Tuesday Tips for February 2024

2024-25 FAFSA: Known Issues and FAQ

The new Better FAFSA was rolled out almost two months ago! There have been both successes and challenges. The good news is that many students have filed the FAFSA successfully and are finding it much faster and easier than in the past. However, others have encountered issues. Federal Student Aid (FSA) is aware of the issues and challenges associated with the FAFSA and is working to resolve them. Here’s an update on select issues and common questions. 

1. 2024–25 FAFSA Issue Alerts

FSA has a page dedicated to identified FAFSA issues that includes workarounds if they exist. This page is updated regularly to reflect issue resolution, workarounds, and new items.

2. Challenges for Contributors without a Social Security Number

There is a known issue preventing contributors (parents or spouses) without a Social Security number (SSN) from starting or accessing the 2024-2025 FAFSA. FSA plans to have a permanent resolution for this issue in the first half of March. In the meantime, if a student is facing a critical school or scholarship deadline, there is a workaround that allows the FAFSA to be submitted. However, this workaround will result in an incomplete FAFSA that will need to be corrected in March in order for the student to be eligible for aid. Because follow-up is required before a student can be eligible, FSA is urging applicants who are not facing a critical deadline to wait to file the FAFSA until the permanent fix is in place. 

3. Missing FAFSA Invitations

The FAFSA for dependent students includes both a student section and a parent section. These sections are connected by a FAFSA invitation. The person who starts the FAFSA invites the other party to complete their section of the FAFSA by providing the other party's name, date of birth, and Social Security number. The person who's been invited should see this invitation when they log into StudentAid.gov with their FSA ID. In some cases, however, the invitation is not available, so the other party is unable to complete their section of the FAFSA. Typically this happens when the information supplied in the invitation does not match the information supplied by the other party when they created their FSA ID. To fix this issue, take the following steps: 

1. The individual who started the FAFSA should log in to StudentAid.gov and go to My Activity, where they’ll see the unsubmitted FAFSA. 
2. Under Actions, click on Manage Contributors to see the information used to invite the other party. 
3. Simultaneously, on a different device, have the other party log in to StudentAid.gov with their FSA ID and click on Settings to view the information used to set up their FSA ID. 
4. Update the information in the invitation to match the FSA ID data exactly, then save and continue.  
5. When the contributor navigates to My Activity, they will see and can accept the invitation to complete their section of the FAFSA.

4. Federal Tax Information Imports Automatically (Usually!)

A welcome change to the 2024-2025 FAFSA is that IRS information is imported directly into the FAFSA automatically (though it’s not visible) as long as the contributor provides consent and approval. In some cases, however, income information must be manually entered. Here are the situations where manual entry is required, along with next steps: 

The tax filing doesn’t match the contributor’s current marital status

If a contributor recently divorced, separated, or married and their 2022 tax filing status doesn’t match their current marital status, they will be required to manually enter tax information based on their current marital status. For example, if a contributor is divorced on the day they file the FAFSA but filed a married joint tax return for 2022, they will manually enter their income only for 2022. 

An individual’s FSA ID was created recently

When an FSA ID is created, it must be matched with the Social Security Administration. Until that match happens, the contributor can’t provide consent and approval for the IRS to import their tax data. The individual can wait a few days for the match to occur before completing the FAFSA, at which point tax information should pull over automatically. 

The individual filed a non-US tax return in 2022

The IRS does not have any tax information on file to import. Individuals should convert their 2022 income into U.S. dollars and manually enter their income information. See FSA's instructions on how to fill out the FAFSA using a foreign tax return.

5. FAFSA Processing and Corrections

FAFSAs that have been submitted (currently showing as “In Review”) will be processed in the first half of March. Once a FAFSA has been processed, corrections can be made. All students should log in to StudentAid.gov and review their FAFSA Submission Summary when it becomes available in March. If follow-up or corrections are needed (for instance, if the FAFSA was submitted without required contributor information or without a required signature), corrections can be made at that time. Additionally, students will be able to add additional schools once FAFSAs have been processed. Learn how to correct or update your FAFSA.

Though many people have been able to file the FAFSA successfully, system issues and glitches do remain. If you are having challenges or would like help filing the FAFSA, please join us for a virtual FAFSA Help Session. You can also email us at Education@FAMEmaine.com or call us at 1-800-228-3734. We’re here to help you navigate the entire financial aid process!

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