• U.S. Tax Return Form 1040 (sample U.S. 1040) 
• W-2 Statements (sample W-2)
• Tax Schedules (sample tax schedules)

• Foreign Tax Return
• Foreign Wage Statements

• Foreign Wage Statements

Make sure to report your grade level correctly as it directly relates to your undergraduate or graduate student status and loan eligibility. Most importantly, if you will be a new or returning undergraduate student then select either a first year, second year, third year or fourth year (or higher) undergraduate.

In general, your Family Size is based on the number of exemptions (individuals) listed on your tax return. However, if that number has changed since filing taxes (or the parents don’t file taxes), then the Family Size includes the parent (and spouse or partner), the student, the parent’s dependent children (even if they live apart because of college enrollment) and other people living with the parent now. Include these dependent children and other people only if the parent will provide more than half of their support between for the applicable award year. For the 2026-2027 academic year, the award year is July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027.

Parent/Student Earnings: Add together the following lines from your U.S. Tax Return Form 1040: line 1z, Schedule 1 line 3 and Schedule 1 line 6. Other income other than these tax lines should not be reported in this income field. Schedule 1 lines 3 and 6 are specific to business and farm income, so you may not have income from those sources. 

Tax Exempt Interest Income: This is found on line 2a of your U.S. Tax Return Form 1040.

Tax Deferred Pension & Retirement Plans: This is found on your W-2 boxes 12a-12d with codes of D, E, F, G, H or S. This does not include your entire retirement account balance; rather, is elective contributions made annually to your retirement. 

File a Schedule 1: If you have any income (positive or negative) listed on line 8 of your U.S. Tax Return Form 1040 then you have a Schedule 1 and must answer ‘Yes’ to the Schedule 1 question.

Business Income: This is found on line 3 and line 5 of your Schedule 1. You will be asked for the specific amount from line 3 and line 5 on your CSS Profile. Enter any negative values.

IRA Distributions & Rollovers: This is found on line 4a (untaxed IRA distributions) and line 4b (taxable IRA distributions). If your U.S. Tax Return Form 1040 has the word ‘ROLLOVER’ next to line 4b, then enter the rollover amount on your CSS Profile.

Pensions/Annuities & Rollovers: This is found on line 5a (untaxed pension/annuities) and line 5b (taxable pension/annuities). If your U.S. Tax Return Form 1040 has the word ‘ROLLOVER’ next to line 5b, then enter the rollover amount on your CSS Profile. 

Untaxed Social Security Benefits:  If you file taxes, take the sum of line 6a minus 6b, and that is the untaxed portion of your social security benefits.  If you do not file taxes, then the untaxed portion is the total of your social security benefits statement at the end of the calendar year.  

Other Untaxed Income: Most families do not have other income to report in this field as it’s typically reported elsewhere on the CSS Profile. However, common examples include workers’ compensation, untaxed disability benefits, money provided/expenses paid by other family/relatives/friends or untaxed military benefits. Do not include income reported elsewhere on the CSS Profile (ie - child support received), Social Security benefits, unemployment benefits, financial aid funds received, Veterans educational benefits, Combat pay or Educational Workforce Investment Act benefits.

In the Parent Expenses Section of your CSS Profile, you will be asked for medical/dental expense information. In this section, you should include: out of pocket payments made for medical/dental expenses (not covered by insurance) or amount listed on line 1 of Schedule A.

You should not include: insurance premiums, expenses covered by insurance or contributions/distributions to Flexible Spending Accounts/Health Savings Account.

Example: Your family experienced a total of $20,000 in medical expenses for the year. Your insurance covered $15,000 of the total $20,000 and you had to pay the difference of $5,000. You should report $5,000 in the medical/dental expense field on your CSS Profile. If your insurance covered all of the $20,000, you would report $0 for medical/dental expenses.

Asset values are reported based on the date you file your CSS Profile. Typically asset changes are not allowed, so it’s important to report them accurately. 

Investments: This does not include retirement accounts or the value of your primary home. Examples of investments: college savings/pre-paid tuition plans, stocks/stock options, bonds/savings bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, certificates of deposit, trust funds, commodities, precious/strategic metals, installment and land sale transactions.

Other Real Estate/Primary Home: If you own other real estate beyond your primary home, then report the value in the Other Real Estate section. Do not include your primary home in other real estate.

Tax Filing Status: If you filed a foreign (non-U.S.) tax return, then select ‘Completed’ for the federal tax return question. If you earned foreign income, but did not file a foreign tax return, select ‘Not filed, and not required to file, a tax return’.

Reporting Income: Always enter income earned from work amounts into your CSS Profile even if you are not required to file taxes in your home country. This includes wages, business and farm income. Do not leave the income earned from work field blank. 

Child Support Paid: Child support paid is applicable when a student's biological parents divorce/separate. These are payments made due to divorce, separation, or a legal requirement or agreement is reportable. It is not simply financial support provided to the student. Do not report financial support you’ve paid for your child’s everyday needs unless it is specific to this child support definition.

We highly recommend using Federal Student Aid’s Parent Wizard tool. The parent(s) you report on your CSS Profile and FAFSA should be the same.

If your parents are divorced/separated, then the parent who provided the most financial support in the past 12 months is the custodial parent on your CSS Profile. This is also the same for your FAFSA. If that custodial parent is remarried, then the new spouse’s (stepparent) information is also reported. If both biological parents provided equal financial support, then the parent with greater income/assets is reported as the custodial parent. The parent who provided less financial support is the noncustodial parent, and they will create an account and submit their own CSS Profile. Review the CSS Profile website for information on how to create a CSS Profile account as a parent.

Please note if a student no longer has contact and does not receive financial support from their noncustodial parent, then the student may be eligible for a Noncustodial Parent Waiver. Learn more about how to submit the waiver and supporting documentation.