Form 8615

[kitcatto14]

Hello! I am working through adding my income, and do not have any unearned income. However, my TurboTax is still trying to get me to complete Form 8615, and I cannot file my taxes because it insists I complete the form despite not having any unearned income whatsoever. I have not indicated I have unearned income in any other section of my tax return either. What should I do? Last year, I was able to click a button saying this form was not relevant to me and that I did not have any unearned income, but that button is not available this year, so I am stuck.

[rjs]

Are you sure you don't have anything that's considered "unearned income"? Unearned income is basically any income that wasn't from working. It could be interest from a bank, Social Security benefits, or even unemployment benefits. Here's the definition of unearned income for kiddie tax, from IRS Publication 929, page 15. Although it's not mentioned in Pub. 929, taxable scholarship income is also considered unearned income for Form 8615.

"Unearned income is generally all income other than salaries, wages, and other amounts received as pay for work actually performed. It includes taxable interest, dividends, capital gains (including capital gain distributions), the taxable part of social security and pension payments, certain distributions from trusts, and unemployment compensation. Unearned income includes amounts produced by assets your child obtained with earned income (such as interest on a savings account into which you deposited wages)."

[kitcatto14]

Yes, I am sure. My only income source is from my employer. 

[rjs]

Well maybe we have to be more precise, or nitpicking.

What exactly do you mean by "trying to get me to complete" Form 8615? Is TurboTax just saying that you need to review it? Did you start going through the "Child's Income" interview? Does it actually make you enter all of the information, or does it tell you early on that you don't have to complete it?

And what exactly do you mean by "from my employer"? People are sometimes confused about the precise meaning of "employer." Did you get a W-2? Is the income from the W-2 on Form 1040 line 1a? Is there anything on Form 1040 lines 1b through 8? Is Form 1040 line 9 equal to line 1a? Is there anything at all in Part I of Schedule 1?

Are you using TurboTax Online, or the CD/Download TurboTax software?