2019-11354. Federal Need Analysis Methodology for the 2020-21 Award Year-Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, and TEACH ...  

  • Start Preamble

    AGENCY:

    Federal Student Aid, Department of Education.

    ACTION:

    Notice.

    SUMMARY:

    The Secretary announces the annual updates to the tables used in the statutory Federal Need Analysis Methodology that determines a student's expected family contribution (EFC) for award year (AY) 2020-21 for student financial aid programs, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers 84.063, 84.033, 84.007, 84.268, 84.408, and 84.379. The intent of this notice is to alert the financial aid community and the broader public to these required annual updates used in the determination of student aid eligibility.

    Start Further Info

    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

    Marya Dennis, U.S. Department of Education, Room 63G2, Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20202-5454. Telephone: (202) 377-3385.

    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

    End Further Info End Preamble Start Supplemental Information

    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Part F of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), specifies the criteria, data elements, calculations, and tables the Department of Education (Department) uses in the Federal Need Analysis Methodology to determine the EFC.

    Section 478 of the HEA requires the Secretary to annually update the following four tables for price inflation—the Income Protection Allowance (IPA), the Adjusted Net Worth (NW) of a Business or Farm, the Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowance, and the Assessment Schedules and Rates. The updates are based, in general, upon increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

    For AY 2020-21, the Secretary is charged with updating the IPA for parents of dependent students, adjusted NW of a business or farm, the education savings and asset protection allowance, and the assessment schedules and rates to account for inflation that took place between December 2018 and December 2019. However, because the Secretary must publish these tables before December 2019, the increases in the tables must be based on a percentage equal to the estimated percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for 2019. The Secretary must also account for any under- or over-estimation of inflation for the preceding year.

    In developing the table values for the 2019-20 AY, the Secretary assumed a 1.6 percent increase in the CPI-U for the period December 2017 through December 2018. The actual inflation for this time period was 1.9 percent. The Secretary estimates that the increase in the CPI-U for the period December 2018 through December 2019 will be 2.4 percent.

    Additionally, section 601 of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA, Pub. L. 110-84) amended sections 475 through 478 of the HEA affecting the IPA tables for the 2009-10 through 2012-13 AYs and required the Department to use a percentage of the estimated CPI to update the table in subsequent years. These changes to the IPA impact dependent students, as well as independent students with dependents other than a spouse and independent students without dependents other than a spouse. This notice includes the new 2020-21 AY values for the IPA tables, which reflect the CCRAA amendments. The updated tables are in sections 1 (Income Protection Allowance), 2 (Adjusted Net Worth of a Business or Farm), and 4 (Assessment Schedules and Rates) of this notice.

    Under section 478(d) of the HEA, the Secretary must also revise the education savings and asset protection allowances for each AY. The Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowance table for AY 2020-21 has been updated in section 3 of this notice.

    Section 478(h) of the HEA also requires the Secretary to increase the amount specified for the employment expense allowance, adjusted for inflation. This calculation is based on increases in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' marginal costs budget for a two-worker family compared to a one-worker family. The items covered by this calculation are: Food away from home, apparel, transportation, and household furnishings and operations. The Employment Expense Allowance table for AY 2020-21 has been updated in section 5 of this notice.

    Section 478(g) of the HEA directs the Secretary to update the tables for State and other taxes after reviewing the Statistics of Income file data maintained by the Internal Revenue Service. This Start Printed Page 25245table has been updated in section 6 of this notice.

    The HEA requires the following annual updates:

    1. Income Protection Allowance. This allowance is the amount of living expenses associated with the maintenance of an individual or family that may be offset against the family's income. The allowance varies by family size. The IPA for dependent students is $6,840. The IPAs for parents of dependent students for AY 2020-21 are as follows:

    Parents of Dependent Students

    Family sizeNumber in college
    12345
    2$19,080$15,810
    323,76020,510$17,250
    429,34026,08022,830$19,570
    534,62031,35028,11024,840$21,600
    640,49037,23033,98030,72027,470

    For each additional family member add $4,570. For each additional college student subtract $3,250.

    The IPAs for independent students with dependents other than a spouse for AY 2020-21 are as follows:

    Independent Students With Dependents Other Than a Spouse

    Family sizeNumber in college
    12345
    2$26,940$22,340
    333,55028,960$24,360
    441,42036,83032,250$27,630
    548,88044,26039,68035,080$30,500
    657,16052,56047,99043,36038,790

    For each additional family member add $6,450. For each additional college student subtract $4,580.

    The IPAs for single independent students and independent students without dependents other than a spouse for AY 2020-21 are as follows:

    Marital statusNumber in collegeIPA
    Single1$10,640
    Married210,640
    Married117,060

    2. Adjusted Net Worth of a Business or Farm. A portion of the full NW (assets less debts) of a business or farm is excluded from the calculation of an EFC because (1) the income produced from these assets is already assessed in another part of the formula; and (2) the formula protects a portion of the value of the assets.

    The portion of these assets included in the contribution calculation is computed according to the following schedule. This schedule is used for parents of dependent students, independent students without dependents other than a spouse, and independent students with dependents other than a spouse.

    If the NW of a business or farm isThen the adjusted NW is
    Less than $1$0.
    $1 to $135,000$0 + 40% of NW.
    $135,001 to $410,000$54,000 + 50% of NW over $135,000.
    $410,001 to $680,000$191,500 + 60% of NW over $410,000.
    $680,001 or more$353,500 + 100% of NW over $680,000.

    3. Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowance. This allowance protects a portion of NW (assets less debts) from being considered available for postsecondary educational expenses. There are three asset protection allowance tables: One for parents of dependent students, one for independent students without dependents other than a spouse, and one for independent students with dependents other than a spouse.Start Printed Page 25246

    Parents of Dependent Students, and Independent Students With Dependents Other Than a Spouse, and Independent Students Without Dependents Other Than a Spouse

    If the age of the older parent is, or if the age of the independent student isAnd the older parent or the independent student is
    MarriedSingle
    Then the allowance is
    25 or less00
    26300100
    27700200
    281,000300
    291,300500
    301,600600
    312,000700
    322,300800
    332,600900
    342,9001,000
    353,3001,100
    363,6001,200
    373,9001,400
    384,2001,500
    394,6001,600
    404,9001,700
    415,1001,700
    425,2001,700
    435,3001,800
    445,4001,800
    455,5001,900
    465,7001,900
    475,8001,900
    486,0002,000
    496,1002,000
    506,3002,100
    516,4002,100
    526,6002,200
    536,8002,200
    546,9002,300
    557,1002,300
    567,3002,400
    577,5002,500
    587,7002,500
    597,9002,600
    608,2002,700
    618,4002,700
    628,6002,800
    638,9002,900
    649,2002,900
    65 or older9,4003,000

    4. Assessment Schedules and Rates. Two schedules that are subject to updates—one for parents of dependent students and one for independent students with dependents other than a spouse—are used to determine the EFC from family financial resources toward educational expenses. For dependent students, the EFC is derived from an assessment of the parents' adjusted available income (AAI). For independent students with dependents other than a spouse, the EFC is derived from an assessment of the family's AAI. The AAI represents a measure of a family's financial strength, which considers both income and assets.

    The contribution of parents of dependent students, and independent students with dependents other than a spouse, is computed according to the following schedule:

    If AAI isThen the contribution is
    Less than −$3,409−$750.
    −$3,409 to $17,00022% of AAI.
    $17,001 to $21,400$3,740 + 25% of AAI over $17,000.
    $21,401 to $25,700$4,840 + 29% of AAI over $21,400.
    $25,701 to $30,100$6,087 + 34% of AAI over $25,700.
    $30,101 to $34,500$7,583 + 40% of AAI over $30,100.
    $34,501 or more$9,343 + 47% of AAI over $34,500.
    Start Printed Page 25247

    5. Employment Expense Allowance. This allowance for employment-related expenses—which is used for the parents of dependent students and for married independent students—recognizes additional expenses incurred by working spouses and single-parent households. The allowance is based on the marginal differences in costs for a two-worker family compared to a one-worker family. The items covered by these additional expenses are: Food away from home, apparel, transportation, and household furnishings and operations.

    The employment expense allowance for parents of dependent students, married independent students without dependents other than a spouse, and independent students with dependents other than a spouse is the lesser of $4,000 or 35 percent of earned income.

    6. Allowance for State and Other Taxes. The allowance for State and other taxes protects a portion of parents' and students' incomes from being considered available for postsecondary educational expenses. There are four categories for State and other taxes, one each for parents of dependent students, independent students with dependents other than a spouse, dependent students, and independent students without dependents other than a spouse.

    Percent of Income Paid in State Taxes, by State, Dependency Status, and Income Level

    StateParents of dependent students and independent students with dependents other than a spouseDependent students and independent students without dependents other than a spouse
    Percent of total incomeAll
    Under $15,000$15,000 & up
    Alabama322
    Alaska210
    Arizona432
    Arkansas433
    California876
    Colorado433
    Connecticut985
    Delaware543
    District of Columbia766
    Florida321
    Georgia543
    Hawaii544
    Idaho543
    Illinois543
    Indiana433
    Iowa543
    Kansas432
    Kentucky544
    Louisiana322
    Maine653
    Maryland876
    Massachusetts764
    Michigan433
    Minnesota655
    Mississippi322
    Missouri543
    Montana543
    Nebraska543
    Nevada211
    New Hampshire431
    New Jersey985
    New Mexico322
    New York987
    North Carolina543
    North Dakota211
    Ohio543
    Oklahoma322
    Oregon765
    Pennsylvania543
    Rhode Island653
    South Carolina433
    South Dakota211
    Tennessee211
    Texas321
    Utah543
    Vermont653
    Virginia654
    Washington321
    West Virginia323
    Wisconsin654
    Start Printed Page 25248
    Wyoming211
    Other322

    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site, you can view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this site.

    You may also access documents of the Department published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature at www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published by the Department.

    Start Authority

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087rr.

    End Authority Start Signature

    Mark A. Brown,

    Chief Operating Officer Federal Student Aid.

    End Signature End Supplemental Information

    [FR Doc. 2019-11354 Filed 5-30-19; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 4000-01-P

Document Information

Published:
05/31/2019
Department:
Education Department
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Notice.
Document Number:
2019-11354
Pages:
25244-25248 (5 pages)
PDF File:
2019-11354.pdf