It's usually not better to not put your parents on FAFSA if you're a dependent student, as not putting your parents on FAFSA will cause your FAFSA application to be incomplete and result in no Student Aid Index and also will result in you being disqualified for most state and federal financial aid.
FAFSA requires that you have your parents information to determine your student aid eligibility, regardless of whether your parents are supporting you financially or claim you on your taxes
The age that FAFSA stops asking for your parent's information is when you're 24 years of age or older, married or a graduate student, veteran, active military or if you have your own children or you were an orphan/foster youth after age 13.
Otherwise you require a specific "dependency override" through the college's financial aid office for any unusual circumstances such as abuse or homelessness.
If you're under 24 years of age, but you meet criteria such as being an unaccompanied homeless youth, you get provisional independence, but you still must work with the college.
If you're under 24 and are unable to contact your parents due to abuse or a risky situation, this now grants you provisional independence.
Parent's assets affect FAFSA by contributing a maximum of 5.64% to the Student Aid Index or SAI, which is a much lower rate than the student owned assets which is up to 205.
Protected assets like parents retirement accounts have no impact on FAFSA, although things such as investments, 529 plans and rental property are assessed, although primary home equity as well as small businesses with under 100 employees are protected.
Parents are expected to contribute up to 5.64% of their countable assets towards college costs, which is significantly less than a student's assets.
There's no income threshold for FAFSA as anyone can apply for FAFSA regardless of their income.
Although families that have an adjusted gross income or AGI of $30,000.00 or less are also more likely to get substantial Pell Grants.
A dependent student that has a family size of 5 may qualify for a Pell Grant with a parent AGI of up to $80,000.00 depending on your specific circumstances.
And under certain income levels, a family might also automatically qualify for the maximum Pell Grant, although the exact threshold also depends on the updated FSA guidelines.
And students from high income families can still qualify for unsubsidized federal student loans as there's no income limit.
Eligibility for FAFSA is determined by the Student Aid Index which considers the family size, assets, and taxed/untaxed income instead of just a strict cutoff.
High income earners may not qualify for need based grants, but they can also still access the federal loans.
The #1 most common FAFSA mistake is leaving fields blank when filling out the forms instead of entering a "0" or "not applicable".
Leaving the fields blank on FAFSA forms results in processing delays, miscalculations and even possible rejection of the FAFSA application.
And other common mistakes when filling out FAFSA forms is using an incorrect SSN or incorrect name, reporting incorrect income tax amounts and also missing the deadlines.
When filling out an FAFSA form, you should never leave any fields blank, if a question does not apply to you, then enter a "0" or write "not applicable".
Use legal names and use the names exactly as they appear on the social security card when filling out FAFSA forms and do not use nicknames.
Always use accurate tax information and use tax information from 2 years prior and not your W-2 information when filling out the FAFSA forms.
And you should also get an FSA ID early as both the student and the parent must create an FSA ID before they sign the FAFSA forms which can take as long as 3 days to verify.
And always use the proper site and ensure you're on the actual fafsa.gov website and not a scam site as the real fafsa.gov site will not ask for any payment.
If the website is asking for payment then it's a scam.
FAFSA is also known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is a free essential form that is used by students and families to apply for federal, state and college sponsored financial aid for higher education, which includes grains, work study funds and loans.
The FAFSA program is the largest source of student aid and many institutions also use the FAFSA to award their own financial aid packages.
FAFSA determines your eligibility for federal grants, work study and loans.
And there's no income cutoff to qualify for FAFSA, and all students should fill out the FAFSA form to maximize their student aid possibilities.
The FAFSA form can be completed at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
To apply for FAFSA it requires an FSA ID to sign and often uses tax information from 2 years prior.
And while the federal deadline is in June, States and colleges often have earlier, priority deadlines.