I'm over 18, but under 24, and not a full time student or a dependent. Both of my parents are living. All of my earnings come from capital gains, which is not considered "earned income".
"The child was age 18 at the end of the tax year and you didn't have earned income that was more than half of the child's support"
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8615.pdf - Source
Edit: I just found this: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8615
If you look at the examples, the middle one states that "only if the child was a full-time student". So I am thinking its an error by turbo tax for making me file a 8915?
This is direct from the IRS website. This wording is super confusing. Who is "you" referring to? Me or my parent? Either way, TurboTax asks if I, myself, used "earned income" in its question that determines if I own this kiddie tax or not.
I'm also assuming that "was 18" means 18+, since I was prompted to fill out an 8915 by turbo tax, even though I am older than 18. I'm praying that this is an accident by turbo tax, and that "was 18" is only for people that are exactly 18, or at least that this wording means I can take my case to a tax lawyer.
Anyways, I was hoping to get some comments, suggestions or advice regarding this. To me, it makes no sense at all. I plan to invest as my full time job, which is not "earned income", and by this criteria, I will be paying a kiddie tax until my parents die???
Also, it doesn't seem to state which parent I have to file on the 8915, can I pick the one with the lowest income? If my earnings exceed them, can I end up paying less? This is all super vague. Maybe I can find a loophole with a lawyer? Seems like the kiddie tax was put in place to stop parents sheltering earnings, but this doesn't apply to me so it feels unfair.
Others online have told me that due to the fact that im 18+ and not a student, I dont have to pay the tax. But turbo tax seems to think otherwise, and that quoted statement concerns me as well. Thanks for any assistance.
