Independent Status on FAFSA Federal Student Aid Question?

I qualify to be an independant on my FAFSA as I am 26 years old and am not put on my parents tax return. I do, however make 0 income and live at home. Am I required to give my parents info? I can't find the answer. What do they do in cases where you are an independant, making no money, but your parents are supporting you. No I am not a bum they need me here so I am here helping them while going to school. I am in school full time and have satisfactory grades. What will my FAFSA, or school say when they see that I make 0 dollars, am independant, yet living at home? Thank you.

Ok, then when applying for loans if I am considered to be an independant can I still have my parents co-sign on the loans? A Stafford loan or what not?

No.

If you're over 24 years of age, you are classified as an independent student for financial aid purposes. Your confusion is common, but you're approaching the concept from the wrong side...

It's not that independence means that you're able to pay your own way...

It's that the government accepts that your parents have absolutely no responsibility to help you pay for college.

The Department of Education doesn't judge your lifestyle - they simply feed your FAFSA data into a formula. If your income is zero, your EFC will be zero, and you'll qualify for the need-based forms of federal student aid, including the Pell Grant, and possibly the subsidized Stafford loan, the Federal Work-Study Program, and maybe even other, supplementary grants.

Good luck to you!

Stafford loans require no cosigner. All federal loans require no cosigner or credit checks.

No, you don't have to list your parent's income.