their actual estimated cost is $14,135. This is what I mean about the difference between EFC and what you have to pay. Few schools meet need.
The large difference does seem odd considering the same numbers were used every time. The school does offer grant aid and we have been offered some. We do realize that NPC calculator can not be accurate. We just needed our grant aid to be offered based on our new financial information and not an income on our 2015 taxes that is nolonger valid. That is our issue with October date 2016 Tax information would have been better for us for grant aid.
@botcom if it’s any consolation…you are not the only one.
DD had income in 2015…and NONE in 2016. She is in grad school. She had to use that 2015 income last year…and this…despite having NO income in 2016. And her school DOES give some small need based grants.
It is what it is. Next year, she will be able to use her $0 2016 income.
