My 15 year old son earned $876 dollars as a soccer referee in 2016. Does he have to file a tax return?

[jromanra]

He is our dependent and a full time high school student. He received a 1099-misc from the referee association.

[jerry2000]

was it reported on a 1099-MISC or a W-2?

[jromanra]

Yes...1099- MISC

[re2boys]

If he reports this income as self-employment income, Schedule C, he can deduct legitimate expenses to arrive at his "profit" from his referee business.  Such things as mileage for out of town games, uniforms, ref equipment, out of pocket cost of training or certifications.

[xmasbaby0]

If your dependent has a W-2 for his after-school job, etc. you do not include the information on your own return. You can still claim your child as a dependent on your own return.  He/she can file his own return for a refund of some of his withheld wages (he won’t get back anything for Social Security or Medicare), but MUST indicate on it that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.  (Supervise this closely or prepare it for him!)

If your dependent’s earnings were over $400 and were reported on a 1099Misc then he must file a return and pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.  You may want to use this version of TT for that:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom/

[jerry2000]

Then, yes, the child must file a tax return. He will owe self-employment tax on the self-employment income even though he will owe no ordinary income tax. Be sure that he checks the box that says that he can be claimed on someone elses return.

[Aafiorillo]

My granddaughter is 15 years old. She has a part time job and made $562.50. She received a w2 with nothing taken out.  Does she need to file Federal or Massachusetts tax returns?

[HopeS]

No, your daughter does not need to file a Massachusetts return since she did not make enough income.

She would only file if her annual Massachusetts gross income was more than $8,000,

Filing Requirements

@Aafiorillo