college student summer job

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
February 20, 2024
2 replies
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I live in California. My son is a fulltime college student in Michigan. He had a summer job in Seattle and earned 32,000. I understand I can still claim him as dependent since i am paying for most of his cost, but he has to file his own tax, correct? Since his work was in Seattle, does he need to file state tax in California or in Washington? His Seattle W2 listed his school dorm address as the employee address, if that matters.

Thanks

Bin

xmasbaby0

Employee

If you are claiming your son as a dependent---which you can do if he is a full-time student under the age of 24---and you live in CA, then he is "temporarily absent" from home and is still a resident of CA for tax purposes.

WA has no state income tax. But CA does have a state income tax. He will need to file a federal return and a CA return. You have not mentioned whether he had a job in MI while there for school.

MY DEPENDENT HAD A JOB

If your dependent has a W-2 for his after-school job, summer job, etc. you do not include the information on your own return. You can still claim your child as a dependent on your own return. He/she can file his own return for a refund of some of his withheld wages (he won’t get back anything for Social Security or Medicare), but MUST indicate on it that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return. (Supervise this closely or prepare it for him!)

If your dependent’s earnings were over $400 and were reported on a 1099Misc or 1099NEC then he must file a return and pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.

You might also want to use free software from the IRS Free File versions:

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

(The MI address used by the employer on the W-2 is not important). When your son prepares his tax return he should use the mailing address where he wants to receive a letter or a check from the IRS.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

bzhang1998Author

Thanks for the answer. Yes, I am claim him as a dependent in my returns. He didn't work in Michigan where he goes to school. And he didn't work in California. Since he didn't have any income in California, he shouldn't owe any tax in his CA return, correct? TurboTax is showing he owes tax in his CA return.

xmasbaby0

Employee

Yes---he will owe CA tax. He worked and earned income---even though he worked in another state he has to pay tax to the state he lives in. And as a student being claimed as your dependent---he "lives" in CA. He paid no state tax in WA since there is no state tax in WA. But he will have to pay CA.

bzhang1998Author

Ok, thanks. I just noticed on his W2 it also listed under boxes 15, 16, 17 Michigan state wages, state income tax. Box 16 has $7100, and box 17 has $280 state income tax. Does this mean he has to file state tax in Michigan in addition to filing state tax in CA?