To claim a child's income on a parent's tax return, the child needs to be considered a qualifying child dependent of the parent. Parents can use IRS Form 8814 to elect to report their child's income on their tax return instead of the child filing their own return.
If you have a dependent who's earning income, good news — you can still claim them as a dependent so long as other dependent rules still apply. Your dependent's earned income doesn't go on your return. Filing tax returns for children is easy in that respect.
A dependent child who has earned more than $13,850 of earned income (tax year 2023) typically needs to file a personal income tax form. Earned income includes wages, tips, salaries, and payment from self-employment. This threshold increases to $14,600 for 2024.
You cannot report your child's Form W-2 on your tax return. If your child has earned income during the tax year, they must file a separate return to either receive a tax refund or pay any balance owed to the IRS.
The child can't provide more than half of their own financial support. If your child gets a job and provides at least half of their own financial support, you can't claim the child as a tax dependent.
Frequently asked questions about claiming dependents
However, if the dependent child is being claimed under the qualifying relative rules, the child's gross income must be less than $4,700 for the year in 2023. This threshold increases to $5,050 for 2024. When does your child have to file a tax return?
Your child must meet all the eligibility requirements for you to claim the Child Tax Credit, which may vary from year to year. But as long as you are still supporting them financially, your dependent's work status most likely won't impact their eligibility.
Gross income is the total of your unearned and earned income. If your gross income was $4,700 or more, you usually can't be claimed as a dependent unless you are a qualifying child. For details, see Dependents.
If your dependent receives a Form W-2, you cannot report it on your tax return. Your dependent has to report the Form W-2 on their own tax return (if they are required to file). If you need help reporting Form W-2, go to our Form W-2 - Entering in Program FAQ.
To meet the qualifying child test, your child must be younger than you or your spouse if filing jointly and either younger than 19 years old or be a "student" younger than 24 years old as of the end of the calendar year.
You would not enter a W-2 for a dependent on your tax return. Your dependent would enter the W-2 income on his or her own separate return. While it may not be necessary for the dependent to file a separate return, it may be beneficial if the dependent had taxes withheld and would have a refund.
If your dependent earns income, they may have had taxes withheld and will need to file a tax return. As a dependent, this is done by indicating it on Form 1040 - eFile will fill this in for the dependent when they indicate that they will be claimed.
The maximum refundable amount per child — currently capped at $1,600 — would increase to $1,800 for 2023 taxes filed this year. In tax years 2024 and 2025, the refundable amount would grow to $1,900 and $2,000.
A child who has only earned income must file a return only if the total is more than the standard deduction for the year. Your child will have to pay tax on the salary only to the extent it exceeds the standard deduction amount for the year: $13,850 in 2023 ($14,600 for 2024).
You qualify for the full amount of the 2023 Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child if you meet all eligibility factors and your annual income is not more than $200,000 ($400,000 if filing a joint return). Parents and guardians with higher incomes may be eligible to claim a partial credit.
The maximum tax credit per child is $2,000 for tax year 2023. The maximum credit is set to increase with inflation in 2024 and 2025.
You don't—your dependent's W-2 isn't reported on your return. If your unmarried dependent's W-2 earnings exceed their Standard Deduction ($13,850 in 2023), they should file their own return and report the W-2 on their return.
If your parents claim you as a dependent on their taxes, you may still need to file your own tax return. As a dependent, you will need to file taxes if you received over $1,100 of unearned income, $12,550 of earned income, or a gross income that was greater than $1,100 or $350 plus your earned income up to $12,200.
Residence: Must have the same residence for more than half the year. Age: Must be under age 19 or under 24 and a full-time student for at least 5 months. They can be any age if they are totally and permanently disabled. Support: Must not have provided more than half of their own support during the year.
3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year.2 3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,300.3 Gross income means all income the person received in the form of money, goods, property and services, that isn't exempt from tax.
Yes, your daughter would file her own income tax return to get a refund.
Note that only one person (or spouses filing jointly) may claim a student as a qualifying child. If your student is required to file their own tax return because they earned more than the standard deduction for taxes filed that year, you may still be able to claim them as a dependent.
A person cannot be claimed as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico, for some part of the year. (There is an exception for certain adopted children.) A dependent must be either a qualifying child or qualifying relative.
Good Reasons
If your income disqualifies you from claiming these credits, your child's income probably doesn't disqualify him or her. Therefore, your child may be able to report payment of education expenses for tax purposes and then claim one of the credits – but only if you don't claim him or her as a dependent.
If you have more than one child and they are only eligible for the Lifetime Learning Credit, it may be more beneficial if you don't claim them as dependents. Learn why in our article: Education Tax Credits for College Students.