Do i list my dependent children's income on my Virginia state return. I thought I saw it but now cannot find it.

[Wheresmymoney]

Same here- I still don't understand why I saw that screen with boxes for each child's AGI. And I don't understand why I can't find it again.

[Patrice]

No, you would not list your dependent children income on your Virginia state return.  

If your children earned income it would be included in their gross income and must be reported on his or her individual tax return.

Residents of Virginia (including dependents and students) must file an individual income tax return if:

• Single, and Virginia adjusted gross income is $11,950 or more
• Married, filing a joint or combined return, and total Virginia adjusted gross income for both spouses is $23,900 or more
• Married, filing a separate return, and Virginia adjusted gross income is $11,950 or more

If your children's income is below the filing threshold (as stated above) for their filing status, but Virginia income tax was withheld from any payments you received, file a return to apply for a refund of the Virginia individual income tax withheld.

[oceanexpress]

I too am being prompted to input Virgina AGI for my two children.  Do I input the $ from box16 from the W-2 for the few thousand dollars shown?  We are talking about less than 5k...

[DMarkM1]

Yes.  You would use the VA W2 box 16 amounts.  These inputs appear to be for the VA "Low income individuals credit" if the family adjusted gross income falls below the poverty level.  

According to the VA DOR,   Family Virginia adjusted gross income includes the total Virginia adjusted gross income for you, your spouse, and your dependents, even if they do not file their own Virginia returns.  

[Suchin21]

I know this is a few years later, but I have a related question. Both of my dependents did not make enough to file their own taxes. Not enough money was withheld to both with filing on their own. When I enter their income from their W-2s it increases my Virginia taxable income then causing me to owe hundreds in taxes when I made so little in 2024 I was not even required to file my taxes either, but want the money I paid in federal taxes refunded to me. Why would adding their income on my Virginia return to see if I qualify for the Virginia Low Income Credit? If I don't qualify, that's fine, but why does it cause me to owe? 

If my dependents file their own federal return, would I still need to add their income to mine on my Virginia return?

Thanks.

[xmasbaby0]

@Suchin21 Your dependents' income cannot be added to your own  federal tax return.   If you entered their income to your federal return, you need to remove it.   Information flows from your federal return to your state return.  

Your dependents can file their own tax return to seek refunds if federal or state tax was withheld from their wages.    They must say on their own returns that they can be claimed as someone else's dependent.

[AmyC]

Earned income - like a w2, is filed on the return of the person that earned it. Unearned income - like interest and dividends, can be filed on the parent's return IF the child is not filing.

You can check if a return is needed with this quick quiz, Filing requirement

Reference: What is the Kiddie Tax?

@Suchin21 

[Suchin21]

I did not enter their income on my federal return. I did not add it to my Virginia state return either, until it asked me to list it when checking to see if I was eligible for the Virginia low income tax credit. I was not, therefore it added my children's income to mine for the Virginia Family AGI, and then said I owed taxes to Virginia. I don't know if I am required to keep their income in that section of my Virginia return. If I am, then I owe a good amount even though my children do not deposit their earnings into a family account. Hope this makes more sense.

Thanks.

[AmyC]

If your kids made over $14,600, they were required to file a return and the income is added into your family income for VA credit.

If the kids made less than that, they are not required to file and it is not reported.

Thank you!  The fact that you switched to owing money means we need to look deeper into the requirements. The state definition of additions to income is key. As I followed the links, I wound up at the IRS definition of household income: Household income also includes the incomes of all of your dependents who are required to file tax returns because their income meets the filing threshold. Household income does not include a dependent's income if the dependent's income is below the filing threshold

The VA Credit for Low Income Individuals states: You may qualify to claim this credit if: 

Your family’s total Virginia adjusted gross income (VAGI) is below federal poverty guidelines.

To calculate your family VA adjusted gross income, we follow their rules:

Federal adjusted gross income (from your federal income tax return)
+ any required additions to income
-  your Social Security income and any allowable subtractions from income. 
Virginia adjusted gross income

[Suchin21]

Yes, I went over all of these things too. The link to the VA additions to income do not specifically say dependent's income which is why I felt it wasn't clear. But I think I saw one mention of having to add all of your family's income to check for the VA Low Income Tax Credit, even if they were not required to file a return/ owed no taxes themselves.  I guess I just have to enter it and pay up and adjust my state tax withholding amt for next year. It defaulted to not having anything taken out because I don't earn much but my unearned income and dependent's income are not taken into consideration. 

If you have anything to add or think I may be mistaken, I am happy to hear what you have to say.

Thanks of your help. 

[DawnC]

Did you receive EIC on your federal return?   You should not add their incomes to the VA return if they did not earn enough income to have a federal filing requirement.    VA Low Income/Earned Income credits

[Suchin21]

No I did not receive EIC. My unearned income was just above the max. I have researched and it seems I owed taxes based on my VA AGI but because my income was below federal poverty level, the system automatically applied the Virginia Low Income Credit to my running total before asking any questions about it. When I got to the screen where it asked about my dependent's income for determining if I qualified for that credit, it simply added the credit back.

So, to be clear, I am not reporting their income on my federal return at all.  And it seems I am not officially reporting their income on my Virginia state return either. I am giving them the total income for everyone on my return for the purposes of determining if I qualify for the VA Low Income Credit. If that aggregate amount exceeds the max to qualify for that credit, then they take the credit away, and I essentially owe the state the taxes I originally owed but just didn't know it at the time. In other words, it didn't seem like I had to pay because the credit was automatically applied before I had to enter the family incomes. 

Does that make sense?  Maybe I've got it wrong though. 

[AmyC]

That makes sense, great job!  If the kids are also filing tax returns, take their income off your VA family income.