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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid is open for testing and will be available to the public on Oct. 1.
- Some changes were made to the application, making it easier to create an account and start filling it out.
- Other changes from the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” will change how some families report their income for federal student aid.
Some changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid could change how some families apply for federal loans and grants.
The 2026-27 FAFSA application was opened for testing at the beginning of August for a select group of students. The application for the 2026-27 academic year will be available for everyone by Oct. 1, 2025. That is much sooner than the past two releases, when the Department of Education was still trying to implement a significant overhaul of the application.
While fewer changes were made this year, some new features for students and their families have been implemented.
Simplification of Application
The Department of Education has made some changes to make the application easier to access.
The FAFSA requires every applicant to create a StudentAid.gov account before starting the process. Federal Student Aid said instead of taking several days for accounts to be verified, the Social Security Administration can now approve some accounts immediately for the 2026-27 application.
Students can also invite their families to fill out the FAFSA by simply inputting their email addresses instead of their complete personal information.
Updates From The One Big Beautiful Bill
The “One Big, Beautiful Bill” made some changes to how federal student aid is calculated, which will be reflected in the 2026-27 FAFSA when it opens to the public in October.
Firstly, the exemption of small businesses, family farms, and family-owned commercial businesses has returned. Students and their families can once again exclude these assets from their Student Aid Index, which is used to calculate how much federal aid families can receive.
Other changes have been made explicitly to the Pell Grant eligibility criteria, such as applicants with a Student Aid Index twice or more than the maximum Pell Grant amount are ineligible for the federal grant program. Additionally, families with foreign income must report it as part of their adjusted gross income when applying for a Pell Grant.
