<p>From the website spotlighted by entomom:</p>
<p>Note also that if a section 529 college savings plan is owned by someone other than the parent or child (e.g., a grandparent), it seems that the plan may be omitted entirely from the financial aid need analysis. There appears to be an intentional loophole regarding the treatment of such 529 plans. (This applies only to the FAFSA. The CSS Profile asks the family to list all 529 college savings plans that name the student as a beneficiary, so plans owned by a grandparent but with the student named as a beneficiary would have to be reported.)</p>
<p>Replace grandparent with uncle and it looks like FAFSA doesn’t require you to report the uncle’s 529; CSS does.</p>