The Student Aid Index replaced the EFC starting with the 2024-25 FAFSA, and it's a genuinely public formula: the Department of Education publishes every table it uses. Here's the whole thing in plain language, with a fully worked $95,000-income example that lands on SAI 7,978, so you can see exactly which line moves your number.
SAI is a number from −1,500 to 999,999 that estimates your family's financial strength; colleges subtract it from their cost of attendance to decide your need-based aid. Lower is better, zero or below means maximum Pell Grant eligibility, and unlike the old EFC it is not divided by the number of children you have in college.
For a dependent student (Formula A, the one most families get):
Sum the three, floor it at −1,500, and that's your SAI. The 22-47% bracket schedule mirrors tax brackets: −$8,500 to $21,800 of adjusted available income pays 22%, then 25%, 29%, 34%, 40%, and 47% above $43,900.
The calculator follows the official 2026-27 Formula A worksheet — allowances, brackets, asset conversion, and the Pell income shortcuts.
FAFSA SAI Calculator →The starting point is prior-prior year AGI — for a 2026-27 award, your 2024 tax return, pulled straight from the IRS. Before assessment, the formula shields a chunk of it. The income protection allowance for a family of four is $44,880 (roughly 150% of the poverty line, scaling with family size), plus actual taxes paid, plus payroll tax, plus an employment allowance of up to $5,000. A family whose AGI lands under that shield produces negative available income, which is how middle-lower incomes reach SAI 0 and full Pell eligibility.
Excluded entirely: your primary home, retirement balances (401k, IRA, pension), and small-business value for many filers (business net worth is discounted to 40% of value under $175,000). Counted: cash, taxable investments, rental property, 529 plans owned by the parent, and child support received.
| Money type | Treatment | SAI impact per $10,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Parent income (middle brackets) | Allowances, then 22-47% | ≈ $2,200–$3,300 |
| Parent assets | 12% conversion, then brackets | ≈ $260–$560 |
| Student income (over $11,770) | Flat 50% | ≈ $5,000 |
| Student assets | Flat 20% | $2,000 |
The pattern to internalize: parent dollars are cheap, student dollars are expensive. $10,000 saved in the student's name (SAI +$2,000) does roughly the same damage as $6,000 to $9,000 of extra parent income. That asymmetry is why planners move teen savings into parent accounts (or spend them first on the student's laptop and dorm gear, which is legal and sensible).
Married parents, two kids, AGI $95,000, $90,000 earned from work, $9,000 total income tax, $30,000 in savings and investments, student earned $4,000 with $1,000 in a savings account.
That's above the $7,395 maximum Pell Grant, so no federal grant — but schools read SAI 7,978 as "about $8,000 a year of family strength" and price institutional aid against it. Run the same family through the SAI calculator to see how fast the number falls as income drops: subtract $10,000 of AGI and the SAI drops to about 5,255, some $2,700 less.
Two shortcuts skip the formula entirely. If parents didn't file a tax return, SAI is set to −1,500. And if parent AGI is at or below 175% of the poverty line (225% for single parents), the student gets maximum Pell consideration with the calculated SAI capped at 0 — for a family of four in 2026-27, that cutoff is $54,600 for two-parent families, $70,200 for single parents, using the 2024 poverty guidelines. There's also a minimum-Pell lane up to 275% (two-parent) or 325% (single parent) of the poverty line.
Timing, mostly. Because it's prior-prior year, the FAFSA that governs your student's freshman aid sees your income from two years earlier — a bonus, capital gain, or Roth conversion in that base year raises SAI on schedule. Conversely, a job loss doesn't help immediately; you'll need a professional judgment appeal at the financial aid office. Also remember each sibling's FAFSA is independent now: since the parent contribution isn't split, having two in college at once no longer discounts either one.
When the aid offers arrive, compare them on net price, not sticker generosity — and if loans fill the gap, the Parent PLUS calculator shows what that gap really costs after its 4.228% fee, while the private student loan calculator prices the alternative.
Yes. SAI measures family financial strength on a scale of -1,500 to 999,999, so lower means more need and more aid. Zero or below qualifies for the maximum Pell Grant. There's no penalty for a low SAI and no credit-score-style reporting; it only drives aid packaging.
Assets convert at 12% before entering the same brackets as income, so each $10,000 of parent savings adds roughly $260 to $560 to SAI depending on bracket. It stings, but it's far gentler than income: $10,000 of extra income in the middle brackets moves SAI about $2,200 to $3,300. Retirement accounts and your primary home are never counted.
No. The old EFC divided the parent contribution among simultaneous college students; the SAI does not. Two kids in college at once now roughly doubles the assessed family strength at each school, which is one of the biggest complaints about the simplified formula.