What to report on the investment lines

FAFSA and the CSS Profile ask about investments in almost the same words, but they do not want the same number. Fill this in once and you get the right figure for each application. Use balances and values as of the day you file, and keep a statement or PDF for every one.

Investment accounts

Counted by both applications.

Investment accounts
Total investment accounts $0
Leave these out — neither application counts them here:

    Education savings accounts

    529 plans, and Coverdell or pre-paid accounts under the same rules — for a pre-paid account report its cash value. Where a plan lands depends on whose it is and, for a sibling's plan, how old they are.

    The student's plan

    Education savings counted on FAFSA $0
    Education savings counted on the CSS Profile $0

    Second properties

    Property and land other than the home you live in. FAFSA wants the equity — market value less what is owed against it. Use the most conservative market value you can support. The CSS Profile asks about second properties in its own section, so these do not belong on its investment line.

    Total second property equity $0

    What to enter on each application

    FAFSA
    $0

    Parent Financials → Parent Assets: “—”

    CSS Profile
    $0

    Parent Asset Details: “—”

    Where it comes from FAFSA CSS Profile
    Investment accounts $0 $0
    Education savings accounts $0 $0
    Second property equity $0 reported elsewhere
    Total to report $0 $0
    Why the two numbers differ

    A sibling's 529 is never a parent investment on FAFSA. On the CSS Profile it usually is — unless the sibling owns it themselves and is 19 or older, at which point it has become their own asset rather than the family's.

    Second properties go the other way: FAFSA folds their equity into the investment line, while the CSS Profile collects them in a separate section, so adding them to its investment total would count them twice.

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