How Your SAI Estimate Is Calculated
The FAFSA uses one of three official formulas. Which one applies depends on the student's dependency status, so the estimator asks the dependency questions first.
- Formula A, for dependent students, adds three parts: a contribution from the parents, a contribution from the student's income, and a contribution from the student's assets.
- Formula B, for independent students without dependents other than a spouse, adds a contribution from the student's (and spouse's) income and one from their assets.
- Formula C, for independent students with dependents other than a spouse, combines income and assets into one figure and runs it through the same rising scale used for parents.
Each formula starts from income on the tax return, adds back some untaxed income, and then subtracts allowances: federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes on earnings, an income protection allowance for basic living costs that grows with family size, and an employment expense allowance of 35% of earned income, up to $5,200 for 2027–28. Parents and independent students with dependents get the employment allowance; an independent student without dependents gets it only when married.
Assets are counted after an asset protection allowance. In Formula A, 12% of the parents' remaining assets counts toward their contribution, and 20% of the student's assets counts directly. Formula C converts 7% of remaining assets. The parents' combined income and assets, and Formula C's, are assessed on a scale that rises from 22% to 47%; a dependent student's remaining income is assessed at 50%.
The number of family members in college no longer changes the result, as it did under the old EFC. Child support received is now counted as an asset rather than as income. The lowest possible SAI is −1,500.
Understanding Your Results
A lower SAI means greater financial need in the federal formula. A negative SAI, down to −1,500, signals the greatest need. A high SAI does not mean aid is impossible: colleges still compare it with their own cost, and some aid does not depend on need.
The breakdown under the result shows which part drives the figure. When the parents' contribution dominates, their income and assets matter most; for 2027–28 the asset protection allowance is $0, so every counted asset enters the formula. When the student's contribution is large, it is often the 50% assessment of the student's own earnings or the 20% of the student's savings.
SAI vs. Financial Need
A college works out financial need by subtracting the SAI from its cost of attendance. StudentAid.gov's own illustration: a cost of attendance of $16,000 and an SAI of 12,000 leave eligibility for up to $4,000 in need-based aid.
Financial need = cost of attendance − Student Aid Index (SAI)
Need is not an award. Colleges also count other aid already awarded, and they decide how to meet need with grants, work-study and loans. Some colleges use their own formula for their own grants.
What to Do After Using This Estimator
Use this estimate to plan, then let the official process decide.
- Gather the 2025 federal tax returns and today's account balances for the student and, for a dependent student, the parents.
- Complete the official FAFSA at StudentAid.gov. Your official SAI appears on the FAFSA Submission Summary.
- Compare each college's cost of attendance with your SAI, and read every aid offer for what is a grant and what is a loan.
- If your family's finances have changed since 2025, ask the college's financial aid office about a special circumstance review.
To weigh a college's cost against grants, work-study and loans, use the College Financial Aid Calculator, and read about education tax credits.
Important Disclaimer
Your estimated Student Aid Index (SAI) is an educational estimate based on the information you entered. Your official SAI is determined through the FAFSA process. Colleges and financial aid programs determine actual eligibility and award amounts under applicable rules.
This estimator covers the federal formula only. It does not model special circumstance adjustments, provisional independence, a college's own aid formula, or how a college packages aid. Where an answer cannot be modeled, the official FAFSA result may differ.