My teen earned $1589 at a summer job that issued a W-2. He also earned $1500 from a church that issued him a 1099-MISC. I am under the impression that since he has income over $400 on a 1099-MISC he MUST file a federal tax return no matter what. This results in a a tax liability of $114, which he is not happy about. Is he required to file a federal tax return?
Yes.
Since he was issued a Form 1099-MISC and the amount exceeded $400, he does need to file a return.
Gross income amount for dependents
The way you report the 1099-MISC will depend upon whether he earned the income as part of a business or not.
If you are reporting this income as self-employment income (meaning you are running a business with the intent to make a profit), you will do the following in the Federal interview section:
If it is not from self-employment, you would enter the information as follows:
You will then select "Other reportable income" to enter your income from your 1099-Misc.
Be sure to indicate that he can be claimed as a dependent by someone else.
yes he is,,,
think about it this way... on the w-2, social security and medicare was already withheld in the the paycheck (and then the employer pays a matched amount to the federal government)
but on a 1099-misc, that doesn't occur, but the tax is still due. So your son is responsible for both his half and the employer half of medicare and social security. hence the $114. He'll hopefully get it back when he is 67!
Thanks for the help.
TurboTax keeps pushing the income from the 1099-MISC down into a business income and wants a schedule C filled out. He's just a teenager doing a part-time job for a church. Do I need to list this as business income with a schedule c?
"Do I need to list this as business income with a schedule c?"
Yes, you need to have a Schedule C on his return. As NCperson said, this work is employment but paid on a 1099-MISC instead of a W-2, so he must pay self-employment taxes.
His "business" is supplying these services to the church.
This is how the "employer" (church) avoids paying these same taxes, by putting it all on the "contractor".