How to Complete Fafsa Without Your Parents

Co-authored by Hannah Madden

Last Updated: September 16, 2021

If you’re applying to college in the United States, you’ve probably heard all about the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form. To qualify for financial aid, you have to include your parent’s tax return from the previous year—but there are a few special circumstances where that’s not the case. Read through these frequently asked questions to see how you can submit your FAFSA form without your parents and receive the benefits you need to go to school.

Question 1 of 4:

How do I file FAFSA without my parent’s tax return?

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You’ll see it when the FAFSA form asks you to fill out your information about your legal guardian(s). If you’re using the mystudentAID app, click on “learn more” to select this option.^{[1]
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Choose a special circumstance option. Read through all the info about special circumstances, then pick the one that pertains to your situation. If your parents are incarcerated, if you left home due to an abusive environment, if you don’t know where your parents are, or if you’re between the ages of 21 and 23 and you’re at-risk of being homeless, you can submit your FAFSA without a parent’s tax return.^{[2]
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- If you do submit your FAFSA form without a tax return, it won’t be fully processed. You need to talk to the financial aid office of the school you’re attending to figure out your next steps.
- If you don’t qualify for a special circumstance (if your parents just refuse to give you their tax information), you can still submit your FAFSA form. However, you won’t be eligible for federal aid, just subsidized loans.

Question 2 of 4:

How do I become an independent for FAFSA?

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If your parents are no longer supporting you, you’re independent. To qualify as an independent, you can either be: 24 years or older, married, a graduate or professional student, a veteran, a member of the armed forces, an orphan, a ward of the court, or an emancipated minor.^{[3]
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- You may also qualify as an independent if you’re homeless or at risk of being homeless.
- The FAFSA form will ask you these questions to help you determine whether you qualify as an independent or not.

Question 3 of 4:

How do undocumented parents fill out FAFSA?

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Even if they have a Taxpayer ID Number, just enter zeros. Your parents won’t be able to make an FSA ID, so you’ll need to print out the last page of the FAFSA form, have them sign it, then mail it in.^{[4]
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The FAFSA form will ask if your parents have filed or not. Once you select that, you can enter in information about how much your parents earned instead of specific tax form information.^{[5]
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Question 4 of 4:

How old you have to be to file for FAFSA without parents?

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You need to be 24 years or older. If you’re 24 already or you’re turning 24 by January 1st of the school year you’re applying for, you can submit your form as an independent. You won’t need to include information about your parents on the FAFSA form.^{[6]
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- For example, if you’re applying to start school in August of 2021, you must be at least 24 years old by January 1st, 2021.