Major FAFSA Changes Coming…
It has been a long time since FAFSA has major changes to their application (since the late 1990s when they switched from paper to electronic!). Here are the top three things to expect on the 2024-2025 application and how to prepare for the December launch.
New Launch Date
Typically, the application opens on October 1st every year. While FAFSA still hasn’t confirmed the actual date yet, the 2024-2025 application is expected to launch in December 2023, which may results in shorter windows of time for students to complete the application by their state’s priority deadline. You can view your state’s deadline here.
Contributors Will Need an FSA ID
Anyone who will be providing personal and/or financial information on the application is considered a contributor, even if they are not providing financial support to the student. This can include parents/guardians and spouses and does not require the contributor to provide any money. They are asking the contributor to consent to sharing their information.
Previously, contributors without a Social Security Number (SSN) signed the form by sending in a physical signature page. This will no longer be the case, and those without a SSN will now be able to create an FSA ID.
The IRS Data Retrieval Tool Will Be Going Away
FAFSA will be transferring tax information directly from the IRS, preventing the need for contributors to enter it in manually.
Contributors may still need to enter information regarding:
Taxable grants and scholarship
IRA contributions
Foreign income
Earned income tax claimed
Farms and small businesses
It would be helpful to come prepared with supporting documentation in case you need to enter something in, but the majority of the information will be transferred once consent is given.
How Can You Prepare?
Keep an eye out for the launch date.
Make sure everyone contributing information on your application has an FSA ID and can access it.
Collect the names, SSNs, dates of birth, addresses and emails for your contributors. You will need to provide their information so they can log into their account and complete their portion of the FSA. If a contributor previously used a signature page, use this next month to help them create an FSA ID.
Collect any additional financial information you may need to enter in manually.
