Gather all financial information. Having all of the necessary forms and information readily available will help when completing the FAFSA. You may also look at a sample FAFSA from the previous school year prior to working on it.
Complete the general information portion of the FAFSA. This information will include identifying items such as name, social security number, driver's license number, address and gender.
Complete questions 33 through 60 of the FAFSA on tax information. These questions ask you to declare the federal form that you (or your spouse, or parents) used the previous tax year. The following questions are about income, investments and holdings that you may have. Each question contains a list of different tax forms (1040, 1040A, 1040EZ) and which line on the particular form contains the information needed.
Complete Steps 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the FAFSA. These final portions of the form determine your status (dependent or independent), parents' financial information, household information and school codes for institutions approved to receive your information.
Sign the FAFSA and send it for processing. This will complete your application for Federal Student Aid; you will receive confirmation of submission of FAFSA.