EFC is heavily dependent on income. The income assessed is that of two years prior to the school year (e.g., 2021 income for the 2023-2024 school year). Parent assets (all assets except primary home and retirement accounts) are assessed at about 5.5%. Child assets are assessed at about 20% per year. Note that 529s are considered a parent asset regardless of beneficiary. If you are taking about a CSS school, rather than FAFSA only, many will assess some level of equity in your primary home as well - some all the equity, others just up to a certain level (e.g., 2x annual income). If you have divorced parents, a CSS school will consider the income / assets of both households; if you are doing FAFSA only it is just the income/assets of the primary custodial household. In both cases it’s the total income / assets, including those of stepparents. I’m sure it’s more complicated than that, but roughly that’s my understanding.
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