CSS is so much more complex than FAFSA. If anyone knows any answers to these questions, I would greatly appreciate the help !
- “How much did ___ earn from work in 2023?” - Is this just salary from W2 or do I also have to include income from partnerships and passive rental income?
- It asks for employment status. If my father owns part of an LLC, and that LLC employs him, is he self-employed or employed by others?
- It asks for employment status, but for my mother, who doesn’t work, is she unemployed or employed if she receives passive rental income from a partnership?
- Parent Other Real Estate “Number of real estate properties” - does this include the primary residence?
- “Do other family members receive a salary or wages from this business? Include the family members supported by your parents, such as your siblings and step-siblings” - does this include myself?
- “Name of parent who owns this business” - What if each parent owns 50 percent each? There is only one line.
- Isn’t it asking you to pull directly from certain tax return lines for certain questions? Do you have your parents’ last two years of tax returns?
- Self-employed
- Unemployed…assuming this is passive income and she has no job responsibilities (and no other job)
- I don’t think so, there should be separate questions about your home
- If you receive salary or wages from the business, you would answer that in the student section, right?
- Pick one
Here is a video that may help you, hopefully your parents are also helping you.
There are questions that are very important you get right (like the numbers coming from tax returns, and bank and investment statements) vs. things that are less important like is your dad self-employed or an employee. Of course you want to be accurate as you can be.
You can also try this video, but it’s for 2024-25 (but many questions are likely the same): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M5mCZWX0zc
Unfortunately CB’s video tutorials are older, but you can try them as well, here’s one: Reporting Parents on the 2023-24 CSS Profile Training Course - ProProfs
If you can’t find the answer to one of your questions anywhere on the Profile directions or online, you can contact an FA staffer at one of the schools on your list and ask them. Good luck, CSS can be difficult for a student to do on their own.
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Thank you for sharing those videos! I’ll be watching them as well.
As for this:
That is an understatement! I am a 50-yo parent with an MA. I’ve running my own business and filing my own taxes for 25 years. And now that feels like a walk in the park compared with filling out the CSS profile.
First, I truly don’t understand why the College Board won’t let us navigate easily between sections or see the entire form at once. I even opened a chat and asked where I could find the entire form so I could work it out on paper – only to be told that there is no such document. It’s almost as if they’ve made it intentionally vague and difficult.
Second, but still on the topic of intentionally vague and difficult, the question about “income earned from work” appears to be a trick question. When I first saw it, I thought I should answer “0” to avoid “doubling” my income. After all, I had already entered my business income on an earlier question about Schedule 1. However, upon consulting Kalman Chany’s book “Paying for College” (Princeton Review), it seems that I do, in fact, want to enter my business income here as well because this is the number they will use to calculate SS and Medicare Taxes paid. (If I recall correctly, there is no question for self-employment tax paid – hard to tell without clicking through tens of pages and at least skimming every question…).
Truly, it feels like they’re trying to either force us to cry U.N.C.L.E. and just go to a public school or pay a financial aid consultant to complete the form for us. My heart goes out to any student trying to fill this out on their own.
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I know! This is so frustrating, especially when I was helping students fill out CSS.
You can call a Financial aid office at one of your kid’s schools and see if they will answer your CSS questions.
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Yeah, the CSS Profile can be a total headache! 
Unlike the FAFSA, it digs way deeper into your family’s financials, asks for more details, and even considers home equity and non-custodial parent income.
Some Tips to Survive the CSS Profile Nightmare:
- Start Early – It takes way longer than FAFSA, so don’t wait until the last minute.
- Gather ALL Financial Documents – Tax returns, W-2s, bank statements, mortgage info, etc.
- Check Your Schools – Not all colleges require the CSS Profile, so make sure you actually need it before stressing out.
- Be Accurate (But Don’t Panic Over Estimates) – Unlike FAFSA, corrections can’t be made online, but colleges will let you update them later if needed.
- Non-Custodial Parent Info? – If your parents are divorced, some schools require your non-custodial parent to submit their financial info too. If that’s a problem, you may need a waiver.
- Use the Fee Waiver If You Qualify – The CSS Profile isn’t free ($25 for the first school, $16 per additional), but fee waivers exist if you meet income requirements.
Profile asks for home equity information, but how (or even if) that data is used in determining institutional need-based aid is up to each individual school.
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