Can an Independent Student Be Included In the Dependent Student's Parent's Family Size?

Scenario: A member of the student's family size is over 25 and has applied and received financial aid at another college as an independent student. The parent claims they still provide more than half of the sibling's support even though she is receiving aid as an independent student.

Answer: Yes, if the independent student is claimed as a dependent on the parent's tax return for the applicable tax year. Starting with the 2024-25 award year, family size is 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.

There may be situations where FTI has changed since the parent filed their tax return. FAFSA contributors are given the opportunity to manually update the family size indicated by FTI if:

• 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.

Some schools ask if they can have a policy not to include independent students in the family size unless the family proves they are paying more that half of the independent student's support. It is NASFAA's understanding that this would not be appropriate and that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) deems a properly signed verification worksheet to be acceptable verification of the family size data element. When considered by itself, the fact that the sibling is over 24 years of age does not constitute conflicting information. We find it hard to justify an institutional policy or verification procedure which assumes all such student applications are conflicting information or chooses not to include independent students in the dependent's household unless the family proves they are paying more than half of the independent student's support. Such across-the-board policies or procedures are generally not supported by ED.

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.

See the AskRegs Knowledgebase Q&A: Who Is Included In Family Size Starting In 2024-25? (Award Year: 2024-25)

P&P Builder: NASFAA’s Policies & Procedures (P&P) Builder guides you step-by-step through the creation of a centralized, accessible policies and procedures manual. This is included in the cost of NASFAA Value Plus membership. There is an additional cost for other membership levels.