Do I file a 1040 for my 16 yr old who earned $200 from a church - no 1099-MISC? IRS Pub 929 says "yes" since this is >$108.28, but her standard deduction is $1050.

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

Maybe.  What Pub 929 says on that amount depends on whether or not the amount your daughter received was (a) wages (as compared to self-employment) and (b) earned from a church that is exempt from remitting social security and Medicare wages.  Your child will not receive a 1099-MISC if the amount is less than $600, (which would be for self-employment), and, if it is self-employment, would not have to file because the amount is under $400 (not $1050.  Keep reading below the $108.28 figure to see the self-employment filing requirement).  

The question is:  If your daughter had received enough income, would she have received a 1099-MISC or a W-2?  If a 1099-MISC, she does not have to file.  If a W-2, (which she should have received because of the filing requirement mentioned in your question), then the question is if Social Security and Medicare (boxes 2 and 4) have withholding amounts in them.  If they do, then she doesn't have to file; if they do not have amounts, she has a filing requirement (which would be on Form 1040).

[jwrtp]

Thank you. She was not employed directly by the church (submitted a W-9 at their request). I missed the $400 net earnings bullet.

[DanielV01]

But that gives the info.  A W-9 is used for a contractor (self-employed/1099-MISC income).  She won't have to file in any case.