The social security income of your minor child is not reportable or taxable on your tax return. If she has other income, the social security income might be taxable on her return.
If you are married and were living apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of 2016, you may be able file as head of household if you meet the other requirements.
See the following from the IRS:
Social Security of a Minor Child:
Question:
Are social security survivor benefits for children considered taxable income?
Answer:
Yes, under certain circumstances,
although a child generally won't receive enough additional income to make the
child's social security benefits taxable.
- The taxability of
benefits must be determined using the income of the person entitled to
receive the benefits.
- If you and your child both receive benefits, you should calculate
the taxability of your benefits separately from the taxability of your
child's benefits.
- The amount of income tax that your child must pay on that part of
the benefits that belongs to your child depends on the child's total
amount of income and benefits for the taxable year.
To find our
whether any of the child's benefits may be taxable, compare the base amount for
the child’s filing status with the total of:
- One-half of the
child's benefits; plus
- All of the child's other income, including tax-exempt interest.
If the child is
single, the base amount for the child's filing status is $25,000. If the child
is married, see
Publication 915
, Social Security and
Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits, for the applicable base amount and the
other rules that apply to married individuals receiving social security
benefits.
If the total of (1)
one half of the child's social security benefits and (2) all the child's other
income is greater than the base amount that applies to the child's filing
status, part of the child's social security benefits may be taxable. You can
figure the taxable amount of the benefits on a worksheet in the
Instructions for Form 1040
,
Instructions for Form 1040A
, or in
Publication 915
.
Head of Household Filing Status:
You ma
y be able to file as head of household if you meet all the following requirements.
You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. See Marital StatusConsidered Unmarried
You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.
A qualifying person lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school). However, if the qualifying person is your dependent parent, he or she doesn't have to live with you. See Special rule for parent , later, under Qualifying Person.
To qualify for head of household status, you must be either unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. You are considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year if you meet all the following tests.
You file a separate return. A separate return includes a return claiming married filing separately, single, or head of household filing status.
You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year.
Your spouse didn't live in your home during the last 6 months of the tax year. Your spouse is considered to live in your home even if he or she is temporarily absent due to special circumstances. See Temporary absences , later.
Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year. (See Home of qualifying person , later, for rules applying to a child's birth, death, or temporary absence during the year.)
You must be able to claim an exemption for the child. However, you meet this test if you can't claim the exemption only because the noncustodial parent can claim the child using the rules described later in Children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) under Qualifying Child or in Support Test for Children of Divorced or Separated Parents (or Parents Who Live Apart) under Qualifying Relative. The general rules for claiming an exemption for a dependent are explained later under Exemptions for Dependents .
