Student Financial Aid Calculator
Determine how much of a student’s financial aid counts as household income: Title IV aid is excluded in full, other aid is applied to remaining covered costs, and the countable amount is shown with the reasoning.
Overview
Applies the HOTMA student financial assistance rules (24 CFR 5.609(b)(9)) to one student at a time. List the Title IV aid and other assistance from the award letter, enter the actual covered costs, and the calculator excludes Title IV in full, applies other aid to the costs Title IV did not reach, and reports the leftover other aid as countable income, with a plain-language explanation and a ledger.
Free with a LIHTC.guide account. Sign in to LIHTC.guide to use this calculator. A free account is all you need. Open the Student Financial Aid Calculator in LIHTC.guide
Step-by-Step Instructions
Identify the student
Optionally enter the student, school, and aid period; these appear on the printed determination and the household record. Run the calculator once for each household member who receives aid.
Add Title IV aid
Add each federal award (Pell, SEOG, TEACH, Federal Work-Study, Direct or Perkins Loans, BIA or BIE programs) with its amount. Title IV is always excluded.
Add other assistance
Add each state, institutional, private, or employer award with an optional source note. Gifts, pay for services, and private or state loans do not belong here.
Enter covered costs
Enter tuition and required fees, books and supplies, and any other qualifying cost for the same aid period, using what the school charged.
Read the determination
The summary shows the countable amount, a sentence explaining why, and a ledger: total aid, less Title IV, less other aid applied to remaining costs.
See when other aid counts
When Title IV covers more of the costs, less is left for other aid to pay, and the rest of the other aid counts as income.
Print the determination
Print Determination produces a one-page summary citing 24 CFR 5.609(b)(9) with the aid tables, covered costs, and ledger.
Save or start over
Save to Household (subscribers) stores the result in Household Folio; Start Over clears everything for the next student.
What You’ll See
Countable Student Financial Aid headline, an explanatory sentence, running totals under each step, and a determination ledger. Print Determination opens a print-ready page citing 24 CFR 5.609(b)(9) with the aid tables, covered costs, and reasoning. Saved results reopen in the calculator with every entry restored.
Tips
- Title IV aid is always excluded, even when it exceeds the student’s costs; only other assistance can become countable income.
- Gifts from family or friends, payment for services such as a non-federal work-study job, and private or state loans are not student financial assistance; leave them out and treat them under the usual income rules.
- Housing counts as a covered cost only for a student who is not the head of household or spouse and does not live in the assisted unit.
- Run the calculator once for each household member who receives aid, and enter every amount for the same aid period.
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