What Year Is FAFSA Based On? Two-Year Lookback and Exceptions

The FAFSA is based on your federal tax return from two years before the academic year begins, a timing rule the Department of Education calls the prior-prior year. For the 2026–2027 school year, you use your 2024 return.¹ For the 2025–2026 school year, you use your 2023 return.² The same rule applies to every person who contributes information to the form: the student, a spouse, and any parent contributors.³

Quick Reference by Academic Year

Subtract two from the first year of the academic cycle to find the correct tax year:

2024–2025 academic year: 2022 tax return
2025–2026 academic year: 2023 tax return
2026–2027 academic year: 2024 tax return
2027–2028 academic year: 2025 tax return

You cannot substitute a newer or older year. If the income data on your application does not match the required year, it can be flagged for review. Even though the IRS transfers most figures directly into the form, keep that year’s return within reach while you fill it out.⁴

Why the FAFSA Looks Back Two Years

Before the 2017–2018 cycle, the FAFSA used income from just one year prior, which meant many families had to estimate their taxes or wait to file before completing the form. In September 2015, the Department of Education moved the FAFSA opening date from January 1 to October 1 and shifted the required tax year one year further back.⁵ Federal statute now refers to the required data as income from the “second preceding tax year.”³

The point of the two-year gap is that the return is already filed and finalized before the FAFSA opens each fall. No estimates, no waiting on a tax preparer, and in most cases the IRS can send the numbers straight into your application.

Assets and Marital Status Follow a Different Date

The tax-year rule covers income only. Assets are reported at their current value on the day you submit the FAFSA, not their value during the tax year.⁶ If a savings account held $5,000 during the tax year but holds $15,000 on the day you file, you report $15,000.

Marital status works the same way. You report it as of the day you complete the form, even if it differs from the filing status on the prior-prior year return.⁷ A parent who was married when filing the 2024 return but is divorced by the time the FAFSA is submitted reports the current divorced status. Because that status may not match what the IRS transfers over, a financial aid office might ask for a short explanation, but the current status is the correct answer.

When Your Income Has Dropped Since That Tax Year

The two-year lookback creates a real problem when circumstances have changed. A parent who earned $80,000 in the prior-prior year but was laid off six months ago still must complete the FAFSA using that older, higher income. The same mismatch can follow a divorce, a death in the family, or a significant medical expense.

Section 479A of the Higher Education Act gives financial aid administrators the authority to adjust individual data elements on your FAFSA when your current situation differs meaningfully from what the tax data shows. The mechanism is called professional judgment.⁸ A successful adjustment can lower your Student Aid Index and increase eligibility for need-based grants and loans.

The process has three steps:

Submit the FAFSA first, using the required prior-prior year data. Nothing can be adjusted until the application is on file.
Contact the financial aid office at each school you have listed and explain what changed.
Provide documentation the school asks for, such as a layoff notice, medical bills, or a death certificate.⁹

Each school makes its own decision, so you may need to file a separate request at every institution you are considering. Adjustments are not guaranteed, and the size of any change is at the school’s discretion.⁸

If You Did Not File a Return That Year

Not everyone is required to file a federal return, especially families whose income falls below the IRS threshold. If that describes you or a parent, you still must provide consent for the IRS data transfer when completing the FAFSA. Skipping consent makes the student ineligible for federal aid regardless of filing status.⁴ Individual colleges may ask non-filers for additional documentation, such as an attestation letter or proof of income, so check with each school’s financial aid office.

When to File

Knowing which tax year to use is only useful if you also file on time. The 2026–2027 FAFSA opens on October 1, 2025, and the federal deadline to submit is June 30, 2027.¹ Waiting for that final date is risky because much of the available aid, particularly grants and work-study, is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

State grant deadlines are often much earlier than the federal one, with many falling between March and July of the year the term starts. Some states award funds until the money runs out. Individual colleges also set their own priority deadlines. Check your state higher education agency’s website and the financial aid page of each school on your list so you don’t miss funding you would otherwise qualify for.¹⁰

1
Federal Student Aid. 2026-27 FAFSA Form
2
Federal Student Aid. 2023 Tax Information
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 20 USC 1087ss – Eligible Applicants Exempt From Asset Reporting
4
Federal Student Aid. FAFSA Checklist: What Students Need
5
Federal Student Aid (FSA) Knowledge Center. Early FAFSA Electronic Announcement 1 – Presidents Announcement of FAFSA Filing Changes
6
Federal Student Aid. Current Net Worth of Investments, Including Real Estate
7
Federal Student Aid. Completing the FAFSA Form: Steps for Parents
8
FSA Partners Knowledge Center. GEN-16-03 Subject: Use of Professional Judgment When Prior-Prior Year Income Is Used to Complete the FAFSA
9
U.S. Department of Education (FSA Partners). GEN-09-04 Subject: Use of Professional Judgment by Financial Aid Administrators
10
Federal Student Aid. FAFSA Deadlines