FAFSA 2027-28: Opening Date and What You Need
The 2027-28 FAFSA opened on September 23, 2026, and it uses prior-prior year information, which means your 2025 tax year. The 2027-28 federal deadline had not been published in the Federal Register when we checked on November 8, 2026; for reference, the 2026-27 notice (91 FR 37096) set June 30, 2027. Confirm your own federal, state and school deadlines on StudentAid.gov.
Maintained by Archie Chang · Dates checked against ED sources November 8, 2026 · Methodology & sources
FAFSA 2027-28 timeline
| Event | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary McMahon certified to Congress that the form would launch on time | August 25, 2026 | ED press release |
| 2027-28 FAFSA online and available | September 23, 2026 | ED press release |
| Statutory deadlines for the Department each year | Certify by September 1; launch by October 1 | ED press release (Higher Education Act, as amended by the FAFSA Deadline Act) |
| 2026-27 award year: last day for a FAFSA form to be received (reference only) | June 30, 2027 | Federal Register, 91 FR 37096 |
| 2026-27 award year: last day for corrections and duplicate Submission Summary requests (reference only) | September 11, 2027 | Federal Register, 91 FR 37096 |
| Federal FAFSA deadline | Not yet published in the Federal Register as of November 8, 2026. Confirm on StudentAid.gov. | |
| School and state deadlines | Check StudentAid.gov, your state agency and your school's financial aid page. | |
The award year runs from July 1 to June 30 (the Handbook: it begins on July 1 of one year and ends on June 30 of the next). Aid for 2027-28 therefore covers classes in that window. We do not list state or school deadlines here.
What you need for the 2027-28 FAFSA
The SAI formulas behind the FAFSA use Tax Year 2025 figures (the prior-prior year), so gather the following. A dependent student's parents supply their own information; an independent student supplies their own.
- Your 2025 federal income tax return, or confirmation that you were not required to file one.
- Adjusted gross income (AGI), income earned from work and untaxed portions of IRA distributions and pensions for each person who reports.
- Family size and state of residence, which also feed the Pell poverty guideline tests.
- Whether you are a dependent or independent student; the guide has a dependency status appendix.
- A StudentAid.gov account. ED says students can invite a contributor by text message as well as email.
ED says the form can be completed in as little as 15 minutes; your time will depend on your household.
How the FAFSA connects to the SAI and the Pell Grant
The FAFSA is how your information becomes a Student Aid Index. The SAI calculator runs the 2027-28 formulas on your numbers. The Pell Grant is the next step: it is the award year's maximum minus your SAI, with separate Max Pell and Min Pell tests. Try it with the Pell Grant calculator, which uses the 2026-27 maximum of $7,395 because the 2027-28 amount has not been announced.
Beyond grants, your school builds a package from your cost of attendance. See the federal student loan limits before you borrow.
FAFSA 2027-28 questions
When does the 2027-28 FAFSA open?
It is already open. The Department of Education announced on September 23, 2026 that the 2027-2028 FAFSA form is online and available to the public. The law requires the Department to certify the launch by September 1 and to launch by October 1 each year.
Which tax year do I use for the 2027-28 FAFSA?
The prior-prior tax year, which is 2025. ED’s 2027-28 SAI guide says to use the prior-prior tax year, and its formulas are written with Tax Year 2025 figures (for example the Social Security wage base of $176,100 for Tax Year 2025). A student or parent who did not file a federal income tax return for that year is treated differently: the guide assigns an SAI of -1,500 to non-filers.
What is the federal FAFSA deadline for 2027-28?
The 2027-28 federal deadline notice had not been published in the Federal Register when we checked on November 8, 2026. For reference, the 2026-27 notice (91 FR 37096, June 22, 2026) set June 30, 2027 as the deadline for a FAFSA form to be received. Confirm the 2027-28 date on StudentAid.gov.
Where do I find my state and school deadlines?
We do not list them. Check the StudentAid.gov deadlines page, your state agency and your school’s financial aid website for the date that applies to you.
Does the FAFSA decide my Pell Grant?
It supplies what Pell needs: the SAI and the Max Pell and Min Pell tests. The Pell amount then comes from the award year’s maximum, your SAI and your school’s cost of attendance. For 2026-27 the maximum is $7,395; the 2027-28 maximum has not been announced.
Sources (checked November 8, 2026; StudentAid.gov could not be read, so dates not in these documents are not stated): ED press release, Sept. 23, 2026: 2027-28 FAFSA is online · Federal Register 2026-12462 (91 FR 37096, June 22, 2026): 2026-2027 award year FAFSA deadline dates · ED: 2027-28 SAI and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide (June 2026; Internet Archive copy, Oct. 21, 2026) · FSA Handbook 2026-27, Vol. 7, Ch. 2: Calculating Pell Grants (read from an Internet Archive copy, Oct. 26, 2026) · StudentAid.gov: FAFSA deadlines (federal, state and school)
Cite this page
Page title: FAFSA 2027-28: Opening Date and What You Need. Updated November 8, 2026. Canonical URL: https://fedratecalc.com/fafsa-2027-28/
Data source: ED press release, Sept. 23, 2026: 2027-28 FAFSA is online; Federal Register 2026-12462 (91 FR 37096, June 22, 2026): 2026-2027 award year FAFSA deadline dates; ED: 2027-28 SAI and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide (June 2026; Internet Archive copy, Oct. 21, 2026); FSA Handbook 2026-27, Vol. 7, Ch. 2: Calculating Pell Grants (read from an Internet Archive copy, Oct. 26, 2026), compiled by FedRateCalc.
Plain-text citation
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