I was a joint owner on many of my mother's accounts. She passed away in September of last year and I had her name dropped from all of the accounts in December. Now some of the 1099 forms are reporting all of the interest under my SSN, while others are reporting the interest under my mother's SSN. How should I go about rectifying this situation?
It's possible that the banks didn't make all of the normal changes to their records when you transferred those accounts into your own name (otherwise, all of the 1099s would have shown your SSN). You should contact the bank to make sure that all of the accounts have had the SSN updated for 2008, since it would be incorrect to show interest earned under your mother's SSN any longer.
It's correct to report income on the tax return showing the same Social Security number that is shown on forms 1099. However, there is no requirement that matching has to occur. The 2007 interest may be reported on your return, your late mother's final return, or a return in the name of your mother's estate. If you need guidance on how to report the interest on a mismatched return, consult with a tax professional.
BankingQuestions.com is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers. Advertisers are not responsible for site content. Please help us keep BankingQuestions.com FREE by supporting our advertisers. When you see an ad for a product or service you may have an interest in, click through to learn more.
Accounts
Article
Q&A
Podcast
Video
Blog
Discussions
PDF
Powerpoint
It's possible that the banks didn't make all of the normal changes to their records when you transferred those accounts into your own name (otherwise, all of the 1099s would have shown your SSN). You should contact the bank to make sure that all of the accounts have had the SSN updated for 2008, since it would be incorrect to show interest earned under your mother's SSN any longer.