Filing tax return as a US citizen and college student with non-US citizen parents

[nomgb]

Hello, 

I am a US citizen attending a college as of now. Currently, I am a full-time student that is not working. My parents are not US citizens and they don’t live in the US, so I had some trouble filing my 2024 tax return. I wasn’t able to file before the deadline, but now I’m trying to file late. As a dependent on my parents, I’m being asked about my parents like their SSN ( which they don’t have) when I try to use a free tax filing software. Is my only option is to fill in the form and mail it? I would appreciate any advice on this. Thank you!

[Bsch4477]

Does it still ask for their tax ID if you check that you could be claimed as a dependent but are not being claimed?

[nomgb]

They asked if I’m financially fully dependent, which I’m not. Then, they asked me to provide my parents’ SSN, I believe.

[rjs]

As far as U.S. taxes are concerned, you are not a dependent. The question is not always asked with precision, but the question is really whether you can be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. Your parents are not U.S. taxpayers, and they are not required to file a U.S. tax return, so even if they support you, you should not say that you can be claimed as a dependent.

You said you are trying "to use a free tax filing software." Are you using TurboTax or some other software? This is the TurboTax support community. If you are not using TurboTax, we can give you only very limited general advice. We cannot help you with other software.

If you are trying to use TurboTax Online Free Edition, it can only be used for very simple tax returns. Your situation as a full-time student with no income from working may require things that Free Edition does not support.

If you are not working, why are you filing a tax return at all? Do you have income other than from working, such as from investments or taxable scholarship income? If you don't have any income there is no reason to file a tax return. There is an old urban legend that a college student can get $1,000 just for filing a tax return, but it's not true. If you do not have any income from working, you are not going to get any money.

You can use Do I Need to File a Tax Return? on the IRS web site to see if you are required to file a tax return.

Your descriptions of the questions you are being asked are somewhat vague and imprecise. If you need further help to answer specific questions in TurboTax, please post the exact wording of the question, and what topic or section of TurboTax it is in. Also tell us your age at the end of the year that you are filing for.

[Bsch4477]

@rjs is correct. You are not a dependent since your parents are not taxpayers. 

[nomgb]

Yes, I have taxable scholarships and grants. As I don’t work, I don’t have any earned income, which is probably why I am being asked to provide my parents’ information. The software is treating me as a child with unearned income (I was 18 in 2024).

[rjs]

If TurboTax is asking for information about your parents, it's probably because you are subject to what's commonly called "kiddie tax." (Officially it's "Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income.") Under the kiddie tax your unearned income over $2,600 (for 2024) is taxed at your parents' tax rate. The tax is calculated on Form 8615. Obviously, in order to calculate the tax at your parents' rate, TurboTax needs information from your parents' tax return.

The IRS apparently never considered the possibility of a U.S. citizen who is subject to kiddie tax, but whose parents are foreign. They do not provide any instructions or guidance for this situation. I don't have a good solution for you. Several of the community Champions discussed this a few years ago. Here's the best solution we could come up with.

When TurboTax asks whether your parents are filing a joint tax return for 2024, answer Yes, even though they aren't. When it asks for your parents' taxable income, enter zero. That is true, since they have no U.S. taxable income. Leave all the other income questions blank. Also leave your parent's Social Security Number blank. When the error check tells you that the SSN must be entered, just click Continue. You will not be able to e-file. Print the tax return. In the space for the parents' Social Security numbers on Form 8615, write NRA (for NonResident Alien). Sign the tax return and file it by mail.

TurboTax Free Edition does not include Form 8615, so you will not be able to use Free Edition.

[nomgb]

Does this mean I also have to file form 8615 in addition to form 1040?

[rjs]

Yes, you do have to file Form 8615. When you make the entries as I described above TurboTax will prepare Form 8615 and include it in your tax return. You do not file Form 8615 separately. It's an attachment to your Form 1040. In my previous reply I told you about a manual pen-and-ink entry that you have to make on Form 8615 after you print it.

Having to file Form 8615 is the reason that you cannot use TurboTax Free Edition.