Is form 8615 required?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
April 6, 2022
11 replies
36 views

My grandaughter is independent of her parents, yet TurboTax want's me to complete form 8615 as if they were supporting her.

The reason is because I am checking "No, my earned income provided less than half of my support."

I believe TurboTax is assuming that her parents provided her support. But the reason I checked the above is because her income from working was $5,000 but her unearned income from unemployment was $15,000.

So her unemployment provided the majority of her support, not her parents.

Should I simply check "Yes, I provided over half my support with earned income."?

That seems to work well, but is it correct?

Thank you, Grandfather Peter

DavidD66

Level 15

You should check "Yes". Her unemployment benefits count as support provided by her.

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Bsch4477

Level 15

Check NO since the question concerns earned income. She did not support herself with the earned income and the amount of unearned income from unemployment makes her liable for the Kiddie tax.

Attach Form 8615 to the child’s tax return if all of the following conditions are met.

The child's unearned income was more than $2,200.
The child meets one of the following age requirements:
- a. The child was under age 18 at the end of the tax year,
- b. The child was age 18 at the end of the tax year and you didn't have earned income that was more than half of the child's support, or
- c. The child was a full-time student at least age 19 and under age 24 at the end of the tax year and the child didn't have earned income that was more than half of your support.
At least one of the child's parents was alive at the end of the tax year.
The child is required to file a tax return for the tax year.
The child does not file a joint return for the tax year.

peterinwaAuthor

Level 3

@Bsch4477 your opening statement sounds right to me, though it still seems odd that her taxes will be dependent on her parent's income when they don't support her.

That said, I'm not sure I'll be able to obtain her parent's income.

Also, it seems odd to me that all this is necessary because she's a student. If I tell TurboTax she's not a student, none of this applies. So because she's a student she has to pay about $1,000 more in taxes.

AliciaP1

Level 13

Your first line of your original post states "your granddaughter is independent of her parents". Form 8615 is for children who can be claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer's return. If she is truly independent, her parents will not claim her as a dependent. If you are not claiming her as a dependent as well, then she needs to mark on her tax return that she cannot be claimed as a dependent and there will be no need for the Form 8615.

To change this in TurboTax Online please follow these steps:

Within her return click on My Info in the black menu bar on the left
Click Edit on her name
Scroll down to #3 and make sure No is selected for Someone else can claim me as a dependent on their tax return.

@peterinwa

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