Estimate your Student Aid Index with the official 2026-27 Formula A method
This calculator follows the Department of Education's published 2026-27 SAI Formula A worksheet for dependent students (Tables A1, A2, A3, A5). It's an estimate for planning, not your official SAI. Your FAFSA's IRS data, state tax tables, and verification can move the number; only your school's financial aid office can tell you the real figure. Nothing here is financial aid advice.
| Family Size (incl. student) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Each additional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income protection allowance | $29,190 | $36,330 | $44,880 | $52,950 | $61,930 | +$6,990 |
This much parent income is shielded from assessment before the brackets apply. The 2026-27 formula sets the parent asset protection allowance to $0 for every age, so all reported parent assets convert at 12%.
| Adjusted Available Income | Parents' Contribution |
|---|---|
| Below −$8,500 | −$1,870 (a credit) |
| −$8,500 to $21,800 | 22% of AAI |
| $21,801 to $27,300 | $4,796 + 25% over $21,800 |
| $27,301 to $32,800 | $6,171 + 29% over $27,300 |
| $32,801 to $38,400 | $7,766 + 34% over $32,800 |
| $38,401 to $43,900 | $9,670 + 40% over $38,400 |
| $43,901 and up | $11,870 + 47% over $43,900 |
Adjusted Available Income = Available Income (AGI + untaxed income − taxes − payroll tax − IPA − employment allowance) + 12% of parent assets. The student side is flat: 50% of student income above an $11,770 allowance, and 20% of student assets.
| Family Size | Poverty Line | Max Pell: Single Parent (225%) | Max Pell: Two Parents (175%) | Min Pell: Two Parents (275%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | $25,820 | $58,095 | $45,185 | $71,005 |
| 4 | $31,200 | $70,200 | $54,600 | $85,800 |
| 5 | $36,580 | $82,305 | $64,015 | $100,595 |
| 6 | $41,960 | $94,410 | $73,430 | $115,390 |
AGI at or below these amounts shortcuts the formula to automatic maximum (or minimum) Pell consideration. Alaska and Hawaii use higher guidelines. 2026-27 uses the 2024 poverty guidelines because FAFSA looks at prior-prior year income.
Since 2024-25, the FAFSA produces a Student Aid Index instead of the old Expected Family Contribution. The name change is also a meaning change: SAI is strictly a need number. Schools use it to sort aid eligibility, and it's no longer divided by the number of children in college at the same time, which raised costs for multi-kid families.
Parent side: start with AGI, add untaxed income, subtract taxes paid, a payroll tax allowance (Medicare + Social Security on income earned from work), the income protection allowance for your family size, and an employment expense allowance (the lesser of 35% of earned income or $5,000). That yields Available Income. Add 12% of reportable assets (cash, investments, child support received, adjusted business worth; your home and retirement accounts don't count). The total is Adjusted Available Income, assessed through the 22-47% brackets above. Student side: income above an $11,770 protection allowance counts at 50%, and student assets at 20%, flat.
Pull the parent numbers from the tax return the FAFSA will import (for 2026-27, that's your 2024 return): AGI from line 11, income tax from the total tax line, income earned from work from W-2 box 1 or Schedule 1. Skip retirement balances and your primary home in assets. The single-parent checkbox only affects the Pell income cutoffs, not the formula itself.
A married couple, family of four, AGI $95,000, $90,000 earned from work, $9,000 total tax, $30,000 in savings and investments. Payroll allowance: $90,000 × 7.65% = $6,885. Allowances total $9,000 + $6,885 + $44,880 (IPA) + $5,000 (EEA) = $65,765. Available income: $95,000 − $65,765 = $29,235. Assets add $3,600 (12%), so AAI is $32,835, which lands in the $32,801-$38,400 bracket: $7,766 + 34% of $35 over the top = $7,778. The student's $4,000 income falls under its $11,770 protection, but $1,000 of student savings adds $200. SAI = $7,978. That's above the $7,395 Pell maximum, so no Pell Grant — aid would come from institutional and loan offers.
Now the same family structure as a single parent of two with $48,000 AGI: her income after allowances is negative, assets add only $240, and the formula produces SAI 10. But her AGI is under the 225% single-parent cutoff ($58,095 for a family of three), so the max-Pell rule caps the result at SAI 0 — full Pell Grant eligibility, roughly $7,395 in free money for the year.
SAI = parents' contribution + student's contribution from income + student's contribution from assets. Parent available income is AGI minus taxes paid, payroll tax, an income protection allowance, and an employment allowance; the result plus 12% of parent assets is assessed on brackets from 22% to 47%. The student's income above an $11,770 allowance is assessed at 50%, and student assets at 20%.
An SAI of 0 or below gets the maximum Pell Grant ($7,395 for 2026-27). Students with an SAI between 0 and roughly the maximum award get a partial grant of about max minus SAI. Families can also bypass the formula: if parent AGI is at or below 175% of the poverty line (225% for single parents), the student qualifies for the maximum Pell automatically.
Yes, from -1,500 to 999,999. A negative SAI signals maximum financial need; -1,500 is the floor. Schools see more need than a zero SAI conveys, and some institutional aid formulas treat -1,500 as the deepest-need bucket.
Lower is better. Zero or below means maximum Pell eligibility. As a rough scale for 2026-27: SAI 0-3,000 tends to qualify for large grants, 3,000-6,000 partial grants, 6,000-6,655 small grants down to the $740 minimum, and above that mostly loans unless the family hits a minimum-Pell income test (AGI up to 275% of the poverty line for two-parent families, 325% for single parents).
In the middle brackets, each additional $10,000 of parent AGI raises SAI by roughly $2,200 to $3,300 after taxes and allowances absorb part of it. Student income is assessed far harder: each $1,000 of student income above the $11,770 allowance adds about $500 to SAI.
Much less. Parent assets (excluding your home and retirement accounts) convert at 12%, then get assessed inside the same brackets, so effective damage is roughly 2.6% to 5.6% of asset value. Student assets are hit at a flat 20%, which is why savings in a student's name cost about four times more than the same dollars in a parent's name.