Assets include other investments, such as real estate (other than the home in which your parents live), Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) accounts for which your parents are the owner, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, etc.

What assets are not included in FAFSA?

Non-reportable assets Qualified retirement plans , including 401(k), Roth 401(k), 403(b), IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, SIMPLE, Keogh, profit sharing and pension plans. Qualified annuities are also not counted on the FAFSA.

Can I use my own income for FAFSA?

A student can’t simply choose to file as an independent on the FAFSA, the application that most schools use to determine financial aid awards. For the most part, the FAFSA relies on parental information unless the student is applying for graduate school.

Should I include assets on FAFSA?

As a general rule, you should only report assets that are cash-based (i.e. not your car) and liquid (meaning you can easily turn them into cash). Things like trust funds and 529 savings plans (if they’re owned by you or your parent) do need to be reported, as well as more obvious things like your bank balances.

Can a parent’s investment count as a FAFSA asset?

As with cash, parental investments count for less on the FAFSA than the student’s, but a Uniform Transfer to Minors Act account still counts as the student’s own FAFSA asset, even if the parents are the custodian.

What kind of assets are included in FAFSA?

The exact amount protected depends on the number of parents and the age of the older parent. Many private colleges use information from an additional aid application to allocate aid from their own resources. These colleges may count more assets, such as home equity and assets owned by divorced parents and siblings.

How are assets hurt college aid eligibility on FAFSA and CSS?

ability to pay for college. That’s why it is so important for you to discover ahead of time how your savings, investments, retirement accounts and 529 college plans may hurt your child’s aid eligibility when you complete the FAFSA and CSS Profile college aid forms. You specifically want to determine three things as early as possible:

Can a trust fund be reported as an asset on the FAFSA?

Trust funds must be reported as assets on the FAFSA, even if access to the principal is restricted. The main exception involves a court-ordered trust to pay for future medical expenses of an accident victim.