rjs
Level 15
Level 15

Education

The rules for kiddie tax are not affected by whether your parents can claim you as a dependent or not. So yes, it applies to you even if they cannot claim you.


The first $2,200 of your unearned income is taxed at your regular tax rates, the same as income from your job. Your unearned income above $2,200 will be taxed at higher rates. For 2019 you have a choice of using your parents' tax rate or the rates for trusts and estates. Using your parents' rate (which TurboTax calls the "pre-TCJA rules"), is usually the best choice. If you choose to calculate the tax at your parents' rate, you will need some information from your parents' tax return.