The 2024-2025 FAFSA Form - Experiencing Change

By Rick Cox

• The save key will be eliminated, starting with the FAFSA application for the 2024-2025 award year. The updated FAFSA form will allow an applicant to continue or return to their work without requiring a save after each section of the application.
• The roles for the FAFSA will include the student, student spouse, parent and parent’s spouse.
• Consent will be required to transfer Federal Tax Information, or FTI. This will be collected on the FAFSA form. If any party to the FAFSA form doesn’t provide consent, the FAFSA can still be submitted, but eligibility will not be calculated. The FUTURE Act, to expand access to federal student aid, requires FSA to use income data directly from the IRS.
• The FAFSA Simplification Act changed the FAFSA application process, which did include changes to the form. In the 2024-2025 award year, all will need an FSA ID to complete the FAFSA application process. This change will allow someone without a Social Security Number to acquire an FSA ID. This process has not been finalized.
• The list of colleges on the FAFSA application has been expanded from 10 to 20 entries. Also, the FAFSA form is prefilling information that has already been provided to minimize the number of questions that must be answered.
• The student’s dependency, marital status and tax status will determine if additional contributors are required on the FAFSA form. Any contributors will log into studentaid.gov and complete their section of the FAFSA form. Consent will need to be captured for all parties required on the FAFSA form to initiate the retrieval of Federal Tax Information from the IRS.

Rick Cox is Global’s Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs and Compliance