Contributor is a new term introduced on the 2024–25 FAFSA form. It refers to the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adopted parent, or the parent’s spouse (stepparent). A contributor is NOT a grandparent, foster parents, legal guardian, brother or sister, aunt, or uncle, even if they helped provide for or raise the student in some way. Please note, a contributor on the FAFSA form doesn’t mean they are financially responsible for the student’s education costs.

The student’s or parent’s answers will determine which contributors (if any) will be required to provide information.

These contributors will be invited to create an FSA ID and complete their portion of the FAFSA form by entering their name, date of birth, Social Security number, and email address. They must also provide personal and financial information in their own sections of the FAFSA form.

• The contributors receive an email informing them that they’ve been identified as a contributor.
• The contributor creates a StudentAid.gov account if they don’t already have one.
• The contributor logs in to their account using their FSA ID account username and password.
• The contributor reviews information about completing their section of the FAFSA form.
• The contributor provides the required information on the student’s FAFSA form.

Being a contributor does NOT imply financial responsibility. However, if a required contributor refuses to provide their information, it will result in an incomplete FAFSA form, and the student will become ineligible for federal student aid.

Students that live with a single/divorced/widowed parent and receive most support from that parent, will report only one parent on the FAFSA. The parent included in the FAFSA as a contributor must be the parent that provides the greater portion of the student’s financial support. If that primary parent is remarried, the income of that parent’s spouse (stepparent) will also be required.

According to the Future Act, all students and contributors must provide consent to the following:

• Have their federal tax information transferred directly into the FAFSA form via direct data exchange with the IRS.
• Have their federal tax information used to determine the student’s eligibility for federal student aid; and
• Allow the U.S. Department of Education to share its federal tax information with postsecondary institutions and state higher education agencies for use in awarding and administering financial aid.
• Important: Even if students or contributors don’t have a Social Security number, didn’t file taxes, or filed taxes outside of the U.S., they still need to provide consent.

If a student or required contributor doesn’t provide consent to have their federal tax information transferred into the FAFSA form, the student will not be eligible for federal student aid — even if they manually enter tax information into the FAFSA form. Information about how federal tax information will be used and the consequences of not providing consent will be included on the FAFSA form. Legal parents must provide consent to transfer federal tax information, even if one of the parents didn’t file or had no income. If parents fail to provide consent, the student won’t be eligible to receive federal student aid.