The 2026–27 FAFSA: What Students and Parents Need to Know

If college is in your future, there is one form you don’t want to overlook: the FAFSA® — Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

The FAFSA is used to determine eligibility for federal financial aid, including grants, work-study and federal student loans. States, colleges and some private organizations also use FAFSA information when awarding financial aid.

And here’s something families sometimes misunderstand:

The FAFSA isn’t just for families who think they will qualify for need-based aid.

Students should consider completing it regardless of family income. You won’t know what aid may be available until you apply.

Here is what students and parents need to know about the 2026–27 FAFSA.

Which FAFSA Should You Complete?

The 2026–27 FAFSA is for students attending college or an eligible career or trade school between:

July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027.

The federal FAFSA deadline for the 2026–27 school year is June 30, 2027.

However, don’t use that date as your personal deadline.

States and colleges often have their own financial aid deadlines, and some financial aid is limited. Complete the FAFSA as early as you reasonably can and check the deadlines for every school and state involved.

Start With Your StudentAid.gov Account

Before completing the FAFSA online, the student needs a StudentAid.gov account.

Parents, spouses or other people required to provide information may also need their own StudentAid.gov accounts.

One important rule:

Do not share accounts.

The student’s account belongs to the student. A parent’s account belongs to the parent. Each person should use their own login information to complete and sign their portion of the FAFSA.

What Is a FAFSA Contributor?

The word contributor can cause unnecessary confusion.

A contributor is simply someone whose information is required on a student’s FAFSA.

Depending on the student’s circumstances, contributors may include:

• The student
• The student’s spouse
• A biological or adoptive parent
• A parent’s spouse

Being identified as a FAFSA contributor does not mean that person is agreeing to pay for college.

It simply means that person’s information is required to complete the FAFSA.

Each required contributor generally completes and signs their own portion of the FAFSA.

Divorced or Separated Parents: Which Parent Completes the FAFSA?

This is an especially important question for families with divorced or separated parents.

Don’t simply assume that the parent the student lives with most of the time is automatically the FAFSA parent.

Federal Student Aid provides a “Who’s My FAFSA Parent?” tool to help families determine which parent should participate.

Use the current federal guidance rather than relying on old FAFSA rules or advice from previous years.

Financial Information and the IRS

The FAFSA process now allows required federal tax information to be transferred directly from the IRS into the FAFSA.

Students and required contributors provide the necessary consent and approval for their federal tax information to be transferred.

This has simplified parts of the FAFSA process, but families should still have financial and asset information available in case the form asks for it.

Take your time and answer each question based on the instructions provided on the current FAFSA form.

An Important 2026–27 Change for Family Businesses and Farms

There is good news for some families completing the 2026–27 FAFSA.

Beginning with the 2026–27 award year, certain assets are excluded from the FAFSA asset calculation.

These include:

• The net worth of a family-owned business with 100 or fewer full-time or full-time-equivalent employees
• The net worth of a farm on which the family resides
• Certain family-owned commercial fishing businesses and related expenses

If one of these situations applies to your family, be especially careful about relying on FAFSA advice from previous years. The rules have changed.

Understanding the Student Aid Index (SAI)

After your FAFSA is processed, you will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary that includes your Student Aid Index, commonly called the SAI.

The SAI replaced the old Expected Family Contribution, or EFC.

This distinction is important:

Your SAI is NOT your college bill.

It is also not necessarily the amount your family will be expected to pay for college.

Instead, colleges use the SAI, along with other information, to help determine your eligibility for need-based financial aid and construct your financial aid offer.

A lower SAI generally indicates greater financial need, and an SAI can be negative.

Pell Grants for 2026–27

The maximum Federal Pell Grant for the 2026–27 award year is $7,395.

Eligibility depends on federal Pell Grant rules and the information provided on the FAFSA.

There are also changes to Pell Grant eligibility beginning with the 2026–27 award year, including changes involving certain income calculations and an additional Student Aid Index eligibility threshold.

Families do not need to calculate Pell eligibility themselves. Complete the FAFSA accurately and review the eligibility information provided after it is processed.

What Happens After You Submit the FAFSA?

Submitting the FAFSA isn’t quite the end of the process.

After your FAFSA has been processed, review your FAFSA Submission Summary carefully.

Check:

• Your Student Aid Index
• Your estimated federal aid eligibility
• Whether corrections are needed
• Whether you’ve been selected for verification
• Whether every college you want to receive your information is listed

Remember that the aid shown on the FAFSA Submission Summary is an estimate.

Your actual financial aid offer comes from the college, career school or trade school after you have been admitted and the school has determined your aid eligibility.

What If Your Family’s Financial Situation Has Changed?

The FAFSA relies on specific financial information, but life doesn’t always cooperate with tax-year timelines.

Perhaps a parent lost a job.

Maybe income dropped significantly.

There may have been unusually high unreimbursed medical expenses or another major financial change.

Don’t assume the FAFSA result is the final word.

Complete the FAFSA using the required information first. Then contact the financial aid offices at the colleges you are considering and explain your family’s circumstances.

Financial aid administrators may be able to review certain special circumstances and determine whether an adjustment is appropriate.

Don’t Compare Financial Aid Offers by the Bottom-Line Number Alone

Once college financial aid offers begin arriving, slow down and compare them carefully.

A large financial aid package isn’t automatically a better financial aid package.

Look at how much of each offer consists of:

• Grants
• Scholarships
• Work-study
• Federal student loans
• Other loans
• Remaining costs your family will need to cover

Grants and scholarships generally do not have to be repaid. Loans do.

Your goal is to understand the actual cost of attending each school after grants and scholarships — not simply which college presents the largest total aid number.

FAFSA Is One Piece of the College-Paying Puzzle

Completing the FAFSA is important, but it shouldn’t be your entire college funding strategy.

Families should also consider:

• Scholarships
• College and institutional grants
• State aid
• Work-study
• Savings
• 529 plans
• Employer tuition assistance
• Dual-credit and other college-credit opportunities
• Thoughtful college selection
• Responsible borrowing when necessary

And don’t wait until senior year to begin thinking about affordability.

The earlier families talk about the cost of college, the more options they have.

And Don’t Forget Scholarships

The FAFSA and scholarship search are two different pieces of the financial aid process.

Through Imagine Scholarships’ partnership with Red Kite, students can access free scholarship search and matching to discover opportunities that may fit their qualifications, interests and goals.

Imagine Scholarships provides the education, tools and resources that help students and families understand the larger college-planning and financial-aid process.

Use them together.

One Last Piece of Advice

Don’t let the FAFSA intimidate you.

You don’t have to understand the entire financial aid system before you begin.

Create your StudentAid.gov account. Gather your information. Complete the FAFSA carefully. Review your FAFSA Submission Summary. Compare college financial aid offers. Search for scholarships. Ask questions when something doesn’t make sense.

College funding isn’t one big decision. It’s a series of smaller, smarter decisions.

And every good decision gives your student a little more confidence — and your family a little more control — over the cost of college.

Financial aid rules, deadlines and eligibility requirements can change. Always verify current FAFSA information and deadlines with Federal Student Aid and the financial aid offices of the colleges you are considering.

We have a FAFSA guide will all the details you need to know! Grab your copy today.