My daughter lives in California, her grandmother lives in Washington.
My daughter, Z, turns 18 on February 18th. She is currently a full time student at a community college. Her grandmother refuses to help pay for any of her college expenses.
However, the grandmother just asked Z to send her W2 so that the grandmother can do Z's taxes. Z wants to do her own taxes.
Grandmother then said-
"Money I put away was in a Uniform Gift to Minors account which uses your Social Security Number but you gives you no rights to the money, I closed that account at the end of the year. The distribution is reported uner your SSN so it has to go on your return. Once the basis is shown there will be little or no tax on it."
Grandmother has been a licensed tax preparer for more than 20 years, so should know what she's talking about. However, nothing in that message rings true to me or matches what my daughter and I have been able to find on the web.
So, the questions are-
1) Does Grandmother's statement make sense? Is that true?
2) Is Grandmother basically stealing (back) money she previously gave to Z?
3) Since Z didn't get the money, why would it be reported on her taxes?
4) How does this all affect future student aid applications?
5) Can Z do anything, legally, to find out more about the account (if Grandmother won't give details)?
Thanx in advance!
My daughter, Z, turns 18 on February 18th. She is currently a full time student at a community college. Her grandmother refuses to help pay for any of her college expenses.
However, the grandmother just asked Z to send her W2 so that the grandmother can do Z's taxes. Z wants to do her own taxes.
Grandmother then said-
"Money I put away was in a Uniform Gift to Minors account which uses your Social Security Number but you gives you no rights to the money, I closed that account at the end of the year. The distribution is reported uner your SSN so it has to go on your return. Once the basis is shown there will be little or no tax on it."
Grandmother has been a licensed tax preparer for more than 20 years, so should know what she's talking about. However, nothing in that message rings true to me or matches what my daughter and I have been able to find on the web.
So, the questions are-
1) Does Grandmother's statement make sense? Is that true?
2) Is Grandmother basically stealing (back) money she previously gave to Z?
3) Since Z didn't get the money, why would it be reported on her taxes?
4) How does this all affect future student aid applications?
5) Can Z do anything, legally, to find out more about the account (if Grandmother won't give details)?
Thanx in advance!