My 16 year old had a job in 2016 as a sign holder- what are the tax filing requirements? (no W2 as company stated he is employed as a contractor)

[jolinm]

He made less than $6000. Thank you

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

Yes, he will be required to file.  Although his overall income is less than $6300, he will be required to file because his income is self-employment.  The IRS requires self-employment income to be filed when it is more than $400.  Here is an FAQ that helps understand what self-employment is:  https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/4771022

Self-employment income is subject to self-employment tax (basically social security and medicare), which is automatically taken out of an employee's paycheck.  But since he was a contractor, he did not have these taxes taken out of his check.  This is why he must file, so that the amount of self-employment tax is calculated and paid.  

Please note, however, that he is allowed to claim any expense deductions that he had to lower his self-employment tax responsibility.  TurboTax will assist you with this.