Do IRAs Count on a FAFSA?

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid determines how much financial aid you will receive, not only from the U.S. federal government, but also from your state agency and your school. All of the information you report on the FAFSA affects your financial aid package, for better or worse. The FAFSA handles IRAs differently from most other types of assets, which usually helps improve your financial aid package.

If you want to receive help paying for college, you will have to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA. Colleges use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for federal and school-based financial aid, such as student loans, scholarships and grants.

The FAFSA considers many factors when determining eligibility, including your family’s income and asset net worth. Net assets include any savings and investments, including IRAs. However, IRA balances and distributions are treated differently from regular income, so you will need to take care when you report them.

Education IRA accounts, now called Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, do need to be reported on the FAFSA if it's a student or parent asset. Typically, at least a small percentage of the amount will be considered when the FAFSA application calculates the estimated contribution amount for your family.

However, if the account owner is not related to the student, the account balance does not appear on the FAFSA, but the student needs to report these distributions as untaxed income on the FAFSA the following year.

​Read More​: What to Use FAFSA Money For

You do not have to report the balances on your IRA accounts on the FAFSA. This is true regardless of whether you have a traditional IRA, Roth IRA or another type of retirement account, such as a 401(k). This is helpful because it allows you to keep your retirement savings for retirement, rather than having to spend them on education for yourself or your children.

You must report all of your contributions to IRAs and other retirement accounts on the FAFSA. If the contributions are not taxable, as is the case with contributions to a traditional IRA or a 401(k), you will report them as untaxed income. Otherwise, you make your contributions out of your AGI, which you report on the FAFSA. Therefore, increasing your contributions to IRAs will not affect your income in ways that will help you qualify for more aid.

Although you are allowed to withdraw money from your IRA without penalty if you use it for education, these funds will affect your financial aid. This is because you must report all IRA distributions taken during the previous year on your FAFSA.

Distributions from a traditional IRA are taxed income and are included in your AGI. Distributions from a Roth IRA must be listed as untaxed income on your FAFSA, or as taxed income if you have had the account for less than ​five years​.

​Read More:​ How to Fill out Tax Information on a FAFSA