FAFSA, SAI and Pell Grant · calculator
Student Aid Index calculator for 2026-27
A dependent student whose married parents earned $85,000 in 2024, paid $6,000 of federal income tax, have $15,000 in savings and a household of four gets a 2026-27 Student Aid Index of about 5,650, which corresponds to a Pell Grant of $1,745 at full-time enrollment. The SAI replaced the Expected Family Contribution and is computed from the FAFSA with three formulas: Formula A for dependent students, B for independent students without dependents and C for independent students with dependents. Each starts from income in the prior-prior tax year, 2024 for the 2026-27 award year, subtracts allowances for taxes and living costs ($44,880 for a family of four), adds a share of net assets and runs the result through an assessment schedule of 22% to 47%. The index can be negative, down to -1,500. Colleges use it to award need-based aid: Pell Grant, subsidized loans, work-study and often their own grants. This calculator follows the Federal Student Aid guide line by line.
Estimated Student Aid Index 2026-27
5,650
Pell Grant estimate: $1,745 (Maximum minus SAI)
| Parents’ total income | $85,000 |
| Allowances against parents’ income | −$62,383 |
| Parents’ available income | $22,617 |
| Parents’ contribution from assets (12%) | $1,800 |
| Parents’ contribution | $5,450 |
| Student’s contribution from income (50%) | $0 |
| Student’s contribution from assets (20%) | $200 |
| Maximum-Pell income line (AGI at or under) | $54,600 |
| Minimum-Pell income line | $85,800 |
Formula A of the 2026-27 FSA guide, with 2024 tax data and 2024 poverty guidelines. Maximum Pell $7,395; your school sets the award by enrollment and cost. How this is calculated.
The number the FAFSA produces, computed with the formulas and tables Federal Student Aid published for 2026-27, so you can see where it comes from.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Formula A: a dependent student, step by step
The calculator's breakdown for the family in the answer above reads like the FSA worksheet. Total parent income is AGI, here $85,000, plus untaxed income and minus a few offsets. Allowances are subtracted: federal income tax paid, payroll taxes (1.45% Medicare and 6.2% Social Security on earnings), the income protection allowance of $44,880 for four people and an employment expense allowance of 35% of earnings up to $5,000. What remains is available income. Then 12% of net assets is added, and the assessment schedule turns the total into the parents' contribution. The student's income counts at 50% above an allowance of $11,770, and the student's own assets at 20%.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Parents’ total income | $85,000 |
| Allowances against parents’ income | minus $62,383 |
| Parents’ available income | $22,617 |
| Parents’ contribution from assets (12%) | $1,800 |
| Parents’ contribution | $5,450 |
| Student’s contribution from income (50%) | $0 |
| Student’s contribution from assets (20%) | $200 |
Formulas B and C for independent students
An independent student's own income replaces the parents'. Without dependents (Formula B), the living allowance is $18,310 for a single student and $29,350 for a married one, available income counts at 50% and assets at 20%: a single student with $32,000 of income gets an SAI of 5,471. With dependents (Formula C), the allowance is much larger, $68,430 for a single parent with two children, assets count at 7%, and the same assessment schedule as for parents applies: a single parent of two earning $41,000 gets -1,500 and the maximum Pell. Who counts as independent is set by law: born before January 1, 2003 for 2026-27, married, a graduate student, a veteran, supporting a child, and a few other cases.
When the formula is skipped
Two shortcuts come before the formula. If the parents of a dependent student, or an independent student and spouse, did not file a 2024 federal return, the SAI is -1,500. If their 2024 AGI is at or below 175% of the poverty guideline for the family size, or 225% for a single parent, the student receives the maximum Pell and keeps an SAI of 0 or below: for a family of four in the 48 states the line is $54,600. The family in the table with $52,000 of income is just under it and ends at -541.
Limits of this estimate
The form here leaves out untaxed income such as IRA deductions and tax-exempt interest, and offsets such as taxable grants and education credits, which most families do not have; enter them in AGI if they matter. It also leaves out business and farm net worth, which a family farm or small family business no longer adds from 2026-27 (details). The official numbers are in the 2026-27 SAI and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide and the Federal Register tables. Your FAFSA Submission Summary shows the official SAI; if it differs by more than rounding, look first at the tax paid and the family size.