Filing the FAFSA again every year
Grants from the federal government, your state and your college are awarded one year at a time, and the FAFSA is the application most of them read. This article walks through filing it again each year, from the October opening to the earliest deadline that applies to you.
Why last year's form stops working
Each FAFSA covers one award year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. When that year ends, so does the information the government, the state and the college used to set your grants. A Pell Grant, a state grant and most need-based college grants all need a fresh FAFSA for the next year.
The form normally opens by October 1 for the following award year. The income it asks about comes from two years before that award year, so a form filed in the fall of 2026 for 2027-28 reports 2025 income. That earlier tax year is often already filed, which keeps the work short.
The dates that decide the money
The federal deadline is June 30 at the end of the award year, but that date matters mostly for Pell. State agencies set their own deadlines, and some fall in early spring or sooner. Some state and campus funds are paid in the order forms arrive and stop when the money runs out.
Your college may also set a priority date for its own grants and for FSEOG, the federal grant each school receives in a limited amount. Look up the earliest date among your state, your college and any scholarship that reads the FAFSA. File before that one, and the later dates take care of themselves.
File before that one, and the later dates take care of themselves.
What to check each time you file
Each contributor, such as a parent or a spouse, needs a StudentAid.gov account and has to give consent again for the IRS to share tax data. A missing consent leaves the form incomplete, and the Student Aid Index waits until it is given. Ask contributors early so that a busy month does not hold up your grants.
Read the FAFSA Submission Summary when it arrives. It shows the Student Aid Index, which is an eligibility number used to set grants, not a bill. If your family's finances changed since the tax year on the form, the aid office can review the situation under professional judgment.
Dependency status, household size and the colleges you list can all change from year to year. Add every college you are considering, including one you plan to transfer to. A college left off the form receives no record of your FAFSA.
Steps to take this week
- Mark October 1 as the opening date for next year's FAFSA
- List the earliest state and college deadline you face
- Ask each contributor to sign in to StudentAid.gov
- Read your FAFSA Submission Summary when it arrives
Who decides
Your college's financial aid office and your state's higher education agency
Federal, state and college grants each rest on the current year's FAFSA, so file it again every fall before the earliest deadline you face.
