Do I need to file taxes for my child

[malotar1]

My son is 16 years old and a full time student .  He had $1700 in capital gains from a custodial account.  He had 1099-new from working at Robotic  camp and market research job  for total of $1200. When I put his 1099-nec’s and capital gains TurboTax came back $0 owed for bothfederal and state.  Do I need to send my son’s taxes to federal and state?   Just federal?  Please help !

[NCperson]

did you link the 1099-NEC to a schedule C?  that has to occur (you can just blow through the Schedule C and click there are no expenses)

I would suspect that the federal tax is the self employment tax of 15.3% of the $1200.  That is in effect the social security and Medicare tax that would have been forwarded to the IRS had he been a W-2 employee, 

[RayW7]

Unlike other taxpayers, the IRS treats your child differently depending on whether they earn money from work or through investments. All dependent children who earn more than $12,400 of income in 2020 must file a personal income tax return and might owe tax to the IRS. Earned income only applies to wages and salaries your child receives as a result of providing services to an employer, even if only through a part-time job.

The rules change when your child receives income from sources other than employment, such as interest and dividend payments. When the 2020 total of this type of income exceeds $1,100, then a return must be filed for your child.

If you file for federal then you should also file for state. 

-follow these links for additional information-

Tax Filing Requirements for Children - TurboTax Tax Tips ...

What is the 2020 Kiddie Tax?

[NCperson]

@RayW7 - can you please review and confirm your response as this student had 1099-NEC income..... Why isn't there a minimum of $169 of SE Tax ($1200-92) *.153).  Your response did not address that 

thoughts?

@malotar1