Last year, my son's investment income was enough that TurboTax made me file taxes separately for him. This year his income was lower. Can I file his income under mine?

[Coleen3 · Accepted solution]

For investment income, here is the criteria to include his income on your return.

Summary of Rules for Including Your Child's Income on Your Tax Return

• At the end of the tax year your child was younger than 19 or younger than 24 and a full-time student.
• Your child's only income was interest and dividends, including capital gains distributions.
• Your child's income was less than $10,500.
• Your child would be required to file a tax return if you choose not to include his income on your return.
• You are the kiddie-tax parent, who is usually the one with the highest taxable income.
• Your child will not be filing a joint return and did not:
• pay estimated taxes for the tax year;
• had federal income tax withheld; or
• applied an overpayment of tax from the previous year.

If any of the above is not true, then you cannot include your child's income on your return; otherwise you can file Form 8814, Parents' Election to Report Child's Interest and Dividends with your return. If this is not an option, you will need Form 8615

[TomD8]

The FAQ describes the process for this in TurboTax:  https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2899934-how-do-i-report-my-child-s-investment-income