You do NOT include the earned income of a dependent or
anyone else (other than a spouse filing a joint return) on your tax
return. Your dependent needs to
determine whether he/she needs to file his/her own return. Filing requirements are included in IRS Publication
501 pages 3 through 5 which can be found on the IRS website at www.irs.gov.
Generally, for 2015, if the dependent's earned income is less than $4,000 and is the only income to report, no return is required. Even if his/her income is below the filing requirement, he/she may still
want to file a return if he/she can get a refund of any Federal/state income
taxes that may have been withheld from the paycheck. If he/she does file to get a refund and “can
be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return”, be sure that box is
checked in the Personal Information section of TT.
