This is a guest post by Carol Topp, CPA.  Carol is the mother of two teenage daughters and she lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.  She discusses teenagers and taxes at http://TeensandTaxes.com.

Bonnie had been adding her son’s interest income to her tax return for many years.  That was a $1,000 mistake. She was overpaying Uncle Sam and never realized it.

It is easy to understand why Bonnie reported her son’s interest income as her own.  The statements from her son’s UTMA (Uniform Gift to Minors Act) account at the local bank had both her name and his name on the account.   Her name was even listed first as “Bonnie Smith, Custodian for Luke Smith”.  Read more... (477 words, 11 images, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

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