HESC will allow an adjustment to the net taxable income used to calculate TAP and STAP awards if other family members are enrolled as full-time matriculated students in a postsecondary institution for at least one term of the same academic year for which an award is being sought.

For undergraduate students, HESC subtracts $3,000 from net taxable income for enrollment by a second family member. HESC subtracts another $2,000 for each additional family member enrolled. HESC then uses the lower taxable income resulting from this adjustment to calculate the student's award. For graduate students, net taxable income is divided by the total number of family members enrolled for postsecondary study, and the resulting income is used to calculate the award.

HESC considers another family member enrolled if he/she is attending a postsecondary institution approved for TAP, Pell Grants or Stafford Loans. The postsecondary institution does not have to be located in New York State.