Do We Need To Update a Student's Marital Status Reported On the FAFSA If It Does Not Match Her Tax Filing Status?

No, not unless there is actual conflicting information in the student's file. It is not uncommon for a student's marital status to be different between the tax return and the FAFSA. Remember, the tax return is filed for the tax year that can be up to two years before the FAFSA is filed (i.e., the prior-prior-year tax data). For example, a student was married and filed a joint tax return with her spouse, but was separated when she completed the FAFSA. In such a case, the separated status on the FAFSA is correct and is not corrected or updated based on the tax return from almost two years ago.

See the guidance under "Marital and tax filing status" in Chapter 2 of the Application and Verification Guide (AVG) volume of the FSA Handbook, which states that Comment Codes 361 through 368 indicate a possible error when the filing status and marital status do not match, but that this is not considered to be conflicting information subject to the resolution requirements of 34 CFR 668.16(f). The U.S. Department of Education (ED) does encourage schools to review the application for mistakes when these comments appear. NASFAA, on the other hand, does not recommend unnecessary work for schools or students.

Student Aid Reference Desk: For additional information, try the Student Aid Reference Desk. It is a central hub of all the important financial aid resources you need with direct links to legislation, regulation, Dear Colleague Letters, and other ED and NASFAA references. It is updated on a rolling basis with the latest news and changes.