Does my 18 year-old need to file her own tax return?

[rosscluver67]

My oldest child turned 18 in Nov 2015. She earned less than $1500 in 2016 from 2 different jobs. She has received one w2 already. We claim her as a dependent. Does she need to file her own tax return?

[Howard1948 · Accepted solution]

You do NOT include the earned income of a dependent or anyone else (other than a spouse filing a joint return) on your tax return.  Your dependent needs to determine whether he/she needs to file his/her own return.  Filing requirements are included in IRS Publication 501 pages 3 through 5 which can be found on the IRS website at www.irs.gov.  Generally, for 2015, if the dependent's earned income is less than $4,000 and is the only income to report, no return is required.  Even if his/her income is below the filing requirement, he/she may still want to file a return if he/she can get a refund of any Federal/state income taxes that may have been withheld from the paycheck.  If he/she does file to get a refund and “can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return”, be sure that box is checked in the Personal Information section of TT.

[rosscluver67]

Thanks. I was not asking about including her W2/earnings on our return.  But you answered my question. I never thought about her possibly filing just to see if she qualifies for a refund....good idea. If she does file does that affect whether we still list her as a dependent? My guess is no. She lives in our house and is till a student. Thanks for your help.