My fifteen-year old earned $1400 with a summer job. Do I help him file separately, or do we include his income somehow when my spouse and I file jointly?

MY DEPENDENT HAD A JOB

If your dependent has a W-2 for his after-school job, summer 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 or 1099NEC then he must file a return and pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.

 

 

You might also want to use free software from the IRS Free File versions:

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

You do Not enter his earned income on your tax return.  He can file his own tax return and indicate on his return that he can be claimed as a dependent.

However, if his income was employee wages reported on a W-2 he does not need to file a return since his income was less than $12,550 unless he had taxes withheld then he would want to file to get the taxes refunded.