Since your son is in college I assume that you can claim him as a dependent. (It doesn't matter whether you actually do claim him. The question is whether you can claim him.) The filing requirements are different for someone who can be claimed as a dependent, and he does not necessarily get the same standard deduction as someone who cannot be claimed as a dependent.
@paulharv66 wrote:
Since he's under the $12,200 threshold he doesn't actually need to file, right?
Not right. The $5,500 of "other income" on the 1099-MISC is unearned income. Someone who can be claimed as a dependent is required to file if his unearned income is more than $1,100. So your son does have to file.
@paulharv66 wrote:
It calculates a standard deduction of less than $2,000 which I don't get - the standard deduction for single under 65 is $12,200.
If you can claim your son as a dependent, his standard deduction is limited to his earned income plus $350. Only the $1,400 on the W-2 is earned income, so his standard deduction is $1,400 + $350 = $1,750.
