Can an Unborn Child Count In Family Size Starting With the 2024-25 Award Year?

No. Beginning with the 2024-25 award year, family size (formerly household size) is now based on federal tax information (FTI) transferred directly from the IRS to the FAFSA via the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX). This means the number of dependents in the family size is now based on the number of individuals who are claimed as dependents on either the applicant’s (if independent) or parent’s (if dependent) U.S. federal tax return. As such, an unborn child cannot be included in family size unless and until the child is born. For more information about who can be claimed as a dependent on a federal tax return, see the IRS document Overview of the Rules for Claiming a Dependent.

If FTI is pulled in, the FAFSA contributor (applicant and/or parent) is given the opportunity to manually update the family size if it has changed since filing the applicable tax return. However, the contributor cannot see what family size was reported from the FA-DDX, as the transferred FTI is masked.

When the FAFSA contributor manually enters the family size, they are instructed as follows:

• For a dependent applicant, include the parent (and spouse or partner), the student, the parent’s dependent children (even if they live apart because of college enrollment), and other people living with the parent now. Include these dependent children and other people only if the parent will provide more than half of their support between July 1 and June 30 of the award year covered by the FAFSA.
• For the independent applicant, include the student (and spouse), the student’s dependent children (even if they live apart due to college enrollment), and other people living with the student now. Include these dependent children and other people only if the student will provide more than half of their support between July 1 and June 30 of the award year covered by the FAFSA.

NASFAA has confirmed with the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that the financial aid administrator (FAA) cannot include the unborn child in family size using professional judgment (PJ). That is, the FAA cannot use PJ to circumvent the statute. Otherwise, financial aid administrators have the authority to use PJ to make other adjustments on a case-by-case basis, as long as the aid administrator feels it is warranted and it is well-documented in the student's file.

The rules for updating FAFSA data under 34 CFR 668.55 have not changed, however. When the child is born, the contributor or FAA can update family size in certain circumstances. If the addition of the newborn child changes the student’s dependency status, then dependency status and family size must be updated under 668.55(a). Otherwise, as a general rule under 668.55(b), family size can only be updated to include the newborn child if the student is selected for verification by the FAFSA Processing System (FPS, formerly Central Processing System) or the institution. Family size then must be updated to be correct at the time of verification (unless that update is due to a change in the student’s marital status). Even then, that newborn child can only be included if the child could be claimed as a dependent on the contributor's tax return.

The above guidance also applies to paper FAFSA filers and online FAFSA filers whose FTI cannot be transferred into the FAFSA.

Reference the FAFSA Simplification changes under Section 480(k) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended [20 USC 1087vv(k)(1) Amendment of Section].

Terminology matters! See AskRegs Knowledgebase Q&A, What's the Difference Between a Correction, an Update, and a PJ Adjustment?