The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will undergo major changes for the 2024-2025 school year. One major change is that the adjusted value of a family farm or small business will be used when calculating expected financial contribution from parents. Prior to this year, the net value of a family farm or small business was not included. While the net value of the farm or business will be lowered due to an adjustment formula, the inclusion of farm assets may make receiving need-based scholarships harder for many children of farmers.[i] Because of the significant changes, the Federal Student Aid office recently announced that the new form will not be available until December 2023. FAFSA filing generally begins October 1.
Legislative History of the Change
The FAFSA Simplification Act was enacted into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which was passed in December 2020 by Congress and signed by President Trump. Over the past three years, the Department of Education, which is entrusted with implementation, has gradually enacted the changes since the 2021-22 Award Year. The final phase of changes will occur in the 2024-25 Award Year.
One major change to the FAFSA process in the upcoming year is the formula used to determine a student’s expected financial contribution towards higher education. Prior to this year it was called the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), but now it will be called the Student Aid Index (SAI). There are significant differences between the two formulas. These include: (1) the removal of the number of family members in college from the eligibility calculation, (2) the possibility for an SAI to be a negative number, and (3) the inclusion of the adjusted value of family farms and small businesses.[ii]
Prior to the 2024-25 Award Year, family farms and small businesses with fewer than 100 employees were specifically excluded from the definition of assets under 20 U.S.C.1087vv(f)(2)(B-C). The FAFSA Simplification Act removed those two exceptions from the term “assets.”[iii] As a result, the value of the assets of family farms and small businesses are now considered assets that are available to help pay for college.
Overview of SAI Calculation for Farm Families
The basic formula to determine SAI is parents’ contribution + student’s contribution from income + student’s contribution from assets.[iv] Parents’ contribution is determined by taking their available income + assets.[v] There is a specific formula for calculating available income. In the calculation there are offsets and allowances, such as the Income Protection Allowance and payments received from Federal Work Study.
Asset Calculation
Except for the value of the family home,[vi] parents’ assets are considered available to be contributed towards college expenses. This includes checking and savings accounts, money market funds, investments, trusts, stocks, bonds, securities, qualified education benefits, and child support payments.[vii] Further, the net value of real estate, vacation homes, and income producing property is included. Net value is calculated by taking the fair market value of the asset at the time of application and subtracting “any outstanding liabilities or indebtedness against the assets.”[viii]
The value of the farm for FAFSA purposes is a two-step calculation. The first step is to calculate the net value of the farm. The formula to determine net value is fair market value of all farm assets, including real estate, minus any liabilities that use the farm assets as collateral. For example, the remaining balance of a farm ownership loan would be subtracted from the value of the land to calculate the net value of the land. The fair market value and value of any liability is determined at the time of the application.
Source: iastate.edu
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