<p>Hey how's it going guys! I need some urgent help about the CSS Profile. I am a finalists for Questbridge and I had a question about the Parents Assets portion of the form.</p>
<p>My dad owns a business/property that was given to him under a grant deed, in the State of California. He does not want me to put any information of the purchase price, because he believes that 1) I will not get the scholarship and 2) he thinks he might get taxed if he puts what the current value price of the property is. </p>
<p>My question, does the federal government look into the CSS Profile? And in this particular case what would i enter for the original purchase price of the property?</p>
<p>Im pretty sure he does have to put the property info. My real question is if the federal government checks the CSS profile. And what values i would need to put for the purchase price if it was under a grant deed.</p>
<p>The federal government doesn’t have access to the information in the CSS Profile. Your dad needs to make an appointment with the closest IRS office, and get help from them to straighten out his issues.</p>
<p>As for the value of the property, pick up the phone and have a chat with the people at the Profile. If the first person can’t help you, ask to be passed on to someone who can.</p>
<p>Let me expand on what has been stated so far:</p>
<p>Yes, you have to report the asset. To come up with an estimated current fair market value, try plugging the address into zillow.com.</p>
<p>Here’s a little trick to determine the acquisition cost: if he bought the property (as opposed to receiving it by gift or inheritance), then on the deed near the top of the first page there should be a statement about “documentary transfer tax.” The standard documentary transfer tax in California is $1.10 per thousand. (Some counties have supplemental taxes, but I’ll assume that’s not the case here.) So if the documentary transfer tax on the deed is stated to be $220, then you know he paid $200,000 for the property ($220/$1.10 = 200 x $1,000 = $200,000).</p>
<p>If you can find the property on Zillow, it may also show the date and price of the last sale, which will help if you don’t have a copy of the deed.</p>
<p>As for taxes, let’s say he bought the property for $200,000 and it’s now worth more. He will not be taxed on the profit until he sells the property, so IRS will not care what is on your CSS Profile form.</p>