topic Under 21 doing taxes in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Under 21 doing taxes

mommatigress05 — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 18:47:34 GMT

My daughter filed to be independent at 18 yrs of age and moved out of the house for her senior year mid November 2023. She lived outside the home for 4 months and came home March 2024. She went to a tech school 2023-2024 and received a 1099. Should she do her own taxes, or would she still be considered a dependent?

Re: Under 21 doing taxes

ThomasM125 — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 19:00:59 GMT

There are several tests to determine if she qualifies as your dependent, but the main ones are that you would have to have furnished over 1/2 of her support and she would have to have lived with you for over half the year, or be away at college. If she is a full-time student, you can consider her for being a normal dependent, but otherwise you could only consider her for qualifying as an "other dependent" or qualifying relative. To be a qualifying relative, the individual would have to earn less than $5,050, but that doesn't apply if she is a full-time student until she is 24 years old.

You can learn more from this IRS article.

Re: Under 21 doing taxes

mommatigress05 — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 20:34:22 GMT

Thank you for taking the time to answer. I have a follow up question. How much would a dependent need to earn for them it to be necessary to file taxes? Age 16 & 19

Re: Under 21 doing taxes

DawnC — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 20:38:19 GMT

Even if you're a dependent, you'll generally need to file your own 2024 tax return if:

Your earned income (money you made by working) exceeds $14,600
Your unearned income (interest, dividends, capital gains, etc.) exceeds $1,300
Your business or self-employment net income (gross minus expenses) is at least $400
Your gross income (earned plus unearned) exceeds the larger of $1,300 or your earned income (up to $14,200) plus $400

But even if your income falls below these filing requirements, you'll want to file your own tax return to get a refund of any federal or state taxes withheld from your paychecks.