Form 8615 kiddie tax?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
March 8, 2022
1 reply
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I am a full-time graduate student, age 23, living with my parents. For the first half of the year, my income came from a W-2 stipend that counts as earned income. Halfway through the year, I started receiving a fellowship that is unearned income.

According to IRS instructions for Form 8615 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8615.pdf), you only have to pay the kiddie tax if you don't have earned income equal to more than half of your support. My question is this: because of my stipend from the first half of the year, I do have earned income equal to more than half of my support, but I'm not actually providing more than half of my support. So do I have to file a form 8615 and pay the kiddie tax? If I read the instructions literally, it sounds like I don't have to, but I'm not sure. Also if it's relevant, tuition and fees are waived for my graduate program, so I have no cost of education to factor into my support.

The tax difference is significant (about an extra $5,500 for the kiddie tax). But its not clear. Can I be a dependent since I'm not providing more than half of my support, but also not have to file form 8615 and pay this extra tax because I do have earned income equal to more than half of my support?

I appreciate any clarification anyone can give...

Not A Product Question

Vanessa A

Level 15

Yes, you can be a dependent and not have to file form 8615 because the criteria for being a dependent is not the same as the criteria form 8615.

You are reading it correctly. If you have earned income that equals more than half of your support, you do not have to file the kitty tax form. Whether or not you paid for more than half of your support is not one of the listed criteria, only whether or not you had income in that amount.

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gradstudent23Author

Level 2

Thanks for your reply! Part of the reason I was originally confused is that the TurboTax software doesn't seem to allow a distinction between this. Because I'm a dependent (not paying for my support), the software automatically seems to try to make me file form 8615. It doesn't seem to allow me the option to clarify that the earned income that I have does equal more than half of my support. I couldn't find a way to specify any parameters that would let me do my taxes without filing form 8615. Do you know if there's a way to get around this, while still being accurate about the fact that I can be claimed as a dependent and didn't actually provide more than half of my support?

AmyC

Level 15

You have marked that you can be claimed by someone. Assuming parent(s)- they provide over half of your support, all is well on that front.

The 8615 is filed by parents to claim unearned income if the child is not filing their own return. Unearned income between $1,100 and $12,400 may be reported on the parents return. You have earned income. Since you are filing your own return, nobody needs to file the 8615.

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