Net Worth on FAFSA

[Jolie South]

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When they ask about value of bank accounts etc, does that include credit card debt?

I have a few thousand in debt on my credit cards from this application season, so really the amount that I have is significantly less.

 

[Boogsie]

When they ask about value of bank accounts etc, does that include credit card debt?

I have a few thousand in debt on my credit cards from this application season, so really the amount that I have is significantly less.

I think the next question asks you to subtract the amount of debt you have from that amount you listed as assets.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I looked at the wording on the form, and it sounds like they just want you to put down the current balances without making any adjustment for debt -- otherwise, I think it would specifically tell you you could subtract the debt. If you're worried about it, you could go ahead and pay the credit cards with the excess savings before officially submitting the FAFSA. However, I doubt it'll be much of an issue unless you're got a pretty significant chunk of money in your account and you and your spouse earn more than $49k/year. If you guys earn less than that, assets generally aren't included in calculating your federal financial need. And even if you make more than that, only ~20% of the value of your assets goes toward your EFC.

 

[Jolie South]

I looked at the wording on the form, and it sounds like they just want you to put down the current balances without making any adjustment for debt -- otherwise, I think it would specifically tell you you could subtract the debt. If you're worried about it, you could go ahead and pay the credit cards with the excess savings before officially submitting the FAFSA. However, I doubt it'll be much of an issue unless you're got a pretty significant chunk of money in your account and you and your spouse earn more than $49k/year. If you guys earn less than that, assets generally aren't included in calculating your federal financial need. And even if you make more than that, only ~20% of the value of your assets goes toward your EFC.

Thanks!

I think I got it figured out. My husband and I made less than 49k and we'll both be full time students next year, so the difference would be negligible.