With The New Government Changes, When Should I Submit My FAFSA

HomeFinanceFinancial aidWith The New Government Changes, When Should I Submit My FAFSA?This page may contain affiliate links.Sep 14, 2016With  the recent government announcement of changes to FAFSA, are you confused when you should submit your forms and what tax information to use? The fun starts for families with students enrolling  in college sometime from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017.   Families will be filling out and submitting financial aid forms earlier this year because the FAFSA will be available October 1, 2016. In addition, families will be able to use their tax information from 2015 to fill out and submit the FAFSA. With this change, the FAFSA is available earlier and when it becomes available, families can use their most recently completed tax return information (from 2 years prior). Families no longer have to scramble to get their previous year tax return completed and/or update information once a FAFSA has already been submitted. Troy Onink, one of our favorite writers on financial aid reminds families,  This  new method is referred to as prior, prior, because students’ college financial aid eligibility will now be based off of income from two years prior to when a student enrolls in college, not one year prior the way the rule has been until today. This means that parents, with current college freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, will be completing the financial aid form for the 2017 18 school year using 2015 income again. These families will have used 2015 income for  TWO YEARS IN A ROW.   Current high school seniors will be impacted by using 2015 income for just one year when applying for aid. The chart below (created by the government) details the new dates and tax year information to use: When A Student Is Attending College  (School Year) When a Student Can Submit a FAFSA Which Years Income Is Required July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 January 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 2014 July 1, 2016 June 30, 2017 January 1, 2016 June 30, 2017 2105 July 1, 2017 June 30, 2018 October 1, 2016 June 30, 2018 2015 July 1, 2018 June 30, 2019 October 1, 2017 June 30, 2019   2016      Ã‚           Ã‚     Ã‚   Road2College Debbie Schwartz is former financial services executive and founder of Road2College and the Paying For College 101 Facebook group. She's dedicated to providing families with trustworthy information about college admissions and paying for college. With data, tools and access to experts she's helping families become educated consumers of higher ed. View all posts CATEGORIES FinanceFinancial aidLearnToday's issues TAGS FAFSAFAFSA DeadlinesNew FAFSA ChangesNEWER POSTThe Takeaway Wk of 10/12OLDER POSTIs This The Government Trifecta For College Admissions and Financial Aid?