The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a form completed by current and prospective college students in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid.
The cost to attend college includes both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include: tuition, fees, and on-campus housing. Indirect costs can include books, supplies, travel expenses and a variety of personal expenses including laundry, food, off-campus housing, etc. To estimate these costs, students and their families can speak to the colleges/universities which interest them; they can utilize the "net price calculator" available on college websites; and visit the FAFSA4caster website: http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov.
To pay for college, students and their families often seek out assistance in the form of loans, grants, work-study programs, and scholarships. To apply for most financial aid, students and their families will complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Filing the FAFSA is free so there should never be a need to pay for this service.
You can file your 2022-23 FAFSA as early as Oct. 1, 2021
For the 2022-2023 FAFSA, you will be required to report prior year tax and income information. On the FAFSA, you — and your parent(s), as appropriate — will report your 2020 tax and income information.
This will make the FAFSA easier because you have already completed your taxes, you may be able to automatically import your tax information from the IRS data retrieval tool found in the FAFSA.