A contributor is anyone who is required to provide consent for Federal Tax Information
(FTI) and a signature on the FAFSA庐. For dependent students, this includes the student and the student鈥檚 parent(s) (biological,
adopted and/or step-parent if applicable). For independent students, this includes
the student and the student鈥檚 spouse if applicable. If an independent student is married
and filed separately, both individuals are contributors and must have FSA IDs.
A student's answers on the FAFSA庐 form will determine which contributors will be required to provide information. Students
will invite a contributor to complete their portion of the FAFSA庐 form by entering the contributor's name, date of birth, SSN, and email address.
Contributors are required to give consent to have their federal tax information (FTI)
transferred from the IRS. Consent authorizes direct access and disclosure of IRS data
and allows for disclosure of that information to state entities, institutions and
scholarship organizations. If any contributor refuses to give consent, the student will be ineligible for federal,
state, and institutional need-based financial aid.
If a dependent student's parents are unmarried and living together, both parents will
be contributors, will need to have separate Federal Student Aid (FSA) IDs, and need
to provide consent. Dependent students whose parents filed their U.S. income tax return
as Married Filing Jointly only require one parent contributor to complete the FAFSA庐. If the student's parents filed separately, both parents will be considered contributors
and therefore need separate FSA IDs.
Note: If a contributor doesn't have an SSN, they can still be invited to complete
their portion of the FAFSA庐 form. To invite a contributor who doesn't have an SSN, the student will indicate
that the contributor doesn't have an SSN and will instead provide the contributor's
mailing address.
To complete the contributor's portion of the FAFSA庐 form, the contributor will
- Receive an email informing them that they've been identified as a contributor;
- Create a account (FSA ID) if they don't already have one;
- Review information about completing their section of the FAFSA庐 form; and
- Provide the required personal and financial information and consent and approval on
the student's FAFSA庐 form.