2027-2028 FAFSA Changes

The U.S. Department of Education has updated both the online and PDF versions of the 2027–28 FAFSA. Some questions have been added, while others have been revised to make them clearer and improve the accuracy of information collected.

Three new questions have been added for each contributor:

• Did the contributor file a 2025 income tax return from Puerto Rico or another U.S. territory, or will they?
• What is the contributor's combined adjusted gross income (AGI)?
• What is the contributor's combined income tax paid?
• Student College or Career School Plans
• Student Homelessness
• Parents' Refusal to Provide Information
• Family Size
• Student Race and Ethnicity
• State of Residence
• Student Completion of High School
• Federal Benefits Received
• Tax Filing Status
• Tax Return Information

These changes are intended to more accurately capture tax information for applicants and contributors who may have filed tax returns in Puerto Rico or another U.S. territory.

Several existing questions have also been revised.

What this means for you: Read each FAFSA question carefully and select the response that accurately describes your circumstances for the 2027–28 academic year.

Several questions about the student's educational background and circumstances have been revised.

College or Career Plans

The wording and response options for the student's college or career plans have been updated. The FAFSA also provides revised wording regarding whether the student will already have a bachelor's degree.

High School Completion

The FAFSA now uses the heading “Student Completion of High School” and provides updated response options:

• The student will have a high school diploma.
• The student will have a GED or other state-recognized high school equivalent.
• The student will have completed homeschooling under state law.
• None of the above.
• Did not live with a parent or guardian and were homeless;
• Did not live with a parent or guardian, supported themselves, and were at risk of becoming homeless; or
• Did not experience either situation.

Homelessness

The homelessness question has been clarified to distinguish between students who:

If a student indicates one of these circumstances, the FAFSA provides additional instructions regarding documentation and contacting the college's financial aid office when appropriate.

What this means for you: If your circumstances involve homelessness, independent living, or unusual family circumstances, answer the FAFSA questions based on your actual situation and contact Morehouse Student Financial Services if you need assistance understanding what documentation may be required.

The 2027–28 FAFSA includes new questions concerning Puerto Rico and other U.S. territory tax returns.

All contributors will be asked whether they filed a 2025 income tax return in Puerto Rico or another U.S. territory, or whether they will.

For applicable contributors, the FAFSA also collects:

• Combined adjusted gross income
• Combined income tax paid

The FAFSA has also been updated so that certain tax fields are displayed differently for contributors who are both U.S. and Puerto Rico or other U.S. territory tax filers.

Why is this important?

Tax information is used as part of the FAFSA process to determine eligibility for federal student aid. Providing accurate information helps ensure that your FAFSA is processed using the appropriate financial information.

Tip: Have your 2025 tax information available when completing the FAFSA and carefully review the tax-filing questions before submitting your application.

The FAFSA has updated the wording and response order for questions asking whether the student, parent, or someone in the family received certain federal benefits.

The changes are intended to make the question easier to understand and to clarify which benefits should be reported.

For example, the FAFSA provides clarification concerning when free or reduced-price school lunch should be reported. The form distinguishes between families who qualified for the benefit based on income and situations where a school provides meals to all students.

What this means for you: Carefully review the question and its instructions before selecting an answer. Do not assume that receiving a school-provided benefit automatically means you should select that option.

Yes. The FAFSA has clarified instructions concerning certain assets.

Cash, savings, and checking accounts

When reporting current cash, savings, and checking account amounts, the FAFSA now clarifies: Do not include cash amounts under $1,000.

Investments

When reporting the current net worth of investments, the FAFSA clarifies that you should not include:

• The home where the contributor lives; or
• Retirement accounts.

What this means for you: Use the FAFSA instructions when determining which assets should be reported.

The online FAFSA has several user-experience updates for 2027–28.

“Personal Circumstance” is now “Background”

The section previously labeled Personal Circumstance has been renamed Background.

“Signature” is now “Review and Sign”

The signature portion of the FAFSA has been renamed Review and Sign.

Real-Time Processing

Most online FAFSAs will process in real time. This means that issues may be identified while an applicant is completing the FAFSA, allowing the applicant to begin addressing certain issues during the application session rather than waiting for the FAFSA to finish processing.

Integrated into StudentAid.gov

The online FAFSA experience is integrated into StudentAid.gov, providing applicants with a more connected application experience.

What this means for you: Pay attention to messages and instructions that appear while completing the FAFSA. If the system identifies an issue, follow the instructions provided before completing the application whenever possible.

Yes. The 2027–28 FAFSA continues to be available as a PDF/paper application for applicants who need or prefer that option.

• Available in English and Spanish.
• Available in versions for regular applicants and incarcerated applicants.
• Contains 23 pages, including application and instructional pages.
• Can be completed electronically, printed, signed, and mailed to Federal Student Aid.
• Up to 20 colleges when completing the FAFSA online.
• Up to 10 colleges on the paper FAFSA.

When mailing a paper FAFSA, all application pages must be included, even if a page does not contain information. The instructional pages do not need to be mailed. Mailing the FAFSA also requires postage.

How many colleges can I list?

• Up to 20 colleges when completing the FAFSA online.
• Up to 10 colleges on the paper FAFSA.

Federal Student Aid continues to use enhanced fraud-prevention measures as part of the FAFSA process.

A real-time fraud detection system reviews FAFSA submissions as they are submitted. For most applicants, this will not interrupt the FAFSA experience.

However, a small number of applicants may be asked to complete additional steps to verify their identity. If identity cannot be verified, the FAFSA transaction may be rejected until the issue is resolved.

What should I do if I am asked to verify my identity?

Complete the requested verification steps as soon as possible.

Important: An identity-verification request does not necessarily mean that you did anything wrong. It means additional verification may be required before your FAFSA can continue through the federal processing system.

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No. The federal FAFSA Partner Portal limits the information that financial aid administrators can access.

Financial aid administrators do not have access to Federal Tax Information (FTI) submitted by applicants through the FAFSA.

Financial aid administrators also cannot view a student's FAFSA answers regarding:

• Race
• Ethnicity
• Sex

What this means for you: Not every piece of information submitted on your FAFSA is visible to the college's financial aid administrators.