[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71261-71263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19670]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Federal Need Analysis Methodology for the 2025-26 Award Year--
Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, Federal Supplemental 
Educational Opportunity Grant, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan, and 
TEACH Grant Programs

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces the annual updates to the tables used 
in the statutory Federal Need Analysis Methodology (Need Analysis) that 
determines a student's Student Aid Index (SAI) for award year (AY) 
2025-26 for student financial aid programs, Assistance Listing Numbers 
(ALN) 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, 84.268, and 84.379. The intent of this 
notice is to alert the financial aid community and the broader public 
to these required annual updates used in the determination of student 
aid eligibility.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Hall Lewis. Telephone: (202) 
453-6519. Email: [email protected].
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and 
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part F of title IV of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), specifies the criteria, data elements, 
calculations, and tables that make up the Need Analysis.
    Enacted into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
2021, Division FF, Title VII (116 Pub. L. 260), the FAFSA 
Simplification Act makes many significant changes to the Need Analysis, 
including how the Secretary must update the tables.
    Section 478 of the HEA requires the Secretary to annually update 
the following five tables for inflation: the Income Protection 
Allowance (IPA), the Adjusted Net Worth (NW) of a Business or Farm, the 
Asset Protection Allowance, the Assessment Schedules and Rates, and the 
Employment Expense Allowance. The updates are based, in general, upon 
increases in items such as, but not limited to, the Consumer Price 
Index (CPI).
    The Secretary updates the above tables to account for inflation 
that took place between April 2020 and April in the year prior to the 
beginning of each award year. The increases in the tables must be based 
on a percentage equal to the percentage increase in the Consumer Price 
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for April of the applicable year.
    This notice includes the 2025-26 AY values for the tables in 
sections 1 (Income Protection Allowance), 2 (Adjusted Net Worth of a 
Business or Farm), 3 (Asset Protection Allowance), 4 (Assessment 
Schedules and Rates), and 5 (Employment Expense Allowance).
    1. Income Protection Allowance (IPA). This allowance is the amount 
of living expenses associated with the maintenance of an individual or 
family that offset the family's income. The allowance varies by family 
size and marital status. The IPA for dependent students is $11,510. The 
IPAs for parents of dependent students and independent students are 
listed in the tables below.

                      Parents of Dependent Students
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Income Protection
                     Family size                           Allowance
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2....................................................            $28,530
3....................................................             35,510
4....................................................             43,870
5....................................................             51,750
6....................................................             60,540
For each additional family member add $6,840.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Married Independent Students With Dependents Other Than a Spouse
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Income Protection
                     Family size                           Allowance
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3....................................................            $56,430
4....................................................             69,670
5....................................................             82,220
6....................................................             96,150
For each additional family member add $10,860.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


     Single Independent Students With Dependents Other Than a Spouse
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Income Protection
                     Family size                           Allowance
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2....................................................            $53,710
3....................................................             66,880
4....................................................             82,570
5....................................................             97,440
6....................................................            113,950
For each additional family member add $12,880.
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[[Page 71262]]


       Independent Students Without Dependents Other Than a Spouse
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Income Protection
                    Marital status                         Allowance
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Single...............................................            $17,890
Married..............................................             28,690
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Adjusted Net Worth (NW) of a Business or Farm. A portion of the 
full NW (assets less debts) of a business or farm is excluded from the 
calculation of a SAI because (1) the income produced from these assets 
is already assessed in another part of the formula; and (2) the formula 
protects a portion of the value of the assets.
    The portion of these assets included in the contribution 
calculation is computed according to the following schedule. This 
schedule is used for parents of dependent students, independent 
students without dependents other than a spouse, and independent 
students with dependents other than a spouse.

                Adjusted Net Worth of a Business or Farm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
   If the NW of a business or farm is        Then the adjusted NW is
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Less than $1...........................  $0.
$1 to $170,000.........................  $0 + 40% of NW.
$170,001 to $510,000...................  $68,000 + 50% of NW over
                                          $170,000.
$510,001 to $850,000...................  $238,000 + 60% of NW over
                                          $510,000.
$850,001 or more.......................  $442,000 + 100% of NW over
                                          $850,000.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Asset Protection Allowance (APA). This allowance protects a 
portion of NW (assets less debts) from being considered available for 
postsecondary educational expenses. There is one asset protection 
allowance table for parents of dependent students, independent students 
with dependents other than a spouse, and independent students without 
dependents other than a spouse.

   Parents of Dependent Students, Independent Students With Dependents
 Other Than a Spouse, and Independent Students Without Dependents Other
                              Than a Spouse
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            And the older parent or the
  If the age of the older parent or the       independent student is
         independent student is          -------------------------------
                                              Married         Single
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Then the allowance is
                                         -------------------------------
25 or less..............................               0               0
26......................................               0               0
27......................................               0               0
28......................................               0               0
29......................................               0               0
30......................................               0               0
31......................................               0               0
32......................................               0               0
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34......................................               0               0
35......................................               0               0
36......................................               0               0
37......................................               0               0
38......................................               0               0
39......................................               0               0
40......................................               0               0
41......................................               0               0
42......................................               0               0
43......................................               0               0
44......................................               0               0
45......................................               0               0
46......................................               0               0
47......................................               0               0
48......................................               0               0
49......................................               0               0
50......................................               0               0
51......................................               0               0
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53......................................               0               0
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55......................................               0               0
56......................................               0               0
57......................................               0               0
58......................................               0               0
59......................................               0               0
60......................................               0               0
61......................................               0               0
62......................................               0               0

[[Page 71263]]

 
63......................................               0               0
64......................................               0               0
65 or older.............................               0               0
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. Assessment Schedules and Rates. Two schedules that are subject 
to updates--one for parents of dependent students and one for 
independent students with dependents other than a spouse--are used to 
further limit how much of the family financial resources are considered 
to go toward educational expenses. For dependent students, the SAI is 
derived from an assessment of the parents' adjusted available income 
(AAI). For independent students with dependents other than a spouse, 
the SAI is derived from an assessment of the family's AAI. The AAI 
represents a measure of a family's financial strength, which considers 
both income and assets.
    The contribution of parents of dependent students, and independent 
students with dependents other than a spouse, is computed according to 
the following schedule:

                     Assessment of Available Income
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               If AAI is                     Then the contribution is
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Less than -$8,300......................  -$1,826.
-$8,300 to $21,300.....................  22% of AAI.
$21,301 to $26,700.....................  $4,686 + 25% of AAI over
                                          $21,300.
$26,701 to $32,000.....................  $6,036 + 29% of AAI over
                                          $26,700.
$32,001 to $37,500.....................  $7,573 + 34% of AAI over
                                          $32,000.
$37,501 to $42,900.....................  $9,443 + 40% of AAI over
                                          $37,500.
$42,901 or more........................  $11,603 + 47% of AAI over
                                          $42,900.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    5. Employment Expense Allowance. This allowance for employment-
related expenses recognizes additional expenses incurred by working 
individuals. For parents of dependent students, the employment expense 
allowance is the lesser of $4,890 or 35% of the total earned income of 
the student's parent and parent's spouse, if applicable. The employment 
expense allowance for independent students with dependents other than a 
spouse is also the lesser of $4,890 or 35% of the combined earned 
income for the student and student spouse, if applicable. The allowance 
is the same for independent students without dependents other than a 
spouse if they are married, but if they are not married, the allowance 
is zero.
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site, you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published 
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To 
use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
this site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087 et seq.

Denise Carter,
Acting Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2024-19670 Filed 8-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P