Turbo Tax Error

Turbo Tax is saying my childs 2020 PFD ($992 unearned dividend income) needs to be reported (see below). This is their only income for the year. When I follow the directions (below) it asks "Is your child required to file a return for 2020?" I click "No" because they're NOT required to file a return as this ($992 dividend) is their only income and is less than the $1,100 threshold. After clicking "No" the next page says, "Since your child is not required to file a return, we wont report his or her income on your return."

So they're not required by the IRS to file their own return and Turbo Tax will not let me report this income on my own return but I am still supposed to report it??? What do I need to do here? Please help.

Screenshot (3).png

752

Expert Alumni

Apr 5, 2021 10:04:13 AM

A child's Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend needs to be reported, even if it was their only source of income in 2020.

If your child's total income was exclusively unearned (meaning the Alaska PFD, plus interest, dividends, or capital gains distributions—no wages or other income earned by working) and was less than $11,000, you can either report their PFD on your return or your child can report it on their own return.

Follow these steps if you want to include your child's PFD on your return:

Select the Federal tab.
Select Wages & Income.
On the Your income summary screen, scroll down to Less Common Income and select Show more.
Select Start next to Child's Income (Under Age 24).

Answer the questions and TurboTax will fill out Form 8814 that shows the child's income.

Level 2

Apr 10, 2021 10:45:07 AM

For anyone reading this thread in the future here is an answer I received on a different thread regarding reporting requirements for 2020. Solved: Re: Reporting Dependent Dividend (intuit.com)

Why sign in to the Community?

Turbo Tax Error