Student Aid Index (SAI) Explained: The 2026-27 Formula

Your Student Aid Index (SAI) is a number from -1,500 to 999,999 that the FAFSA calculates from your family’s income and assets. It is not a bill. For 2026-27, an SAI of 0 or less qualifies for the maximum Pell Grant of $7,395, and an SAI of 14,790 or more rules Pell out.

The SAI replaced the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) in 2024-25. The 2026-27 formula reads your 2024 tax return. The 2027-28 FAFSA, which opened on September 23, 2026, reads 2025. Source · U.S. Department of Education

Below is how the number is built, what moves it, and which aid it decides.

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Your household Choose oneJust me (no spouse or children)Me and my spouse, no childrenSingle parent, one childSingle parent, two childrenMarried, one childMarried, two childrenStudent with one parent, family of 2Student with one parent, family of 3Student with two parents, family of 4 Your adjusted gross income on your 2024 taxes $

Your SAI measures need; it is not what you pay

StudentAid.gov is direct about it: the SAI is not a dollar amount of aid, not what your family is expected to provide, and not your aid offer. Source · StudentAid.gov, What is the SAI?

Schools use it in one subtraction. Cost of attendance minus SAI equals your financial need, and need caps how much need-based aid you can receive: Pell, FSEOG, Direct Subsidized Loans and Work-Study. Source · StudentAid.gov, How aid is calculated

Three formulas, one for each kind of student

Which formula runs depends on your dependency status. On the 2027-28 FAFSA you are independent if you were born before January 1, 2004, are married, are a veteran or on active duty, support children, or meet one of the other listed tests. Source · StudentAid.gov, Dependency

Formula A

Dependent students

Whose finances count

Parents and student

Income protection allowance

Parents: $44,880 for a family of four. Student: $11,770

Asset rate

Parents 12%, student 20%

Formula B

Independent, no dependents

Whose finances count

Student and spouse

Income protection allowance

$18,310 unmarried, $29,350 married

Asset rate

20%

Formula C

Independent, with dependents

Whose finances count

Student and spouse

Income protection allowance

$68,430 for a single parent with two children

Asset rate

7%

The allowances matter most for working adults. A single parent with two children (Formula C, family of three) shelters the first $68,430 of income before anything is assessed. Source · 2026-27 SAI Guide

For dependent students, the SAI adds three contributions

Formula A adds the parents’ contribution, the student’s contribution from income and the student’s contribution from assets. The parents’ side works like this:

1. Total the parents' income

   Start with 2024 AGI. Add deductible IRA and Keogh payments, tax-exempt interest, untaxed IRA distributions and pensions, and any foreign income exclusion. Subtract taxable grants, education tax credits and Work-Study earnings.

2. Subtract the allowances

   U.S. income tax paid, a payroll tax allowance, the income protection allowance for your family size, and an employment expense allowance of 35% of combined income, up to $5,000. There is no state tax allowance in 2026-27.

3. Add 12% of net worth

   Cash and savings, investments (including 529 plans, but not your home), child support received last year, and business or farm net worth (small family businesses and farms you live on are excluded). The asset protection allowance is $0 at every age, so every reported dollar counts.

4. Apply the 22% to 47% assessment

   Available income plus the asset amount is assessed on the bracket table below. The result is the parents’ contribution.

Family size	2026-27	2027-28
2	$29,190	$30,300
3	$36,330	$37,720
4	$44,880	$46,590
5	$52,950	$54,970
6	$61,930	$64,290
Each extra person	+$6,990	+$7,260

Family size 2

2026-27 $29,190

2027-28 $30,300

Family size 3

2026-27 $36,330

2027-28 $37,720

Family size 4

2026-27 $44,880

2027-28 $46,590

Family size 5

2026-27 $52,950

2027-28 $54,970

Family size 6

2026-27 $61,930

2027-28 $64,290

Family size Each extra person

2026-27 +$6,990

2027-28 +$7,260

The student’s side is simpler. Student income above a $11,770 allowance (after taxes) is assessed at 50%, and student assets at 20%.

Parent income is assessed at 22% to 47%

The assessment on the parents’ adjusted available income rises through six brackets. Formula C, for independent students with dependents, uses the same table. Source · 2026-27 SAI Guide, Table A5

Adjusted available income	Contribution
Below -$8,500	-$1,870
-$8,500 to $21,800	22% of the amount
$21,801 to $27,300	$4,796 plus 25% of the amount over $21,800
$27,301 to $32,800	$6,171 plus 29% of the amount over $27,300
$32,801 to $38,400	$7,766 plus 34% of the amount over $32,800
$38,401 to $43,900	$9,670 plus 40% of the amount over $38,400
$43,901 or more	$11,870 plus 47% of the amount over $43,900

Adjusted available income Below -$8,500

Contribution -$1,870

Adjusted available income -$8,500 to $21,800

Contribution 22% of the amount

Adjusted available income $21,801 to $27,300

Contribution $4,796 plus 25% of the amount over $21,800

Adjusted available income $27,301 to $32,800

Contribution $6,171 plus 29% of the amount over $27,300

Adjusted available income $32,801 to $38,400

Contribution $7,766 plus 34% of the amount over $32,800

Adjusted available income $38,401 to $43,900

Contribution $9,670 plus 40% of the amount over $38,400

Adjusted available income $43,901 or more

Contribution $11,870 plus 47% of the amount over $43,900

Example: parents with adjusted available income of $30,000 fall in the $27,301 to $32,800 bracket. Their contribution is $6,171 plus 29% of $2,700, or $6,954.

Five rules that changed how the SAI is built

The FAFSA Simplification Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act changed the formula in ways that surprise families who remember the EFC.

Rule	What it means for you
SAI can go below zero	Down to -1,500. A lower SAI signals more need; Pell tops out at 0 or less.
No adjustment for siblings in college	The formula has no input for how many family members are in school. Ask your aid office for a special-circumstances review instead.
Child support received is an asset	Last year’s child support received is added to parent net worth, assessed at 12%.
Small family businesses and farms excluded again	From 2026-27, family businesses with 100 or fewer employees, farms the family lives on and family fishing businesses do not count.
No asset protection allowance	Tables A4, B3 and C5 are $0 at every age, so savings count from the first dollar.

Rule SAI can go below zero

What it means for you Down to -1,500. A lower SAI signals more need; Pell tops out at 0 or less.

Rule No adjustment for siblings in college

What it means for you The formula has no input for how many family members are in school. Ask your aid office for a special-circumstances review instead.

Rule Child support received is an asset

What it means for you Last year’s child support received is added to parent net worth, assessed at 12%.

Rule Small family businesses and farms excluded again

What it means for you From 2026-27, family businesses with 100 or fewer employees, farms the family lives on and family fishing businesses do not count.

Rule No asset protection allowance

What it means for you Tables A4, B3 and C5 are $0 at every age, so savings count from the first dollar.

The business and farm exclusion is new for 2026-27. Source · FSA, APP-25-23 Family size now starts from the people counted on your tax return, and you can report the right size on the form if that count is wrong.

Your SAI decides Pell, and your place in line for FSEOG

For 2026-27, your SAI maps to Pell in three bands. Source · FSA Handbook 2026-27, Vol. 7, Ch. 2

• 0 or less: the maximum, $7,395.
• 1 to 6,655: $7,395 minus the SAI, rounded to the nearest $5.
• 6,656 to 14,789: only the $740 minimum, and only if a separate income test passes.

Income alone can also qualify you for the maximum, whatever the SAI works out to. Our Pell Grant income limits guide lists those lines by family size.

A negative SAI does not raise Pell above the maximum. It can still matter: schools give FSEOG first to Pell recipients with the lowest SAIs. Source · FSA Handbook 2026-27, Vol. 6, Ch. 6

Find your SAI on your FAFSA Submission Summary

You see an estimated SAI on the confirmation page when you submit. The official number appears once the form is processed. Source · StudentAid.gov

1. Log in to StudentAid.gov

   Use the same account you used to sign the FAFSA.

2. Select your processed FAFSA

   Pick the right year: 2026-27 for school through June 2027, 2027-28 for school from July 2027.

3. Open the FAFSA Submission Summary

   Select “View FAFSA Submission Summary”, then the “Eligibility Overview” tab. Your SAI is listed there.

What you can legitimately change

The SAI reads real numbers, but a few choices and corrections move it.

• Whose name savings are in. For a dependent student, $10,000 in the student’s account adds $2,000 through the 20% rate. The same money in a parent’s account adds $1,200 at 12%, before the bracket assessment.
• What you report as assets. The asset lines cover cash, investments, business and farm net worth and child support received. Your home is excluded by name, and retirement accounts are not on the lines.
• Family size. If the tax return misses someone you support, report the correct size.
• A special-circumstances review. Aid officers can adjust FAFSA data for a job loss or income drop, medical or dependent care costs, a disability, or another family member in college. The change applies only at that school, and its decision is final. Source · FSA Handbook, AVG Ch. 5

Frequently asked questions

Is a negative SAI better than zero?

For Pell, no: both get the maximum. A lower SAI can still move you up the line for limited funds such as FSEOG, which schools give first to the lowest SAIs among Pell recipients.

Is my SAI the same at every school?

The federal SAI on your FAFSA Submission Summary is the same for every school you list. A special-circumstances adjustment changes it only at the school that makes it.

What is the difference between the SAI and the EFC?

They do the same job: measure need. The SAI can go below zero, has no discount for siblings in college, and uses newer allowance tables. For 2026-27 it also excludes small family businesses and family farms.

Your next step: turn your SAI into an aid picture

Your SAI is one input. The aid check turns an estimated SAI into Pell, your state grant and federal loan limits in about two minutes, and shows the result before any email. Your school’s aid offer sets the final amounts.