2024-25 Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Changes

• Student Aid Index (SAI) is replacing Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
• FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) is replacing Student Aid Report (SAR).
• The IRS Direct Data Exchange (DDX) is replacing the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT).

Definitions and References

• Contributor - Person whose information is required on the FAFSA in addition to the applicant's based on the student's dependency status: spouse, parent, parent's spouse.
• Future Act-Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX) - The transfer of FTI to ED and FAFSA. Replaces the Data Retrieval Tool (DRT).
• FAFSA FTI Consent - Required consent of the applicant and each contributor for the release and use of the individual's FTI to the Department of Education for the disclosure and determination of the applicant's aid eligibility for the applicable FAFSA cycle.
• FAFSA Submission Summary - Replaces the Student Aid Report (SAR)
• Family Member - A family member who meets the definition of a qualifying dependent child or relative for IRS tax purposes.
• Family Size - Number of family members in the independent student's or dependent parent's household.
• FSA ID - Account username and password to log into FSA products and tools.
• FTI - Federal Tax Information
• Manually Provided Taxpayer Information - FTI entered on the FAFSA by the taxpayer, applicant, or contributor because the FTI was not received from the IRS or because the contributor filed a foreign tax return.
• Parent - a biological parent, stepparent who is married to a biological parent, or an adoptive parent.

• Removes the number of family members in college from the calculation,
• Allows a minimum SAI of -1500, and
• Implements separate eligibility determination criteria for Federal Pell Grants.

NOTE: Federal Student Aid released a Federal Student Aid Estimator to help students find out how much federal student aid they may be eligible for using an estimate of the SAI.

• For the FAFSA to process, approval and consent must be provided by all contributors, even if the contributor does not have a Social Security Number (SSN), did not file taxes, or filed taxes in another country.
  • This allows transferred Federal Tax Information (FTI) from the IRS to be provided to higher education institutions, state higher education agencies, and designated scholarship organizations.
• Approval and consent are provided once per academic year and cannot be revoked during that year.

NOTE: For a list of financial aid terms and definitions, visit our Glossary of Terms webpage

An applicant's 2024-25 FAFSA form will not be considered complete until ALL sections of the FAFSA are complete, including the student section and all contributor sections [for example, parent(s) if student is dependent or spouse if the student is married].

Once a FAFSA form is started, after 45 days of inactivity, [for example, if a student completes their section of their FAFSA, but the invited contributor(s) fails to complete their section within 45 days,] the FAFSA form will be deleted, and the student must start their 2024-25 FAFSA over again.

FAFSA Tip: If you continue to have issues inviting your parent and began the initial FAFSA process more than 45 days go, please start your FAFSA over as it may have timed out.

Students can make corrections to a 2024-2025 FAFSA form that is in a "Processed" status in late-March. Corrections can be made by logging into your StudentAid.gov account.

Possible corrections that may be needed include:

• Correcting a mistake
• Adding a student's or contributor's signature
• Changing a contributor's consent and approval to federal tax information
• Adding or deleting a school code

If you are a dependent student and you change information about your parent(s), one of your parents must sign your FAFSA form electronically using their own StudentAid.gov account.

Federal tax information transferred directly from the IRS cannot be changed on your online FAFSA form. If you filed an IRS Form 1040-X amended return, contact the UTA Office of Financial Aid to discuss.

For more information about correcting and updating you FAFSA for, visit StudentAid.gov.

• The new IRS Direct Date Exchange (DDX) will replace the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) built into the FAFSA for importing required FTI.
  • Previously, there was the option to enter tax information manually. This is no longer the case.
• All contributors on the FAFSA must provide approval and consent for the Department of Education to receive tax information or confirmation of non-filing status directly from the IRS.
  • In a small number of cases, users will need to enter tax data manually, but for most, tax data will automatically transfer into the application using the DDX, as mandated by law.
    • This makes the FAFSA easier to complete and reduces the number of questions to be answered.

• Number of family members in college will be asked on the FAFSA, but not be calculated into the SAI.
• Undergraduate students with siblings in college may see a change in their federal aid eligibility.
• Guidance for how a student should report their family size will align more closely with what was reported on the student's/parent's tax returns.

• Federal Pell Grant eligibility will expand to more students and will link eligibility to family size and the federal poverty guidelines that were in effect during the tax year being requested on the FAFSA.
• If a Federal Pell Grant recipient is enrolled less than full-time, they will now receive a percentage of their scheduled full-time Federal Pell Grant disbursement based on their exact number of credit hours. See chart below:

• A contributor is anyone who is required to provide approval and consent for Federal Tax Information (FTI) and a signature on the FAFSA including:
  • The student,
  • The student's spouse (if applicable),
  • A biological or adoptive parent, or
  • The spouse of a remarried parent who is on the FAFSA.
• Contributors will need to provide personal and financial information on their section of the FAFSA.
• Each contributor will need their own Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID and need to provide approval and consent.
• The new FAFSA is student-driven, meaning the student's answers of their section will determine who will be a contributor in addition to the student. Student will need the contributor's:
  • Name,
  • Date of birth,
  • Social Security Number (SSN), and
  • Email address (to invite to complete their required portion of the FAFSA).
• If a dependent student's parents are unmarried and living together, both parents will be contributors.
• Dependent students whose parents filed their U.S. income tax return as Married Filing Jointly only require one parent contributor to complete the FAFSA.
• If the student's parents filed separately, both parents will be considered contributors.
• If an independent student is married and filed separately, both individuals are contributors.

NOTE: To create an FSA ID, please visit the Federal Student Aid's Create an Account webpage.

The parent wizard within the FAFSA form offers a series of filtering questions that determine which parent(s) must be included on a dependent student's FAFSA form.

• Parents who live together:
  • In the case of a student whose parents are married and not separated, or who are unmarried but live together, the FAFSA shall include the income and assets of both parents.
• Divorced or separated parents:
  • In the case of a student whose parents are divorced or separated, but not remarried, the FAFSA shall include only the income and assets of the parent who provides the greater portion of the student’s financial support, even if the student does not live with that parent.
• Death of a parent:
  • If either of the parents died, the surviving parent shall be considered a single parent on the FAFSA, unless that parent remarried.
  • If both parents have died, the student shall not report any parental income or assets on the FAFSA.
• Remarried parents:
  • If a parent who is divorced or widowed and is a contributor on the FAFSA has remarried, the income of the parent’s spouse must be included if the student’s parent and stepparent are married as of the date the FAFSA is completed.
• Single parent:
  • For a single parent who is not divorced, separated, or remarried, the income and assets of the single parent shall be included on the FAFSA.

For more information about reporting parent information on the FAFSA, visit the Federal Student Aid website.

All FAFSA contributors (parent(s), stepparent, spouse) will now be required to create their own FSA ID to complete their section of the student’s FAFSA form. If a dependent student’s parent or an independent student's spouse does not have a SSN, they will now be able to create an FSA ID starting with the 2024-2025 FAFSA. The parent(s) or spouse's address will be used for identification purposes in place of a SSN, if the parent or spouse does not have one. This will decrease FAFSA processing time as parents and spouses without a SSN will be able to complete and sign their section electronically, rather than having to print, sign and mail their FAFSA signature page.

Check out this helpful step-by-step guide on how to get an FSA ID if you don't have a SSN:

English FSA ID without SSN Guide

Spanish FSA ID without SSN Guide

FAFSA Contributors who do not have a SSN may currently be encountering errors when trying to create their FSA ID or complete their section of the FAFSA. Federal Student Aid provided the following information to help contributors troubleshoot these issues: fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/NonSSNupdatedMay2024.pdf.

• Families must now report the value of their small business or family farm, if possible.
  • If the family farm includes the principal place of residence, students should determine the total net value of all farm assets and subtract the net value of their principal residence to determine the final value of their farm assets.

• The number of maximum questions on the FAFSA will reduce from 108 to 46.
• The web version of the form is dynamic, meaning some students will not be presented with all 46 questions.