Is the $1100 minimum unearned income allow per year or life time?

[soyuppy]

A student has no income, but have some investment with small gain.

Is the $1100 minimum unearned income allow per year or lifetime?

Suppose:

• Year1:  investment gain $700.  sell and realize the gain.  no need to file/pay tax
• Year2: re-invest money and gain $500.  sell and realize gain.  no need to file/pay tax
• as oppose to do nothing in year1 and then year2 would sell gain 1200 which would require tax filing and taxes.

Is this correct assessment?

[Opus 17]

If you file a tax return for any reason, you must report all your income, no matter how small.  There is no investment minimum.

You may be thinking of the "kiddie tax."  Most taxpayers have a standard deduction of $12,550 (this year).  If a person's taxable income is less than the standard deduction, they don't have to file a return, because no tax is owed if their income is less than the standard deduction.

However, for dependents and people who meet certain dependent-like tests (under age 19, or under age 24 while a student), their standard deduction is variable.  If they have investment income or other unearned income, their standard deduction is $2,200.  If they have a mix of income earned from work and unearned income, their standard deduction is determined by a formula.

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc553

If taxable income is less than the standard amount, no tax return is owed.  If more than the adjusted standard deduction, they must file a tax return and may be taxed at a higher rate than normal.  (The purpose is to prevent parents from hiding investment income in a child's name and pay lower tax.)

The short answer is that a person who is a full time student under age 24, who does not work, can have up to $2200 of unearned income such as investment sales, without having to file a tax return.  The $2200 threshold is per year, not lifetime aggregate. 

[Mike9241 · Accepted solution]

per the 1040 instructions

If your parent (or someone else) can claim you as a dependent, use this chart to see if you must file a return.
In this chart'

Unearned income includes taxable interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. It also includes unemployment compensation, taxable social security benefits, pensions, annuities, and distributions of unearned income from a trust. 

Earned income includes salaries, wages, tips, professional fees, and taxable scholarship and fellowship grants.

Gross income is the total of your unearned and earned income. Gross income includes gains, but not losses, reported on Form 8949 or Schedule D
Single dependents. Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
No. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
• Your unearned income was over $1,100.
• Your earned income was over $12,400.
• Your gross income was more than the larger of—
• $1,100, or
• Your earned income (up to $12,050) plus $350.

if the student is a dependent, then you are correct. no tax Federal tax filings are required for situations 1 or 2  but is for situation 3 ($1,100 per year as is the law currently. just be aware this limit could change in the future). Also if your state has a personal income tax the filing requirements would almost certainly be different.