FAFSA SAI Calculator 2026-27 — Student Aid Index & Pell Grant

The Student Aid Index replaced the Expected Family Contribution when the FAFSA Simplification Act took effect, and it is not the same calculation with a new name. The SAI can be negative, down to a floor of −$1,500, which signals need beyond the maximum Pell Grant. It no longer divides the parent contribution by the number of children in college, which removed a large discount for families with siblings enrolled at the same time. And it dropped the old state tax allowance entirely, counting only federal income tax actually paid.

The parent side works through a sequence of allowances. Federal income tax paid, a payroll tax allowance (Medicare on all wages plus Social Security up to the wage base), an income protection allowance from the official table that runs $44,880 for a family of four, and an employment expense allowance of the lesser of 35% of combined income or $5,000 all come off first. What remains is available income. Parent assets are then converted at 12% and added, producing adjusted available income, which runs through a schedule rising from 22% to 47%.

The change that most often surprises families is the asset protection allowance: for 2026-27 it is $0 at every parent age. The allowance that once sheltered tens of thousands of dollars of parent savings is gone, so the first dollar in a taxable brokerage or savings account counts. Retirement accounts and the primary residence remain excluded, which makes where savings sit more consequential than it used to be. Student assets are assessed at 20%, far harder than the 12% on parent assets, so money in a child's own name costs more aid than the same money held by a parent.

For Pell, two rules interact. The ordinary formula awards the maximum grant of $7,395 minus the SAI, capped at the cost of attendance, with a minimum award of $740. New for 2026-27, an SAI at or above twice the maximum award — $14,790 — ends Pell eligibility outright regardless of how expensive the school is. Separately, families whose income falls below 175% of the poverty guideline (225% for single parents) qualify for the maximum award directly. The 2026-27 FAFSA uses 2024 income, which is why a change in circumstances since then needs a professional judgement appeal to the school rather than a correction to the form.