{"id":20260,"date":"2017-06-14T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resource-center.hrblock.com\/"},"modified":"2023-11-20T09:36:34","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T15:36:34","slug":"should-your-child-file-an-income-tax-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/filing\/dependents\/should-your-child-file-an-income-tax-return\/","title":{"rendered":"If my child earns income, is filing a separate child income tax return necessary?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Regarding tax returns for a child, how much the child earned from what activities will determine if your child needs to file taxes. Don\u2019t worry \u2014 we\u2019ll help you figure out what you and your child need to do.<\/p>\n<p>If your child or dependent is under age 65, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/refunds-and-payments\/federal-tax-return\/\">IRS income tax return<\/a> for your child is necessary if one of these applies to their income:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Unearned income more than $1,150<\/li>\n<li>Earned income more than $12,950<\/li>\n<li>Gross income more than the larger of these:\n<ul>\n<li>$1,150<\/li>\n<li>Earned income (up to $12,550) plus $400<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You might ask: \u201cDoes my child need to file taxes if they\u2019re blind?\u201d Well, if your child or dependent is age 65 or older or blind, the filing requirement will be the above amounts plus these amounts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>$1,650 if filing single<\/li>\n<li>$1,300 if one of these:<\/li>\n<li>Married filing jointly<\/li>\n<li>Married filing separately<\/li>\n<li>Qualifying surviving spouse<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even if your dependent doesn\u2019t have to file a return, they could still file to get a refund of wage withholding.<\/p>\n<h2><b>What\u2019s earned income for a child filing taxes?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Earned income is usually:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wages<\/li>\n<li>Salaries<\/li>\n<li>Professional fees<\/li>\n<li>Other compensation for personal services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>View <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/publications\/p501#en_US_2022_publink1000220691\">IRS publication 501<\/a> for updated numbers. If you still need help, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-offices\/our-tax-pros\/\">H&amp;R Block tax pro<\/a> can go into more detail how and when your child has to file a tax return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Regarding tax returns for a child, how much the child earned from what activities will determine if your child needs to file taxes. Don\u2019t worry \u2014 we\u2019ll help you figure out what you and your child need to do. If your child or dependent is under age 65, an IRS income tax return for your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dependents","category-filing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>Tax Return for a Child | H&amp;R Block<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wondering if you need to fill out a tax return for your child? 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