Taxes for 1099-NEC income earned by a minor

[bwohagan21]

My son, a minor, earned income as a camp counselor in the summer of 2022, which was reported via a 1099-NEC.  He made ~$1000 from that job and had no other significant sources of income (just his earnings from saving accounts was only a handful of dollars).  He had to pay taxes on the 1099-NEC income based on what Turbo Tax calculated.  This doesn't seem right to me.  His earned income is less than $12,950.  His unearned income is less than $1,150.  I understand he has to file since the 1099-NEW income is greater than $600.

His employer did not withhold FICA taxes and I believe the amount Turbo Tax says he owes is related to the full 15.3% needed for FICA.  However, my understanding is that minors are not subject to paying FICA taxes.  If that's correct, I don't understand why Turbo Tax is calculating that he owes taxes.

Can someone help me understand if he should in fact owe the FICA tax and why?

If not, is there a trick to get Turbo Tax to handle this correctly?   He' already filed his return (before the deadline) and will need to fill an amended return once we know how to correct it.

Thanks
Brian

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

Minors who have earned income through self-employment and the amount of SE income is $400 or more are required to pay SE taxes (Social Security and Medicare) on their net SE income.

See this TurboTax Tax Tip - https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/family/at-what-income-does-a-minor-have-to-file-an-income-tax-r...

[bwohagan21]

@DoninGA , thanks for confirming that I filled everything correctly.
-brian