Form 8615 review

[nicholebernal22]

I do not understand why I have to fill this form out, I don't know how much taxable income my parents had or their SS number.

[rjs · Accepted solution]

If TurboTax is asking for your parents' income, it must be because you are subject to "kiddie tax." It's not just for kiddies. If you have investment income (unearned income) of more than $2,100, and you are not filing a joint return, then your investment income over $2,100 is taxed at your parents' rate if any one of the following is true.

1. You were under 18 at the end of 2016.
   
2. You were 18 at the end of 2016 and your earned income (from working) is not more than half of your total support for the year.
   
3. You were under 24 at the end of 2016, you were a full-time student, and your earned income (from working) is not more than half of your total support for the year.

Obviously, in order to calculate the tax at your parents' rate, TurboTax needs information from your parents' tax return. You have to get the information from them.

The tax at your parents' rate is commonly called "kiddie tax" from the days when it only applied to children under 14. The age limit has been raised to where it can apply to adult children who are still in school, but the name has stuck.

[JRpFA96]

Why do I have to file form 8615 for my granddaughter who is 17 and received a 1099 NEC for $2986. and W2 for 1609.  She is a full time high school student and lives with her parents?  Does she have to file 1040 SE form?  Why do they want her parents  taxable income?

[RobertB4444]

She is a full time high school student who owes taxes for 2021.  The W2 for $1609 wouldn't have mattered much but the 1099-NEC indicates that your granddaughter was a contract employee who didn't pay social security and Medicare on the amount on the 1099-NEC.  She's going to have to pay that.  And - if her parents income is high enough - she's going to pay tax on that income at their tax rate.  (That's why you got the question about their income).