Dependency status (determining whether you are a Dependent or Independent student for FAFSA purposes)

Your dependency status determines whose information you must report when you fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form.

• If you are a dependent student, you will report your and your parents’ information.
• If you are an independent student, you will report your own information (and, if you are married, your spouse’s).

Dependent or Independent

Your answers to questions on the FAFSA^® form determine whether you are considered a dependent or independent student.

Personal Circumstance Questions to Determine Dependency Status on the 2024–25 FAFSA® Form

Here are the questions that determine your dependency status for the 2024–25 school year.

Answered “Yes” to One or More of the Questions Above

If so, then for federal student aid purposes, you are considered an independent student and will not be required to provide information about your parents on the FAFSA form.

Answered “No” to Every Question

If so, then for federal student aid purposes, you are considered a dependent student, and you must provide information about your parents when you fill out the FAFSA form.

Contributors (based on your dependency, whose and which information will be required for FAFSA purposes)

DEPENDENT STUDENT

If you answered “No” to every dependency question, you must include the information of the following contributors, depending on the situation:

• Student
• Married or unmarried biological parents who live together – The income and assets of both parents must be included.
• Divorced/separated parents who have not remarried – The income and assets of the parent who has provided more than half of the student’s support must be included. (The length of time the student has lived with each parent during the last 12 months before filing the FAFSA application is NO LONGER a criterion in cases of divorced or separated parents.)
• Parents have remarried – Upon determining which of the parents provides more than half of the student’s support, that parent’s income and assets and those of their spouse must be included (even if a prenuptial agreement has been signed).

INDEPENDENT STUDENT

If you answered “No” to one or more dependency questions, you must include the information of the following contributors, depending on the situation:

• Student
• Spouse – If the student is married, the information of their spouse´s income and assets must be included.

NOTE

*All contributors will be required to have an FSA ID and provide consent to have their federal tax information (FTI) transferred by the IRS through Direct Data Exchange (DDX), to have their tax data used to determine a student´s eligibility for federal aid, and to allow the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to share their tax information with higher education institutions and state agencies. Once consent is provided for an award year, it cannot be revoked for the rest of that award year. This consent is necessary even if the taxpayer does not have an SSN, did not file taxes, or filed taxes abroad. If any of the contributors refuses to provide consent, the student is ineligible for federal aid.

What do students and/or their parents need to complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA application?

Dependent students will need the following:

• Create their FSA ID credentials at https://studentaid.gov
• Their Social Security number, full name, date of birth, email address, and/or permanent resident number, mailing address, mobile phone number, high school information.
• Income earned in 2022 (2022 tax returns, Form W-2, and/or Form 1040).
• Their parents´ information: Social Security numbers, full names, dates of birth, and email addresses.

The parents of dependent students need the following:

• Create their FSA ID credentials at https://studentaid.gov
• Their Social Security number, full name, date of birth, email address, and/or permanent resident number, mailing address, mobile phone number.
• Income earned in 2022 (2022 tax returns, Form W-2, and/or Form 1040).

Independent students will need the following:

• Create their FSA ID credentials at https://studentaid.gov
• Their Social Security number, full name, date of birth, email address, and/or permanent resident number, mailing address, mobile phone number, high school information.
• Income earned in 2022 (2022 tax returns, Form W-2, and/or Form 1040).
• Their spouse´s information (if married): Social Security number, full name, date of birth, and email address.

Other information required from students and/or their parents:

• Child support income received
• Current cash on hand, checking and savings account balances
• Current value of investments, businesses, and agricultural production farms