Hi @TTT , I just saw your reply to my deleted comment--but can't see it now. Anyway, I think non-residents actually need to file gift taxes. See: ttlc.intuit.com/questions/…

Thanks @user4556274 . So let's say the tuition is 25k, room, board, and other fees are 10k. I pay the entire 35k. So the 25k is excluded for gift-tax purposes, and the other 10k is still within the 14k exclusion limit. Then I don't need to file any form?

Yes @DumbCoder. I've changed the questions now. How do I show the payment is applied to tuition, not other fees like room and board?

Thanks @user4556274. I've found that one too, and have changed the question. How do I show the payment is applied to tuition, not other fees like room and board?

@Aus "you just do it legal and avoid the paper work until someone will ask for it." Exactly! That's what the post is talking about. So thanks. But are you suggesting that if a written document between family members is needed, you can produce it after the fact? Not so sure about that. Also don't know which country you're based in, but we're talking about the US.

Thanks @Aganju. Your answer is informative, but I'm not sure the bank will report all transfers over 10000. I think the report requirement only applies to cash deposits and withdrawals. Also, international transfers are different from domestic transfers. The US does not levy tax on someone sending you money from abroad (with a foreign domicile), but if the money is from within the US, it may be a different story. And Xalorous, as I said above, that's culturally speaking extremely difficult to do.

In some cultures it's extremely awkward to write a formal agreement for this sort of thing between family members --- it's a lot worse than dealing with the banks or IRS. So no, this is not a viable solution. But thanks for the suggestion.