The Department of Education has recently announced the opening of the application, marking the earliest launch of the college financial aid application.
Following several years of delayed FAFSA openings, the Department of Education has finished implementing changes resulting from a congressional overhaul that improved the financial aid application process for college students and their families.
This year, the Education Department is applying its own changes, including a shorter time to create an account and an immediate summary of the submitted form, which students and parents can
automatically edit to make corrections.
Why This Matters
While the 2027-28 FAFSA will be open throughout the entire school year, some aid distributed by colleges and states is first-come, first-served and requires applicants to file the FAFSA earlier.
What You Need to Create an Account
To complete the FAFSA online, students and their guardians need a StudentAid.gov account.
If the student has never applied for financial aid through the FAFSA, they will need to create an account before continuing with their application. To do so, students and their parents need to include their Social Security number (if they have one), name exactly as it appears on their Social Security card, date of birth, and an email address.
How You Will Include Your Tax Information
Applicants must include their 2025 tax return information for the 2027-28 FAFSA.
Most applicants will be able to have their tax information automatically transferred from the IRS. Applicants must provide their consent for the Department of Education to automatically retrieve their tax information from the IRS to determine what federal, state and institutional aid they are eligible for. Even those who did not file taxes in the U.S. must provide their consent for this retrieval.
Before starting, some applicants may also want to have records of any child support received, current balances of bank accounts, and the value or debt owed on non-retirement investments, businesses, and farms.
Figuring Out Who Needs To Fill Out a FAFSA
Most undergraduate students will need their parents to fill out the FAFSA as well.
However, circumstances vary, and dependent students can use a tool from the Department of Education to determine which parent or parents need to complete the FAFSA.
For parents with multiple children in college, if they fill out the FAFSA for one child, they can transfer the information from the already-filled FAFSA to their other children.
For independent students, the FAFSA does not require a parent’s tax information, but if they are married and file their taxes separately from their spouse, the spouse will also need to include their
information for the FAFSA.
Know What Schools You Are Interested In
Before submitting the FAFSA, students must designate at least one school that will receive their information.
First-year or potential transfer students can add up to 20 different schools to their online FAFSA application if they are still deciding. Students can also use the recently updated School Search to
compare colleges and career schools.
Additionally, the Department of Education now tracks the average earnings of graduates at each higher education institution. If a college’s average graduate earns less than the average high school
graduate, and an applicant lists it as a potential college on their FAFSA application, a “lower earnings” disclosure will be generated on the form.
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