dependent college student income

[wilw77]

Hello,

I would like to know where you report college student income.  My daughter is currently in college and a dependent on my taxes.  Is there a threshold of how much she has to earn that needs to be reported?

[xmasbaby0]

MY DEPENDENT HAD A JOB

If your dependent has a W-2 for his after-school job, summer job, etc. you do not include the information on your own return. You can still claim your child as a dependent on your own return.  He/she can file his own return for a refund of some of his withheld wages (he won’t get back anything for Social Security or Medicare), but MUST indicate on it that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.  (Supervise this closely or prepare it for him!)

If your dependent’s earnings were over $400 and were reported on a 1099Misc or 1099NEC then he must file a return and pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.

You might also want to use free software from the IRS Free File versions:

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

As fir whether your college student "has" to file----if her income was over $400 as an independent contractor, yes, she "has" to file.  If she has a W-2, she will WANT to file a tax return in order to seek a refund of amounts in boxes and/or 17 of her W-2.

[DoninGA]

Assuming that she is a full time student under the age of 24, if she has earning as an employee of less than $13,850 in 2023 she does not need to file a federal tax return.  If your state has a personal income tax then you need to check with the state on the filing requirements.

If she had federal income taxes withheld from her wages she should file a federal return to get a refund of the taxes withheld.  If she does file a return then she must indicate an her return that she can be claimed as a dependent.

If she is not an employee and is self-employed and has income of $400 or more then she is required to file a federal tax return to report her self-employment income and expenses.  She would use Schedule C for the income and expenses.  Schedule C is included with the federal tax return, Form 1040.