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 then he must file a return and pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare. You may want to use this version of TT for that:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900583-what-is-turbotax-free-file-program

**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.**

rjs

Employee

@biekerj I think you're looking at two different sets of rules. One is the rules for whether or not a dependent is required to file a tax return. The other is the rules for whether you can include your child's income on your tax return instead of filing a separate tax return for the child. Those are two different questions.

In the Form 1040 instructions are you looking at Chart B on page 10? That chart shows the conditions that require a dependent to file a tax return. A dependent who is under 65 and not blind is required to file if he or she has unearned income over $1,100 or earned income over $12,200 (for 2019).

The requirements to be able to include your child's income on your tax return are different. One of the requirements is that the child's gross income must be less than $11,000. This limit is not mentioned in the Form 1040 instructions.

BUT - the only advantage of reporting the child's income on the parent's return is that it's less paperwork. It will not save any tax, and in many cases you could end up paying more tax overall than if you file a separate return for the child. IRS Publication 17 has a long list of reasons that reporting the income on the parent's return could result in paying more tax. The safest course is to file a separate return for the child. You will probably be better off that way, and certainly no worse off.