Do Both Parents Need to Fill Out the FAFSA?

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the primary application for federal student aid, including grants, scholarships, work-study programs, and federal student loans. Its purpose is to assess a student’s financial need and determine eligibility for these aid programs. For dependent students, this assessment requires detailed financial information from their parents, which helps determine the family’s ability to contribute to college costs. Understanding whose parental information to include can be complex for many applicants.

Defining “Parent” for FAFSA Purposes

For FAFSA purposes, a “parent” is generally a biological or adoptive parent. This includes parents who are married to each other, unmarried parents living together, or parents who are divorced or separated but not remarried. The FAFSA definition is strictly for federal student aid eligibility and does not necessarily reflect who provides primary support or legal guardianship in other contexts.

If a biological or adoptive parent has remarried, the stepparent’s financial information must also be included on the FAFSA, provided they are married to the parent whose information is being reported. This is because the FAFSA considers the stepparent’s income and assets as resources available to the household, integrating their financial details into the overall family financial picture.

Individuals who are not considered parents for FAFSA purposes include grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, aunts, uncles, or other relatives, unless they have legally adopted the student. A student living with a legal guardian who is not their adoptive parent will still need to provide information from their biological or adoptive parent, unless they meet specific criteria to be considered an independent student, such as being 24 years old or older.

Information Needed from Parents

The FAFSA requires parents to provide a range of financial and demographic data to assess a family’s financial strength. This includes information from their federal income tax returns for the “prior-prior” year, meaning the tax year two years before the academic year for which aid is sought. For instance, for the 2025-2026 academic year, parents would provide tax information from their 2023 federal tax return. This allows for the direct import of tax data from the IRS, streamlining the application process.

Key financial figures requested include the parents’ Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), which is found on their federal tax return, along with their income tax paid and tax filing status. Beyond taxed income, the FAFSA also asks for information on untaxed income and benefits received. This can include child support received, untaxed portions of IRA distributions, tax-exempt interest income, and veterans’ non-education benefits. This provides a more comprehensive view of the family’s financial resources.

In addition to income, parents must report their current asset balances. This encompasses the total current balance of cash, savings, and checking accounts as of the day the FAFSA is completed. The net worth of investments, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other securities, also needs to be reported. Furthermore, the net worth of any businesses or farms owned by the parents must be included, unless the business meets specific small business criteria, such as having 100 or fewer full-time equivalent employees and being primarily owned and operated by the family.

Parental Information in Specific Family Situations

Determining which parent’s information to include on the FAFSA depends significantly on the parents’ marital status and living arrangements. For students whose parents are divorced or separated, the FAFSA requires information from the custodial parent. The custodial parent is defined as the parent with whom the student lived for the greater portion of the 12 months immediately preceding the date the FAFSA is filed. It is not based on which parent claims the student as a dependent for tax purposes or who provides more financial support.

If the custodial parent has remarried, the stepparent’s financial information must also be included on the FAFSA, along with the custodial parent’s data. This combined income and asset information is used to determine the family’s overall financial strength and aid eligibility.

For unmarried parents who live together, the FAFSA requires financial information from both parents. Similarly, if a student’s parent is widowed, only the surviving parent’s financial information is needed. If the surviving parent has remarried, the stepparent’s financial information must also be included on the FAFSA.

In situations where parents were never married and do not live together, the custodial parent rule still applies; the student should report the financial information of the parent with whom they lived most during the 12 months prior to filing the FAFSA. For parents in a same-sex marriage or partnership, they are treated the same as any other married couple, and information from both parents is required. If both of a student’s biological or adoptive parents are deceased, the student is generally considered an independent student for FAFSA purposes and would not need to provide parental information.