ColeenD3
Expert Alumni

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Please see this answer from @rjs.

 

You can be subject to kiddie tax (Form 8615) even if no one can claim you as a dependent. Being someone's dependent is not one of the conditions for the kiddie tax.


Are you a U.S. citizen or resident alien? If you are a nonresident alien, you cannot use TurboTax.


The IRS apparently never considered the possibility of a someone being required to file Form 8615 whose parents are foreign. They do not provide any instructions or guidance for this situation. I don't have a good answer for you. If you are subject to kiddie tax, you cannot e-file your tax return if your parents do not file a U.S. tax return.


The best suggestion I can give you is the following. When TurboTax asks whether your parents are filing a joint tax return, answer Yes, even though they aren't. When it asks for your parents' taxable income, enter zero. That is true, since they have no U.S. taxable income. Leave all the other income questions blank. Also leave your parent's Social Security Number blank. When the error check tells you that the SSN must be entered, just click Continue. You will not be able to e-file. Print the tax return. In the space for the parent's Social Security number on Form 8615, write NRA (for NonResident Alien). File the return by mail. Doing it this way will make the kiddie tax zero.