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            Department of the Treasury                        Contents
            Internal Revenue Service
                                                              What’s New                                
                                                              Future Developments                           
Publication 929
Cat. No. 64349Y                                               Reminders                                  
                                                              Introduction                              
                                                              Part 1. Rules for All Dependents               
Tax Rules for
                                                              Filing Requirements                         
Children and                                                  Should a Return Be Filed Even if Not 
                                                                Required?                              
Dependents                                                    Responsibility for Child's Return              
                                                              Standard Deduction                          
For use in preparing
                                                              Dependent's Own Exemption                      
2020 Returns                                                  Withholding From Wages                            
                                                              Part 2. Tax on Unearned Income of Certain 
                                                                Children                                
                                                              Parents' Election To Report Child's Interest 
                                                                and Dividends (Form 8814)                                10
                                                              Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned 
                                                                Income (Form 8615)                                       13
                                                              Glossary                                                   23
                                                              How To Get Tax Help                                        24
                                                              Index                                                      28

                                                              What’s New
                                                              Charitable contribution deduction.    If you don't itemize 
                                                              your deductions on Schedule A Form (1040), you may 
                                                              qualify to take a deduction for contributions of up to $300.
                                                              Change in tax rates.    For tax years 2018 and 2019, the 
                                                              unearned income of certain children was taxed using the 
                                                              brackets and tax rates of estates and trusts. For tax years 
                                                              after 2019, the unearned income above a certain amount 
                                                              is taxed at the parent’s rate. Taxpayers may also elect to 
                                                              retroactively use the rates based on the parent’s individual 
                                                              tax rate for dependent children with unearned income in 
                                                              tax years 2018 and 2019. For more information, see         Tax 
                                                              for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (Form 
                                                              8615), later.
                                                              Standard  deduction  amounts  increased.  For  2020, 
                                                              the standard deduction amount has been increased for all 
                                                              filers. The amounts are:
                                                              • Single or Married filing separately—$12,400,
                                                              • Married filing jointly or Qualifying widow(er)—$24,800, 
                                                                and
Get forms and other information faster and easier at:
• IRS.gov (English)         • IRS.gov/Korean (한국어)            • Head of household—$18,650.
• IRS.gov/Spanish (Español) • IRS.gov/Russian (Pусский) 
• IRS.gov/Chinese (中文)      • IRS.gov/Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) 

Mar 01, 2021

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For married taxpayers who are age 65 or over or blind, entering income amounts not otherwise subject to with-
the standard deduction is increased an additional amount holding. You can also increase your withholding by re-
of $1,300 ($1,650 if head of household or single). questing that a specific additional amount be withheld
For individuals who can be claimed as a dependent, each pay period. See Form W-4 for more information.
the standard deduction cannot exceed the greater of Taxpayer identification number (TIN). Dependents
$1,100 or the sum of $350 and the individual's earned in- who are required to file a tax return must have a TIN. A
come but the total cannot exceed the applicable standard TIN may be a social security number (SSN), an individual
deduction for the dependent's filing status (including any taxpayer identification number (ITIN), or an adoption tax-
additional amount for being age 65 or older and/or blind, if payer identification number (ATIN).
applicable).
Social security number (SSN). The Social Security Ad-
Due to the increase in the standard deduction and re-
ministration (SSA) issues SSNs to citizens and nationals
duced usage of itemized deductions, if you are employed,
of the United States and to certain eligible aliens. To apply
you may want to consider completing a new Form W-4,
for an SSN, file Form SS-5, Application for a Social Secur-
Employee's Withholding Certificate, and giving it to your
ity Card, with the SSA. You can go to SSA.gov for more
employer.
information.
Individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). The
IRS will issue an ITIN to a nonresident or resident alien
Future Developments who doesn’t have and isn’t eligible to get an SSN. To ap-
For the latest information about developments related to ply for an ITIN, file Form W-7, Application for IRS Individ-
Pub. 929, such as legislation enacted after it was ual Taxpayer Identification Number, with the IRS. It takes
published, go to IRS.gov/Pub929. 6–10 weeks to get an ITIN. The ITIN is entered wherever
an SSN is requested on a tax return. If you are a nonresi-
dent alien applying for an ITIN to file a tax return, you must
generally attach your original, completed return to Form
Reminders W-7 to get an ITIN. See the Form W-7 instructions for
more information.
Election to tax the unearned income of certain chil-
An ITIN is for tax use only. It doesn’t entitle you to so-
dren at the parent’s tax rate. For tax years 2018 and
cial security benefits or change your employment or immi-
2019, you can elect to calculate the tax on the unearned
gration status under U.S. law. If you were assigned an
income of certain children using either the brackets and
ITIN before January 1, 2013, or if you have an ITIN that
rates for estates and trusts or the parent’s tax rate. If you
you haven't included on a tax return in the last 3 consecu-
make this election for 2019, include a statement with your
tive years, you may need to renew it. For more informa-
return specifying “election to modify tax on unearned in-
tion, see the Instructions for Form W-7.
come.” The statement can be made on the return (for ex-
ample, on line 7 or at the top of Form 8615) or on an at- Net investment income tax (NIIT). A child whose tax is
tachment filed with the return. figured on Form 8615 may be subject to the NIIT. See the
If you want to make this election for tax year 2018 or Instructions for Form 8960, Net Investment Income
2019, you will need to file an amended return, Form Tax—Individuals, Estates, and Trusts, for more informa-
1040-X. See IRS.gov/Form1040X for more information tion.
about amending a tax return. If you make this election, in- Photographs of missing children. The IRS is a proud
clude a statement or an attachment with your amended partner with the National Center for Missing & Exploited
return specifying “election to modify tax of unearned in- Children® (NCMEC). Photographs of missing children se-
come.” lected by the Center may appear in this publication on pa-
For more information, see Tax for Certain Children ges that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring
Who Have Unearned Income (Form 8615), later. these children home by looking at the photographs and
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recog-
amount no longer limited. For tax years beginning after nize a child.
2017, the AMT exemption amount for certain children with
unearned income is no longer limited to their earned in-
come plus the additional AMT exemption amount.
Form W-4 redesigned. Form W-4 has been redesigned Introduction
so that you can no longer adjust your withholding using Part 1 of this publication explains the filing requirements
withholding allowances. Instead, you can increase or de- and other tax information for individuals who can be
crease your income tax withholding by providing your em- claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return.
ployer with adjustments that account for credits, deduc- Part 2 explains how to report and figure the tax on un-
tions, other income, and other circumstances. earned income of certain children (whether or not they can
For example, to reduce the amount of withholding, you be claimed as dependents).
can enter an amount for the child tax credit, the credit for
other dependents, and deductions other than the Definitions. Many of the terms used in this publication,
standard deduction. You can increase your withholding by such as “dependent,” “earned income,” and “unearned

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income,” are defined in the Glossary  at the back of this 
publication.
                                                               Part 1.
Comments and suggestions.   We welcome your com-
ments about this publication and suggestions for future        Rules for All Dependents
editions.
You  can  send  us  comments  through               IRS.gov/   Terms you may need to know 
FormComments. Or, you can write to the Internal Reve-          (see Glossary):
nue Service, Tax Forms and Publications, 1111 Constitu-           Dependent
tion Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224.
Although we can’t respond individually to each com-               Earned income
ment received, we do appreciate your feedback and will            Exemption
consider your comments and suggestions as we revise 
our tax forms, instructions, and publications. Do not send        Gross income
tax questions, tax returns, or payments to the above ad-          Itemized deductions
dress.
                                                                  Standard deduction
Getting answers to your tax questions.         If you have        Unearned income
                                                                 
a tax question not answered by this publication or the How 
To Get Tax Help section at the end of this publication, go      
to  the  IRS  Interactive  Tax  Assistant  page  at IRS.gov/
Help/ITA where you can find topics by using the search         This part of the publication discusses the filing require-
feature or viewing the categories listed.                      ments for dependents, who is responsible for a child's re-
                                                               turn, how to figure a dependent's standard deduction, and 
Getting tax forms, instructions, and publications.             whether a dependent can claim exemption from federal in-
Visit IRS.gov/Forms to download current and prior-year         come tax withholding.
forms, instructions, and publications.
Ordering tax forms, instructions, and publications. 
Go to IRS.gov/OrderForms to order current forms, instruc-      Filing Requirements
tions,  and  publications;  call  800-829-3676  to  order 
prior-year forms and instructions. The IRS will process        Whether a dependent has to file a return generally de-
your order for forms and publications as soon as possible.     pends on the amount of the dependent's earned and un-
Do not resubmit requests you’ve already sent us. You can       earned income and whether the dependent is married, is 
get forms and publications faster online.                      age 65 or older, or is blind.
                                                                       A dependent may have to file a return even if his 
Useful Items                                                     !     or her income is less than the amount that would 
You may want to see:                                           CAUTION normally require a return. See Other Filing Re-
                                                               quirements, later.
Publication
  501    501 Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing          The following sections apply to dependents with:
         Information                                            • Earned income only,
  505    505 Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax                  • Unearned income only, and
  550    550 Investment Income and Expenses                     • Both earned and unearned income.
Form (and Instructions)                                        To find out whether a dependent must file, read the sec-
                                                               tion that applies, or use Table 1.
  W-4    W-4 Employee's Withholding Certificate
  8615       8615 Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned   Earned Income Only
         Income
  8814       8814 Parents' Election To Report Child's Interest A dependent whose gross income is only earned income 
         and Dividends                                         must file a return if the gross income is more than the 
                                                               amount listed in the following table.
See How To Get Tax Help near the end of this publication 
for information about getting these publications and forms.

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Marital Status                                     Amount               Both Earned and Unearned Income
Single                                                                     A dependent who has both earned and unearned 
Under 65 and not blind                             $12,400                 income must generally file a return if the depend-
Either 65 or older or blind                        $14,050
65 or older and blind                              $15,700                 ent's gross income is more than line 5 of the fol-
Married*                                                                lowing worksheet.
Under 65 and not blind                             $12,400
Either 65 or older or blind                        $13,700                         Filing Requirement Worksheet 
65 or older and blind                              $15,000                                for Most Dependents 
* If a dependent's spouse itemizes deductions on a separate return, the                                                    
dependent must file a return if the dependent has $5 or more of gross   1. Enter dependent's earned income plus $350
income (earned and/or unearned).                                        2. Minimum amount                                     $1,100
                                                                        3. Compare lines 1 and 2. Enter the larger 
                                                                           amount                           
Example.       William is 16. His mother claims him as a                4. Maximum amount                                     12,400
dependent on her income tax return. He worked part time 
on weekends during the school year and full time during                 5. Compare lines 3 and 4. Enter the smaller 
the summer. He earned $12,500 in wages. He didn't have                     amount                           
any unearned income.                                                    6. Enter the dependent's gross income. If line 6 is 
                                                                           more than line 5, the dependent must file an 
He must file a tax return because he has earned in-                        income tax return. If the dependent is married and 
come only and his gross income is more than $12,400. If                    his or her spouse itemizes deductions on a 
he is blind, he doesn't have to file a return because his                  separate return, the dependent must file an 
gross income isn't more than $14,050.                                      income tax return if line 6 is $5 or more.       

Unearned Income Only

A dependent whose gross income is only unearned in-                     Example 1. Joe is 20, single, not blind, and a full-time 
come must file a return if the gross income is more than                college student. He doesn’t provide more than half of his 
the amount listed in the following table.                               own support, and his parents claim him as a dependent 
Marital Status                                     Amount               on their income tax return. He received $200 taxable inter-
Single                                                                  est income and earned $2,750 from a part-time job.
Under 65 and not blind                             $1,100               He doesn't have to file a tax return because his gross 
Either 65 or older or blind                        $2,750               income of $2,950 ($200 interest plus $2,750 in wages) 
65 or older and blind                              $4,400               isn't more than $3,100, the amount on line 5 of his Filled-in 
Married*                                                                Example 1, Filing Requirement Worksheet for Most De-
Under 65 and not blind                             $1,100
Either 65 or older or blind                        $2,400               pendents.
65 or older and blind                              $3,700
                                                                                          Filled-in Example 1
* If a dependent's spouse itemizes deductions on a separate return, the            Filing Requirement Worksheet 
dependent must file a return if the dependent has $5 or more of gross                     for Most Dependents 
income (earned and/or unearned).
                                                                        1. Enter dependent's earned income plus $350          $ 3,100
                                                                        2. Minimum amount                                     1,100
Example.       Sarah is 18 and single. Her parents can 
                                                                        3. Compare lines 1 and 2. Enter the larger 
claim her as a dependent on their income tax return. She                   amount                                             3,100
received $1,970 of taxable interest and dividend income.                4. Maximum amount                                     12,400
She didn't work during the year.
She must file a tax return because she has unearned                     5. Compare lines 3 and 4. Enter the smaller 
income only and her gross income is more than $1,100. If                   amount                                             3,100
                                                                        6. Enter the dependent's gross income. If line 6 is 
she is blind, she doesn't have to file a return because she                more than line 5, the dependent must file an 
has unearned income only and her gross income isn't                        income tax return. If the dependent is married and 
more than $2,750.                                                          his or her spouse itemizes deductions on a 
                                                                           separate return, the dependent must file an 
Election to report child's unearned income on pa-                          income tax return if line 6 is $5 or more.         $ 2,950
rent's return. A parent of a child under age 19 (or under 
age 24 if a full-time student) may be able to elect to in-
clude the child's interest and dividend income on the pa-               Example 2. The facts are the same as in               Example 1, 
rent's return. See Parents' Election To Report Child's In-              except that Joe had $600 taxable interest income.
terest and Dividends in     Part 2. If the parent makes this            He must file a tax return because his gross income of 
election, the child doesn’t have to file a return.                      $3,350 ($600 interest plus $2,750 wages) is more than 
                                                                        $3,100, the amount on line 5 of his Filled-in Example 2, 
                                                                        worksheet.

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                        Filled-in Example 2                                             Filled-in Example 3
               Filing Requirement Worksheet                                  Filing Requirement Worksheet 
                  for Most Dependents                                                       for Dependents
1. Enter dependent's earned income plus $350               $ 3,100           Who Are Age 65 or Older or Blind
2. Minimum amount                                          1,100   1. Enter dependent's earned income plus 
3. Compare lines 1 and 2. Enter the larger                            $350                                                   $3,100
   amount                                                  3,100   2. Minimum amount                                         1,100
4. Maximum amount                                          12,400  3. Compare lines 1 and 2. Enter the larger 
5. Compare lines 3 and 4. Enter the smaller                           amount                                                 3,100
   amount                                                  3,100   4. Maximum amount                                         12,400
6. Enter the dependent's gross income. If line 6 is                5. Compare lines 3 and 4. Enter the smaller 
   more than line 5, the dependent must file an                       amount                                                 3,100
   income tax return. If the dependent is married and              6. Enter the amount from the following table that 
   his or her spouse itemizes deductions on a                         applies to the dependent                               1,650
   separate return, the dependent must file an 
   income tax return if line 6 is $5 or more.              $ 3,350    Marital Status                                 Amount
                                                                      Single
                                                                      Either 65 or older or blind                      $1,650
   Age 65 or older or blind.                  A dependent who is      65 or older and blind                            $3,300
   age 65 or older or blind must file a return if his or              Married
   her gross income is more than line 7 of the follow-                Either 65 or older or blind                      $1,300
ing worksheet.                                                        65 or older and blind                            $2,600
                                                                   7. Add lines 5 and 6. Enter the total                     4,750
               Filing Requirement Worksheet                        8. Enter the dependent's gross income. If line 8 is 
                        for Dependents                                more than line 7, the dependent must file an 
          Who Are Age 65 or Older or Blind                            income tax return. If the dependent is married and 
1. Enter dependent's earned income plus $350                          his or her spouse itemizes deductions on a separate 
2. Minimum amount                                          $1,100     return, the dependent must file an income tax 
3. Compare lines 1 and 2. Enter the larger amount                     return if line 8 is $5 or more                         $3,350
4. Maximum amount                                          12,400
5. Compare lines 3 and 4. Enter the smaller                        Other Filing Requirements
   amount                            
6. Enter the amount from the following table that                  Some dependents may have to file a tax return even if 
   applies to the dependent                                        their income is less than the amount that would normally 
   Marital Status                                 Amount           require them to file a return.
   Single
   Either 65 or older or blind                      $1,650         A dependent must file a tax return if he or she owes any 
   65 or older and blind                            $3,300         other taxes, such as:
   Married
   Either 65 or older or blind                      $1,300         •  Social security and Medicare taxes on tips not repor-
   65 or older and blind                            $2,600            ted to his or her employer or on wages received from 
7. Add lines 5 and 6. Enter the total                                 an employer who didn’t withhold these taxes;
8. Enter the dependent's gross income. If line 8 is more           •  Uncollected social security and Medicare or railroad 
   than line 7, the dependent must file an income tax                 retirement taxes on tips reported to his or her em-
   return. If the dependent is married and his or her 
   spouse itemizes deductions on a separate return,                   ployer or on group-term life insurance;
   the dependent must file an income tax return if                 •  Alternative minimum tax;
   line 8 is $5 or more                     
                                                                   •  Additional tax on a health savings account from Form 
Example 3.     The facts are the same as in            Example 2,     8889, Part III;
except that Joe is also blind. He doesn't have to file a re-       •  Recapture taxes, such as the tax from recapture of an 
turn because his gross income of $3,350 isn’t more than               education credit; or 
$4,750, the amount on line 7 of his Filled-in Example 3, 
                                                                   •  Additional tax on a qualified plan, including an individ-
Filing Requirement Worksheet for Dependents Who Are 
                                                                      ual retirement arrangement (IRA), or other tax-favored 
Age 65 or Older or Blind (shown next).
                                                                      account. But if the dependent is filing a return only be-
                                                                      cause of this tax, the dependent can file Form 5329 by 
                                                                      itself.
                                                                   A dependent must also file a tax return if he or she:
                                                                   •  Had wages of $108.28 or more from a church or quali-
                                                                      fied church-controlled organization that is exempt 
                                                                      from employer social security and Medicare taxes, or

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Table 1. 2020 Filing Requirements for Dependents
If your parent (or someone else) can claim you as a dependent, use this table to see if you must file a return.
See the definitions of “dependent,” “earned income,” “unearned income,” and “gross income” in the Glossary.
Single dependents—Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
  No. You must file a return if any of the following apply.

  •    Your unearned income was over $1,100.
  •    Your earned income was over $12,400.
  •    Your gross income was more than the larger of—
       • $1,100, or
       • Your earned income (up to $12,050) plus $350.
  Yes. You must file a return if any of the following apply.

  •    Your unearned income was over $2,750 ($4,400 if 65 or older and blind).
  •    Your earned income was over $14,050 ($15,700 if 65 or older and blind).
  •    Your gross income was more than the larger of—
       • $2,750 ($4,400 if 65 or older and blind), or
       • Your earned income (up to $12,050) plus $2,000 ($3,650 if 65 or older and 
         blind).
Married dependents—Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
  No. You must file a return if any of the following apply.

  •    Your gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions.
  •    Your unearned income was over $1,100.
  •    Your earned income was over $12,400.
  •    Your gross income was more than the larger of—
       • $1,100, or
       • Your earned income (up to $12,050) plus $350.
  Yes. You must file a return if any of the following apply.

  •    Your gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions.
  •    Your unearned income was over $2,400 ($3,700 if 65 or older and blind).
  •    Your earned income was over $13,700 ($15,000 if 65 or older and blind).
  •    Your gross income was more than the larger of—
       • $2,400 ($3,700 if 65 or older and blind), or
       • Your earned income (up to $12,050) plus $1,650 ($2,950 if 65 or older and 
         blind).

• Had net earnings from self-employment of at least 
  $400.
                                                                      Responsibility for Child's 
Spouse itemizes.   A dependent must file a return if the 
dependent's spouse itemizes deductions on a separate                  Return
return and the dependent has $5 or more of gross income 
(earned and/or unearned).                                             Generally, a child is responsible for filing his or her own 
                                                                      tax return and for paying any tax, penalties, or interest on 
                                                                      that return. If a child can’t file his or her own return for any 
                                                                      reason, such as age, the child's parent, guardian, or other 
Should a Return Be Filed Even                                         legally responsible person must file it for the child.

if Not Required?                                                      Signing the child's return.              If the child can’t sign his or 
                                                                      her return, a parent or guardian must sign the child's name 
Even if a dependent doesn’t meet any of the filing require-           followed by the words “By (signature), parent (or guard-
ments discussed earlier, he or she should file a tax return           ian) for minor child.”
if either of the following applies.
                                                                      Authority of parent or guardian.         A parent or guardian 
• Income tax was withheld from his or her income.
                                                                      who signs a return on a child's behalf can deal with the 
• He or she qualifies for the earned income credit. See               IRS on all matters connected with the return.
  the tax return instructions to find out who qualifies for           In general, a parent or guardian who doesn’t sign the 
  this credit.                                                        child's return can only provide information concerning the 
By filing a return, the dependent can get a refund.                   child's  return  and  pay  the  child's  tax.  That  parent  or 

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Worksheet 1. Standard Deduction Worksheet for 
Dependents                                                                                                Keep for Your Records
Use this worksheet only if someone else can claim you (or your spouse, if filing jointly) as a dependent. 
If you were 65 or older and/or blind, check the correct number of boxes below. Put the total number of boxes checked in box c and go to line 1.
a.    You                                                                                 65 or older                       Blind  
b.    Your spouse, if claiming 
      spouse's exemption                                                                  65 or older                       Blind 

c.    Total boxes checked       
1.    Enter your earned income* plus $350. If none, enter -0-.                                                          1.   

2.    Minimum amount.                                                                                                   2.  $1,100

3.    Compare lines 1 and 2. Enter the larger of the two amounts here.                                                  3.   

4.    Enter on line 4 the amount shown below for your filing status.
•  Single or Married filing separately—$12,400
•  Married filing jointly—$24,800
•  Head of household—$18,650                                                                                            4.   

5.    Standard deduction.
a.    Compare lines 3 and 4. Enter the smaller amount here. If under 65 and not blind, stop here. This is your          5a.  
      standard deduction. Otherwise, go on to line 5b.
b.    If 65 or older or blind, multiply $1,650 ($1,300 if married) by the number in box c above. Enter the result here. 5b.  
c.    Add lines 5a and 5b. This is your standard deduction for 2020.                                                    5c.  

* Earned income includes wages, salaries, tips, professional fees, and other compensation received for personal services you performed. It also 
includes any amount received as a scholarship that you must include in income.

guardian isn’t entitled to receive information from the IRS                   If designated, a parent or guardian can receive informa-
or legally bind the child to a tax liability arising from the re-      tion about the child's return but can’t legally bind the child 
turn.                                                                  to a tax liability unless authorized to do so by the law of 
                                                                       the state in which the child lives.
Third party designee.           A child's parent or guardian 
who doesn’t sign the child's return may be authorized, as                     IRS notice. If you or the child receives a notice from 
a third party designee, to discuss the processing of the re-           the IRS concerning the child's return or tax liability, you 
turn with the IRS as well as provide information concern-              should immediately inform the IRS that the notice con-
ing the return. The child or the person signing the return             cerns a child. The notice will show who to contact. The 
on the child's behalf must check the “Yes” box in the Third            IRS will try to resolve the matter with the parent(s) or 
Party Designee area of the return and name the parent or               guardian(s) of the child consistent with their authority.
guardian as the designee.
If designated, a parent or guardian can respond to cer-                Child's  earnings. For  federal  income  tax  purposes, 
tain IRS notices and receive information about the pro-                amounts a child earns by performing services are inclu-
cessing of the return and the status of a refund or pay-               ded in the gross income of the child and not the gross in-
ment. This designation doesn’t authorize the parent or                 come of the parent. This is true even if, under state law, 
guardian to receive any refund check, bind the child to any            the parent has the right to the earnings and may actually 
tax liability, or otherwise represent the child before the             have received them.
IRS. See the return instructions for more information.                        If the child doesn’t pay the tax due on this income, the 
Designated as representative.          A parent or guardian            parent may be liable for the tax.
who doesn’t sign the child's return may be designated as 
                                                                       Child's  expenses.                 Deductions  for  payments  that  are 
the child's representative by the child or the person sign-
                                                                       made out of a child's earnings are the child's, even if the 
ing the return on the child's behalf. Form 2848, Power of 
                                                                       payments are made by the parent.
Attorney and Declaration of Representative, is used to 
designate a child's representative. See Pub. 947, Practice                    Example. You made payments on your child's behalf 
Before the IRS and Power of Attorney, for more informa-                that are deductible as a business expense and a charita-
tion.                                                                  ble  contribution.  You  made  the  payments  out  of  your 

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child's earnings. These items can be deducted only on the    Standard Deduction of Zero
child's return.
                                                             The standard deduction for the following dependents is 
                                                             zero.
Standard Deduction                                           • A married dependent filing a separate return whose 
                                                               spouse itemizes deductions.
The  standard  deduction  for  an  individual  who  can  be 
claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return is     • A dependent who files a return for a period of less 
                                                               than 12 months due to a change in his or her annual 
generally limited to the larger of:
                                                               accounting period.
1. $1,100; or
                                                             • A nonresident or dual-status alien dependent, unless 
2. The individual's earned income plus $350, but not           the dependent is married to a U.S. citizen or resident 
  more than the regular standard deduction (generally          alien at the end of the year and chooses to be treated 
  $12,400).                                                    as a U.S. resident for the year. See Pub. 519, U.S. 
                                                               Tax Guide for Aliens, for information on making this 
However, the standard deduction may be higher for a de-
                                                               choice.
pendent who:
• Is 65 or older, or
• Is blind.                                                  Example. Jennifer, who is a dependent of her parents, 
                                                             is entitled to file a joint return with her husband. However, 
Certain dependents can’t claim any standard deduc-           her husband elects to file a separate return and itemize 
tion. See Standard Deduction of Zero, later.                 his deductions. Because he itemizes, Jennifer's standard 
                                                             deduction on her return is zero. She can, however, itemize 
Worksheet 1.   Use Worksheet 1 to figure the dependent's     any of her allowable deductions.
standard deduction.
       If you don't itemize your deductions on Sched-
TIP    ule A Form (1040), you may qualify to take a de-
                                                             Dependent's Own Exemption
       duction for contributions of up to $300.
                                                             A person who can be claimed as a dependent on another 
Example 1.     Michael is single, age 15, and not blind.     taxpayer's return generally can’t claim his or her own ex-
His parents can claim him as a dependent on their tax re-    emption. This is true even if the other taxpayer doesn’t ac-
turn. He has taxable interest income of $800 and wages of    tually claim the exemption. However, for tax years 2018 
$150. He enters $500 (his earned income plus $350) on        through 2025, the deduction for personal exemptions is 
line 1 of Worksheet 1. On line 3, he enters $1,100, the      suspended for a taxpayer, their spouse, and their depend-
larger  of  $500  or  $1,100.  Michael  enters  $12,400  on  ents.
line 4. On line 5a, he enters $1,100, the smaller of $1,100 
or $12,400. His standard deduction is $1,100.
Example 2.     Judy, a full-time student, is single, age 22, Withholding From Wages
and not blind. Her parents can claim her as a dependent 
on their tax return. She has dividend income of $275 and     Employers generally withhold federal income tax, social 
wages of $2,500. She enters $2,850 (her earned income        security tax, and Medicare tax from an employee's wages. 
plus $350) on line 1 of Worksheet 1. On line 3, she enters   If the employee claims exemption from withholding on 
$2,850,  the  larger  of  $2,850  or  $1,100.  She  enters   Form W-4, the employer won't withhold federal income 
$12,400 on line 4. On line 5a, she enters $2,850 (the        tax. The exemption from withholding doesn’t apply to so-
smaller of $2,850 or $12,400) as her standard deduction.     cial security and Medicare taxes.

Example 3.     Amy, who is single, is claimed as a de-       Conditions for exemption from withholding.                  An em-
pendent on her parent’s tax return. She is 18 years old      ployee can claim exemption from withholding for 2021 
and blind. She has taxable interest income of $1,100 and     only if he or she meets both of the following conditions.
wages of $2,000. She enters $2,350 (her earned income        1. For 2020, the employee had a right to a refund of all 
plus $350) on line 1 of Worksheet 1. She enters $2,350         federal income tax withheld because he or she had no 
(the larger of $2,350 or $1,100) on line 3, $12,400 on         tax liability.
line 4, and $2,350 (the smaller of $2,350 or $12,400) on 
line 5a. Because Amy is blind, she checks the box for        2. For 2021, the employee expects a refund of all federal 
blindness and enters “1” in box c at the top of Worksheet      income tax withheld because he or she expects to 
1. She enters $1,650 (the number in box c times $1,650)        have no tax liability.
on line 5b. Her standard deduction on line 5c is $4,000 
($2,350 + $1,650).

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Dependents. An employee who is a dependent ordinarily
can’t claim exemption from withholding if both of the fol-
lowing are true. Part 2. Tax on Unearned

• The employee's gross income will be more than Income of Certain Children
$1,100, the minimum standard deduction for 2021.
• The employee's unearned income will be more than
Terms you may need to know
$350.
(see Glossary):
Exceptions. An employee may be able to claim ex-
emption from withholding even if the employee is a de- Adjusted gross income
pendent, if the employee: Adjustments to income
1. Is age 65 or older; Alternative minimum tax
2. Is blind; or Capital gain distribution
3. Will claim on his or her 2021 tax return: Dependent
a. Adjustments to income, Earned income
b. Tax credits, or Full-time student
Gross income
c. Itemized deductions.
Itemized deductions
The above exceptions don’t apply to supplemental wages
greater than $1 million. For more information, see Exemp- Net capital gain
tion From Withholding in chapter 1 of Pub. 505. Net unearned income
Example. Guy is 17 and a student. During the sum- Qualified dividends
mer, he works part time at a grocery store. He expects to Standard deduction
earn about $1,200 this year. He also worked at the store
last summer and received a refund of all his withheld in- Support
come tax because he didn't have a tax liability. The only Tax year
other income he expects during the year is $375 interest
on a savings account. He expects that his parents will be Taxable income
able to claim him as a dependent on their tax return. He Unearned income
isn't blind and won’t claim adjustments to income, item-
Unrecaptured section 1250 gain
ized deductions, a higher standard deduction, or tax cred-
its on his return. 28% rate gain
Guy can’t claim exemption from withholding when he
fills out Form W-4 because his parents will be able to
claim him as a dependent, his gross income will be more The two rules that follow may affect the tax on the un-
than $1,100 (the 2021 minimum standard deduction earned income of certain children.
amount), and his unearned income will be more than
$350. 1. If the child's interest and dividend income (including
capital gain distributions) total less than $11,000, the
Claiming exemption from withholding. Beginning in child's parent may be able to choose to include that
2021, an employee may claim exemption from withholding income on the parent's return rather than file a return
if he or she owed no federal tax in 2020 and expects to for the child. (See Parents' Election To Report Child's
owe no federal tax in 2021. To claim exemption from with- Interest and Dividends, later.)
holding, the employee must certify that he or she meets
2. If the child’s interest, dividends, and other unearned
both conditions by writing "Exempt" on Form W-4 in the
income total more than $2,200, the child’s income is
space below Step 4(c) and complete Steps 1 and 5. The
taxed at special tax rates. (See Tax for Certain Chil-
employee must not complete any other steps on Form
dren Who Have Unearned Income, later.)
W-4. The Form W-4 must then be returned to the employ-
ee's employer. For these rules, the term “child” includes a legally adop-
ted child and a stepchild. These rules apply whether or
Renewing an exemption from withholding. An ex- not the child is a dependent.
emption from withholding is good for only 1 year. An em-
ployee must file a new Form W-4 by February 16 to con- These rules don’t apply if neither of the child's parents
tinue the exemption. was living at the end of the year.

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                                                               Figure 1. Can You Include Your Child's 
Parents' Election To Report                                    Income on Your Tax Return?
                                                                                  Start Here
Child's Interest and Dividends 
                                                               Yes  Was your child under age 19 at the end of 
(Form 8814)                                                         2020?
                                                                                      No
You may be able to elect to include your child's interest 
and dividend income (including capital gain distributions)          Was your child under age 24 at the end of   No
on your tax return. If you do, your child won't have to file a      2020?
return.                                                                               Yes
You can make this election only if all the following con-                                                       No
                                                                    Was your child a full-time student in 2020?
ditions are met.
                                                                                      Yes
• Your child was under age 19 (or under age 24 if a 
  full-time student) at the end of the year.                        Was the child’s only income from interest 
                                                                    and dividends (including capital gain       No
• Your child had income only from interest and divi-                distributions and Alaska Permanent Fund 
  dends (including capital gain distributions and Alaska            dividends)?
  Permanent Fund dividends).                                                          Yes
• The child's gross income was less than $11,000.                                                               No
                                                                    Was the child’s gross income less than 
• The child is required to file a return unless you make            $11,000?
  this election.                                                                      Yes

• The child doesn’t file a joint return for the year.               Is your child required to le a tax return  No
• No estimated tax payment was made for the year, and               for 2020 if you don’t make this election?
  no overpayment from the previous year (or from any                                  Yes
  amended return) was applied to this year under your 
                                                                                                                Yes
  child's name and SSN.                                             Is your child ling a joint return for 2020?
• No federal income tax was withheld from your child's                                No
  income under the backup withholding rules.
                                                                                                                Yes
• You are the parent whose return must be used when                 Did the child make any estimated tax 
                                                                    payments for 2020?
  applying the special tax rules for children. (See Which 
  Parent's Return To Use, later.)                                                     No
These conditions are also shown in Figure 1.                        Did the child have an overpayment of tax 
                                                                    on his or her 2019 return (or on any        Yes
Certain January 1 birthdays. A child born on January 1,             amended return) applied to the 2020 
                                                                    estimated tax?
2002, is considered to be age 19 at the end of 2020. You 
can’t make this election for such a child unless the child                            No
was a full-time student.
A child born on January 1, 1997, is considered to be                Was any federal income tax withheld from    Yes
                                                                    the child’s income under the backup 
age 24 at the end of 2020. You can’t make this election for         withholding rules?
such a child.                                                                         No

How to make the election. Make the election by attach-              Are you the parent whose return must be     No
ing Form 8814 to your Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.               used?*
Attach a separate Form 8814 for each child for whom you                               Yes
make the election. You can make the election for one or 
more children and not for others.                                   You can include your child’s income on      You can’t include 
                                                                    your tax return by completing Form 8814     your child’s income 
                                                                    and attaching it to your return. If you do, on your return.
                                                                    your child isn’t required to le a return.

                                                               *See Which Parent’s Return To Use

                                                               Which Parent's Return To Use

                                                               If a child’s parents are married to each other and file a 
                                                               joint return, use the joint return when electing to report the 

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child’s interest and dividend income on their return. For      Rate may be higher.     If your child received qualified divi-
other situations when the parents do not file a joint return,  dends or capital gain distributions, you may pay up to 
see Parents Who Don't File a Joint Return next.                $110 more tax if you make this election instead of filing a 
                                                               separate tax return for the child. This is because the tax 
Parents Who Don’t File a Joint Return                          rate on the child's income between $1,100 and $2,200 is 
                                                               10% if you make this election. However, if you file a sepa-
For parents who don’t file a joint return and are electing to  rate return for the child, the tax rate may be as low as 0% 
report the child’s interest and dividend income on their re-   because of the preferential tax rates for qualified divi-
turn, the following discussions explain which parent's tax     dends and capital gain distributions.
return must be used to figure the tax.
                                                               Deductions you can’t take. By making the Form 8814 
Only the parent whose tax return is used can make the          election, you can’t take any of the following deductions 
election described earlier under Parents' Election To Re-      that the child would be entitled to on his or her return.
port Child's Interest and Dividends.                           •   The additional standard deduction if the child is blind.
Parents are married. If the child's parents file separate      •   The deduction for a penalty on an early withdrawal of 
returns, use the return of the parent with the greater taxa-       your child's savings.
ble income.                                                    •   Itemized deductions (such as your child's investment 
Parents not living together.     If the child's parents are        interest expenses or charitable contributions).
married to each other but not living together, and the pa-
                                                               Deductible investment interest. If you use Form 8814, 
rent with whom the child lives (the custodial parent) is 
                                                               your  child's  unearned  income  is  considered  your  un-
considered unmarried, use the return of the custodial pa-
                                                               earned income. To figure the limit on your deductible in-
rent. If the custodial parent isn’t considered unmarried, 
                                                               vestment  interest,  add  the  child's  unearned  income  to 
use the return of the parent with the greater taxable in-
                                                               yours. However, if your child received qualified dividends, 
come.
                                                               capital gain distributions, or Alaska Permanent Fund divi-
For an explanation of when a married person living 
                                                               dends, see chapter 3 of Pub. 550 for information about 
apart from his or her spouse is considered unmarried, see 
                                                               how to figure the limit.
Head of Household in Pub. 501.
                                                               AMT.  If your child received tax-exempt interest (or ex-
Parents are divorced. If the child's parents are divorced 
                                                               empt-interest dividends paid by a regulated investment 
or legally separated, and the parent who had custody of 
                                                               company) from certain private activity bonds, you must 
the child for the greater part of the year (the custodial pa-
                                                               determine if that interest is a tax preference item for AMT 
rent) hasn’t remarried, use the return of the custodial pa-
                                                               purposes. If it is, you must include it with your own tax 
rent.
                                                               preference  items  when  figuring  your  AMT.  See  Form 
Custodial parent remarried.        If the custodial parent     6251, Alternative Minimum Tax—Individuals, and its in-
has remarried, the stepparent (rather than the noncusto-       structions for details.
dial parent) is treated as the child's other parent. There-
fore, if the custodial parent and the stepparent file a joint  NIIT. When figuring any NIIT liability on Form 8960, Net 
return, use that joint return. Don’t use the return of the     Investment Income Tax—Individuals, Estates, and Trusts, 
noncustodial parent.                                           the amount on line 12 of Form 8814 (other than Alaska 
If the custodial parent and the stepparent are married,        Permanent Fund dividends) will increase the amount of 
but file separate returns, use the return of the one with the  your net investment income reported on Form 8960. See 
greater taxable income. If the custodial parent and the        the Form 8960 instructions for more information.
stepparent are married but not living together, the earlier 
discussion under Parents not living together applies.          Reduced deductions or credits.  If you use Form 8814, 
                                                               your increased adjusted gross income may reduce certain 
Parents never married. If a child's parents have never         deductions or credits on your return, including the follow-
been married to each other, but lived together all year, use   ing.
the return of the parent with the greater taxable income. If   •   Deduction for contributions to a traditional IRA.
the parents didn’t live together all year, the rules explained 
earlier under Parents are divorced apply.                      •   Deduction for student loan interest.
                                                               •   Itemized deductions for medical expenses and casu-
Widowed parent remarried. If a widow or widower re-                alty and theft losses.
marries, the new spouse is treated as the child's other pa-
rent. The rules explained earlier under Custodial parent       •   Credit for child and dependent care expenses.
remarried apply.                                               •   Child tax credit.
                                                               •   Education tax credits.
Effect of Making the Election
                                                               •   Earned income credit.
The federal income tax on your child's income may be 
more if you make the Form 8814 election.

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Penalty for underpayment of estimated tax. If you line 7, whichever applies. (The amount on Form 8814,
make this election for 2020 and didn’t have enough tax line 10, may be less than the amount on Form 8814,
withheld or pay enough estimated tax to cover the tax you line 3, because lines 7 through 12 of the form divide the
owe, you may be subject to a penalty. If you plan to make $2,200 base amount on Form 8814, line 5, between the
this election for 2021, you may need to increase your fed- child's qualified dividends, capital gain distributions, and
eral income tax withholding or your estimated tax pay- other interest and dividend income, reducing each of
ments to avoid the penalty. See Pub. 505 for more infor- those amounts.)
mation.
Collectibles (28% rate) gain. If any of the child's
capital gain distributions are reported on Form 1099-DIV
Figuring Child's Income as collectibles (28% rate) gain, you must determine how
much to also include on line 4 of the 28% Rate Gain
Use Form 8814, Part I, to figure your child's interest and Worksheet in the instructions for Schedule D, line 18. Mul-
dividend income to report on your return. Only the amount tiply the child's capital gain distribution included on
over $2,200 is added to your income. The amount over Schedule D, line 13, by a fraction. The numerator is the
$2,200 is shown on Form 8814, line 6. Unless the child's part of the child's total capital gain distribution that is col-
income includes qualified dividends or capital gain distri- lectibles (28% rate) gain. The denominator is the child's
butions (discussed next), the same amount is shown on total capital gain distribution. Enter the result on line 4 of
Form 8814, line 12. Include the amount from Form 8814, the 28% Rate Gain Worksheet.
line 12, on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8. If you file more
than one Form 8814, include the total amounts from Unrecaptured section 1250 gain. If any of the child's
line 12 of all your Forms 8814 on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), capital gain distributions are reported on Form 1099-DIV
line 8. On the dotted line next to Schedule 1 (Form 1040), as unrecaptured section 1250 gain, you must determine
line 8, enter “Form 8814” and the total of the Form 8814, how much to include on line 11 of the Unrecaptured Sec-
line 12 amounts. tion 1250 Gain Worksheet in the instructions for Sched-
ule D, line 19. Multiply the child's capital gain distribution
Note. The tax on the first $2,200 is figured on Form included on Schedule D, line 13, by a fraction. The numer-
8814, Part II. See Figuring Additional Tax, later. ator is the part of the child's total capital gain distribution
that is unrecaptured section 1250 gain. The denominator
Qualified dividends. Enter on Form 8814, line 2a, any is the child's total capital gain distribution. Enter the result
ordinary dividends your child received. This amount may on the Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain Worksheet,
include qualified dividends. Qualified dividends are those line 11.
dividends reported on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR,
line 3a, and are eligible for lower tax rates that apply to a Section 1202 gain. If any of the child's capital gain
net capital gain. For detailed information about qualified distributions are reported as section 1202 gain (gain on
dividends, see Pub. 550. qualified small business stock) on Form 1099-DIV, part or
If your child received qualified dividends, the amount of all of that gain may be eligible for the section 1202 exclu-
these dividends that is added to your income must be re- sion. (For information about the exclusion, see chapter 4
ported on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 3a. You of Pub. 550.) To figure that part, multiply the child's capital
don’t include these dividends on Form 8814, line 12; or gain distribution included on Schedule D, line 13, by a
Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8. fraction. The numerator is the part of the child's total capi-
Enter the child's qualified dividends on Form 8814, tal gain distribution that is section 1202 gain. The denomi-
line 2b. But don’t include this amount on Form 1040, nator is the child's total capital gain distribution. Your sec-
1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 3a. Instead, include the tion 1202 exclusion is generally 50% of the result, but may
amount from Form 8814, line 9, on Form 1040, 1040-SR, be subject to a limit. In some cases, the exclusion is more
or 1040-NR, line 3a. (The amount on Form 8814, line 9, than 50%. See the Instructions for Schedule D for details
may be less than the amount on Form 8814, line 2b, be- and information on how to report the exclusion amount.
cause lines 7 through 12 of the form divide the $2,200
Example. Fred is 6 years old. In 2020, he received
base amount on Form 8814, line 5, between the child's
dividend income of $2,300, which included $1,725 of ordi-
qualified dividends, capital gain distributions, and other in-
nary dividends and a $575 capital gain distribution from a
terest and dividend income, reducing each of those
mutual fund. (None of the distributions were reported on
amounts.)
Form 1099-DIV as unrecaptured section 1250 gain, sec-
Capital gain distributions. Enter on Form 8814, line 3, tion 1202 gain, or collectibles (28% rate) gain.) All of the
any capital gain distributions your child received. The ordinary dividends are qualified dividends. He has no
amount of these distributions that is added to your income other income and isn’t subject to backup withholding. No
must be reported on Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital estimated tax payments were made under his name and
Gains and Losses, line 13, or, if you aren’t required to file SSN.
Schedule D, on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 7. Fred's parents elect to include Fred's income on their
You don’t include it on Form 8814, line 12; or Schedule 1 tax return instead of filing a return for him.
(Form 1040), line 8. They figure the amount to report on Form 1040, lines
Include the amount from Form 8814, line 10, on Sched- 3a and 3b, the amount to report on their Schedule D,
ule D, line 13; and Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR,

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line 13, and the amount to report on Schedule 1 (Form 
1040), line 8, as follows.
They leave lines 1a and 1b of Form 8814 blank be-             Tax for Certain Children Who 
cause Fred doesn’t have any interest income. They enter 
                                                              Have Unearned Income (Form 
his ordinary dividends of $1,725 on lines 2a and 2b be-
cause all of Fred's ordinary dividends are qualified divi-    8615)
dends. They enter the amount of Fred's capital gain distri-
butions, $575, on line 3. Next, they add the amounts on       If your child's interest, dividends, and other unearned in-
lines 1a, 2a, and 3 and enter the result, $2,300, on line 4.  come total more than $2,200, and you don't or can't use 
They subtract the base amount on line 5, $2,200, from         Form 8814 to include your child's income on your return, 
the amount on line 4, $2,300, and enter the result, $100,     your child will use Form 8615 to figure their tax. Attach the 
on line 6. This is the total amount from Form 8814 to be      completed  Form  8615  to  your  child's  Form  1040  or 
reported on their return. Next, they figure how much of this  1040-NR.
amount is qualified dividends and how much is capital 
gain distributions.                                           When Form 8615 must be filed.          Your child must file 
• They divide the amount on line 2b, $1,725, by the           Form 8615 if all of the following are true.
  amount on line 4, $2,300. They enter the result, 0.75,      1. Their unearned income was more than $2,200.
  on line 7.
                                                              2. They are required to file a return for 2020.
• They divide the amount on line 3, $575, by the amount 
  on line 4, $2,300. They enter the result, 0.25, on line 8.  3. They were either:
• They multiply the amount on line 6, $100, by the deci-           a. Under age 18 at the end of the year,
  mal on line 7, 0.75, and enter the result, $75, on line 9.       b. Age 18 at the end of the year and didn’t have 
• They multiply the amount on line 6, $100, by the deci-           earned income that was more than half of his or 
  mal on line 8, 0.25, and enter the result, $25, on               her support, or
  line 10.                                                         c. A full-time student at least age 19 and under age 
• They include the amount from line 9, $75, on lines 3a            24 at the end of 2020 and didn’t have earned in-
  and 3b of their Form 1040 and enter “Form 8814 –                 come that was more than half of his or her sup-
  $75” on the dotted lines next to lines 3a and 3b. They           port.
  include the amount from line 10, $25, on line 13 of         4. At least one of their parents was alive at the end of 
  their Schedule D (Form 1040) and enter “Form 8814 –              2020.
  $25” on the dotted line next to Schedule D, line 13.
                                                              5. They don’t file a joint return for 2020.
They enter $100 ($75 + $25) on line 11 and -0- ($100 – 
$100) on line 12. Because the amount on line 12 is -0-,       These conditions are also shown in Figure 2.
they don’t include any amount from Form 8814 on their 
Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8.                               Certain January 1 birthdays.           Use the following chart to 
                                                              determine whether certain children with January 1 birth-
                                                              days meet condition 3 under When Form 8615 must be 
Figuring Additional Tax                                       filed, earlier.
Use Form 8814, Part II, to figure the tax on the $2,200 of    IF your child was born on... THEN, at the end of 2020, 
your child's interest and dividends that you don’t include in                         your child is considered to 
your income. This tax is added to the tax figured on your                             be...
income.                                                            January 1, 2003                       18*
This additional tax is the smaller of:                             January 1, 2002                       19**
1. 10% (0.10) x (your child's gross income − $1,100), or           January 1, 1997                       24***
2. $110.                                                      * Your child isn’t under age 18. Your child meets condition 3 only if 
                                                              your child didn’t have earned income that was more than half of his 
        Include the amount from line 15 of all your Forms     or her support.
!       8814  in  the  total  on  Form  1040,  1040-SR,  or   ** Your child meets condition 3 only if your child was a full-time 
CAUTION 1040-NR, line 16. Check box 1 on Form 1040,           student who didn’t have earned income that was more than half of 
1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 16.                                 his or her support.
                                                              *** Don’t use Form 8615 for your child.

                                                              Providing Parental Information
                                                              (Form 8615, Lines A–C)

                                                              On Form 8615, lines A and B, enter the parent's name and 
                                                              social security number. (If the parents filed a joint return, 

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enter the name and social security number listed first on      Figure 2. Does Your Child Have To Use 
the joint return.) On line C, check the box for the parent's   Form 8615 To Figure Their Tax?
filing status.
See Which Parent's Return To Use, earlier, for informa-                        Start Here
tion on which parent's return information must be used on          Was your child’s unearned           No
Form 8615.                                                         income more than $2,200?
Parent with different tax year. If the parent and the                                 Yes
child don’t have the same tax year, complete Form 8615 
using the information on the parent's return for the tax           Is your child required to le a tax No
year that ends in the child's tax year.                            return for 2020?
                                                                                      Yes
Example.      Kimberly must use her mother's tax and tax-
able income to complete her Form 8615 for calendar year        Yes Was your child under age 18 at the 
2020 (January 1–December 31). Kimberly's mother files 
                                                                   end of 2020?
her tax return on a fiscal year basis (July 1–June 30). Kim-
berly must use the information on her mother's return for                             No
the tax year ending June 30, 2020, to complete her 2020 
Form 8615.                                                     Yes Was your child age 18 at the end 
                                                                   of 2020?
Parent's return information not known timely. If the 
                                                                                      No
information needed from the parent's return isn’t known by 
the time the child's return is due (usually April 15), you can     Was your child under age 24 at      No
file the return using estimates.
                                                                   the end of 2020?
You can use any reasonable estimate. This includes 
using information from last year's return. If you use an esti-                        Yes
mated amount on Form 8615, enter “Estimated” on the 
line next to the amount.                                           Was your child a full-time student  No
When you get the correct information, file an amended              in 2020?
return on Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income                                 Yes
Tax Return.
Extension of time to file.      Instead of using estimates,        Did your child have earned income   Yes
you can get an automatic 6-month extension of time to file         which was more than half of his or 
if, by the date your return is due, you file Form 4868, Ap-        her support?
plication for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. In-
dividual Income Tax Return. See the instructions for Form                             No
4868 for details.
                                                                                                       No
        An extension of time to file isn’t an extension of         Was at least one of the child’s 
                                                                   parents alive at the end of 2020?
!       time to pay. You must make an accurate estimate 
CAUTION of the tax for 2020. If you don't pay the full amount                         Yes
due by the regular due date, the child will owe interest and 
may also be charged penalties. See Form 4868 and its in-           Is your child ling a joint return  Yes
structions.                                                        for 2020?
                                                                                      No

                                                                   Your child will use Form 8615 
                                                                   to gure their tax and attach 
                                                                   it to their return.

                                                                   Note: If you choose to report 
                                                                   your child’s income by ling 
                                                                   Form 8814, your child isn’t 
                                                                   required to le a tax return 
                                                                   and will not use Form 8615.         Your child  
                                                                   (See Parents’ Election To           will not use 
                                                                   Report Child’s Interest and         Form 8615 
                                                                   Dividends.)                         to gure 
                                                                                                       their tax. 

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Parent's return information not available. If a child Alternate Worksheet
can’t get the required information about his or her parent's for Form 8615, Line 1
tax return, the child (or the child's legal representative) A. Enter the amount from your child’s Form 1040
can request the necessary information from the IRS. or 1040-NR, line 9
How to request. After the end of the tax year, send a B. Enter the total of any net loss
signed, written request for the information to the Internal from self-employment, any net operating loss
Revenue Service Center where the parent's return will be deduction, any foreign earned income
filed. (The IRS can’t process a request received before exclusion, and any foreign housing exclusion
the end of the tax year.) from your child’s Form 1040 or 1040-NR.
Enter this total as a positive number (greater
You should also consider getting an extension of than zero)
TIP time to file the child's return, because there may C. Add line A and line B and
be a delay in getting the requested information. enter the total
The request must contain all of the following. D. Enter your child’s earned income plus any
amount from your child’s Schedule 1 (Form
• A statement that you are making the request to com- 1040), line 17
ply with section 1(g) of the Internal Revenue Code and Generally, your child’s earned income is the
that you have tried to get the information from the pa- total of the amounts reported on Form 1040 or
rent. 1040-NR, line 1; Schedule 1 (Form 1040),
lines 3 and 6 (if Schedule 1 (Form 1040),
• Proof of the child's age (for example, a copy of the line 3 or 6 is a loss, use zero)
child's birth certificate).
E. Subtract line D from line C. Enter the result
• Evidence the child has more than $2,200 of unearned here and on Form 8615, line 1
income (for example, a copy of the child's prior year
tax return or copies of Forms 1099 for the current
year).
• The name, address, SSN (if known), and filing status Unearned income defined. Unearned income is gener-
(if known) of the parent whose information is to be ally all income other than salaries, wages, and other
shown on Form 8615. amounts received as pay for work actually performed. It
A child's legal representative making the request includes taxable interest, dividends, capital gains (includ-
should include a copy of his or her Power of Attorney, ing capital gain distributions), the taxable part of social se-
such as Form 2848, or proof of legal guardianship. curity and pension payments, certain distributions from
trusts, and unemployment compensation. Unearned in-
come includes amounts produced by assets your child
Step 1. Figuring Your Child's Net obtained with earned income (such as interest on a sav-
Unearned Income (Form 8615, Part I) ings account into which you deposited wages).
The first step in figuring your child’s tax using Form 8615 Nontaxable income. For this purpose, unearned in-
is to figure your child’s net unearned income. To do that, come includes only amounts your child must include in
use Form 8615, Part I. gross income. Nontaxable unearned income, such as
tax-exempt interest and the nontaxable part of social se-
Line 1 (Unearned Income) curity and pension payments, isn’t included in gross in-
come.
If your child had no earned income, enter on this line the Capital loss. Your child’s capital losses are taken into
adjusted gross income shown on your child’s return. Ad- account in figuring their unearned income. Capital losses
justed gross income is shown on Form 1040 or 1040-NR, are first applied against capital gains. If the capital losses
line 11. are more than the capital gains, the difference (up to
$3,000) is subtracted from your child’s interest, dividends,
If your child had earned income, figure the amount to
and other unearned income. Any difference over $3,000 is
enter on Form 8615, line 1, by using the worksheet in the
carried to the next year.
instructions for the form.
However, use the following worksheet if your Income from property received as a gift. Your
child: child’s unearned income includes all income produced by
property belonging to your child. This is true even if the
• Has excluded any foreign earned income, property was transferred to your child, regardless of when
the property was transferred or purchased or who trans-
• Deducted a loss from self-employment, or ferred it.
• Has a net operating loss from another year. Your child’s unearned income includes income pro-
duced by property given as a gift to your child. This in-
cludes gifts to your child from grandparents or any other

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person and gifts made under the Uniform Gift to Minors Example 1. Roger, age 12, has unearned income of
Act. $8,000, no other income, no adjustments to income, and
itemized deductions of $300 that are directly connected
Example. Amanda Black, age 13, received the follow- with his unearned income. His adjusted gross income is
ing income. $8,000, which is entered on Form 1040, line 11, and on
• Dividends—$1,000. Form 8615, line 1. Roger enters $2,200 on line 2 because
that is more than the total of $1,100 plus his directly con-
• Wages—$2,100. nected itemized deductions of $300.
• Taxable interest—$1,200.
Example 2. Eleanor, age 8, has unearned income of
• Tax-exempt interest—$100. $16,000 and an early withdrawal penalty of $100. She has
• Capital gains—$300. no other income. She has itemized deductions of $1,200
that are directly connected with the production of her un-
• Capital losses—($200). earned income. Her adjusted gross income, entered on
The dividends were qualified dividends on stock given to line 1, is $15,900 ($16,000 − $100). The amount on line 2
her by her grandparents. is $2,300. This is the larger of:
Amanda's unearned income is $2,300. This is the total
1. $1,100 plus the $1,200 of directly connected itemized
of the dividends ($1,000), taxable interest ($1,200), and
deductions; or
capital gains reduced by capital losses ($300 − $200 =
$100). Her wages are earned (not unearned) income be- 2. $2,200.
cause they are received for work actually performed. Her
tax-exempt interest isn’t included because it is nontaxa- Line 3
ble.
Subtract line 2 from line 1 and enter the result on this line.
Trust income. If your child is the beneficiary of a trust,
If zero or less, don’t complete the rest of the form. How-
distributions of taxable interest, dividends, capital gains,
ever, you must still attach Form 8615 to your child’s tax re-
and other unearned income from the trust are unearned
turn. Figure the tax on your child’s taxable income in the
income to your child.
normal manner.
However, taxable distributions from a qualified disabil-
ity trust are considered earned income for the purposes of
completing Form 8615. See the Form 8615 instructions Line 4 (Child’s Taxable Income)
for details.
Enter on line 4 your child’s taxable income from Form
Adjustment to income. In figuring the amount to en- 1040 or 1040-NR, line 15.
ter on line 1, your child’s unearned income is reduced by
any penalty on the early withdrawal of savings. Child files Form 2555. If your child files Form 2555 (re-
lating to foreign earned income), your child will use the
Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet (in the Instruc-
Line 2 (Deductions)
tions for Forms 1040 and 1040-SR) to figure their tax. En-
If the child doesn't itemize deductions on Schedule A ter the amount from line 3 of the Foreign Earned Income
(Form 1040), enter $2,200 on line 2. Tax Worksheet as their taxable income on Form 8615,
line 4.
If the child itemizes deductions, enter on line 2 the
larger of: Line 5 (Net Unearned Income)
1. $1,100 plus the portion of the amount on Schedule A
A child’s net unearned income can’t be more than his or
(Form 1040), line 17 (or Schedule A (Form 1040-NR),
her taxable income. Enter on Form 8615, line 5, the
line 8), that is directly connected with the production
smaller of line 3 or line 4. This is the child’s unearned in-
of the unearned income on Form 8615, line 1, or
come.
2. $2,200.
If zero or less, don’t complete the rest of the form. How-
Directly connected. Itemized deductions are directly ever, you must still attach Form 8615 to your child’s tax re-
connected with the production of unearned income if they turn. Figure the tax on your child’s taxable income in the
are for expenses to produce or collect taxable income or normal manner.
to manage, conserve, or maintain property held for pro-
ducing income. These expenses include custodian fees
Step 2. Figuring a Tentative Tax at the
and service charges, service fees to collect taxable inter-
est and dividends, and certain investment counsel fees. Parent’s Tax Rate (Form 8615, Part II)
However, only certain directly connected expenses,
such as interest and deductible amortizable bond premi- The next step in completing Form 8615 is to figure a tenta-
ums, are deductible in tax years 2018 through 2025. tive tax on the child's net unearned income at the parent's
tax rate. The tentative tax at the parent's tax rate is the dif-
ference between the tax on the parent's taxable income

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figured with the child's net unearned income (plus the net Line 8 (Parent's Taxable Income Plus
unearned income of any other child whose Form 8615 in- Children Net Unearned Income)
cludes the tax return information of that parent) and the
tax figured without it. Enter on this line the total of lines 5, 6, and 7. You must
determine the amount of net capital gain and qualified div-
When figuring the tentative tax at the parent's tax rate idends included on this line before completing Form 8615,
on Form 8615, don’t refigure any of the exclusions, de- line 9.
ductions, or credits on the parent's return because of the
child's net unearned income. For example, don’t refigure Net capital gain. Net capital gain is the smaller of the
the medical expense deduction. gain, if any, on Schedule D (Form 1040), line 15, or the
gain, if any, on Schedule D, line 16. If Schedule D isn’t re-
Figure the tentative tax on Form 8615, lines 6 through quired, it is the amount on Form 1040 or 1040-NR, line 7.
13.
Qualified dividends. Qualified dividends are those
dividends reported on Form 1040 or 1040-NR, line 3a.
Line 6 (Parent's Taxable Income)
Net capital gain and qualified dividends on line 8. If
Enter on line 6 the amount from the parent's Form 1040 or neither the child, nor the parent, nor any other child has
1040-NR, line 15, even if your spouse isn't the child's pa- net capital gain, the net capital gain on line 8 is zero.
rent. If the parent's taxable income is zero or less, enter If neither the child, nor the parent, nor any other child
zero on line 6. has qualified dividends, the amount of qualified dividends
Parent files Form 2555. If the parent files Form 2555 to on line 8 is zero.
claim the foreign earned income exclusion, housing exclu- If the child, the parent, or any other child has net capital
sion, or housing deduction, the Foreign Earned Income gain, figure the amount of net capital gain included on
Tax Worksheet in the Instructions for Forms 1040 or line 8 by adding together the net capital gain amounts in-
1040-SR is used to figure the parent's tax. Enter the cluded on lines 5, 6, and 7 of Form 8615.
amount from line 3 of the Foreign Earned Income Tax If the child, the parent, or any other child has qualified
Worksheet as the parent's taxable income, on line 6 of dividends, figure the amount of qualified dividends inclu-
Form 8615. ded on line 8 by adding together the qualified dividend
amounts included on lines 5, 6, and 7 of Form 8615.
Use the instructions for Form 8615, line 8, including the
Line 7 (Net Unearned Income of Other appropriate Line 5 Worksheet, to find these amounts. See
Children) the Instructions for Form 8615 for more details.

If the tax return information of the parent is also used on Note. The amount of any net capital gain or qualified
any other child's Form 8615, enter on line 7 the total of the dividends isn’t separately reported on line 8. It is needed,
amounts from line 5 of all the other children's Forms 8615 however, when figuring the tax on line 9.
being completed. (The term "other child" means any other
child whose Form 8615 uses the tax information of the pa-
Line 9 (Tax on Parent's Taxable Income Plus
rent identified on lines A and B of Form 8615.)
Children's Net Unearned Income)
Example. Paul and Jane Persimmon have three chil-
dren, Sharon, Jerry, and Mike, who must attach Form Figure the tax on the amount on line 8 using the Tax Ta-
8615 to their tax returns. The children's net unearned in- ble, the Tax Computation Worksheet, the Qualified Divi-
come amounts on line 5 of their Forms 8615 are: dends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet (in the Instruc-
tions for Forms 1040 and 1040-SR, or the Instructions for
• Sharon—$800, Form 1040-NR), the Schedule D Tax Worksheet (in the
• Jerry—$600, and Schedule D instructions), or Schedule J (Form 1040), as
follows.
• Mike—$1,000.
• If line 8 doesn’t include any net capital gain or quali-
Line 7 of Sharon's Form 8615 will show $1,600, the to- fied dividends, use the Tax Table or Tax Computation
tal of the amounts on line 5 of Jerry's and Mike's Forms Worksheet to figure this tax. But if Schedule J is used
8615. to figure the tax on the parent's return, use it to figure
Line 7 of Jerry's Form 8615 will show $1,800 ($800 + this tax.
$1,000).
Line 7 of Mike's Form 8615 will show $1,400 ($800 + • If line 8 includes any net capital gain or qualified divi-
$600). dends, use the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain
Tax Worksheet to figure this tax. For details, see the
Other children's information not available. If the net instructions for Form 8615, line 9. However, if the
unearned income of the other children isn't available when child, the parent, or any other child has 28% rate gain
the return is due, either file the return using estimates or or unrecaptured section 1250 gain, use the Sched-
get an extension of time to file. Estimates and extensions ule D Tax Worksheet. But if Schedule J is used to fig-
are discussed earlier under Providing Parental Information ure the tax on the parent's return, use it to figure this
(Form 8615, Lines A—C). tax.

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Child files Form 2555. If line 8 includes any net capital b. Subtract (a) from the amount on line 1 of this
gain or qualified dividends and the child, or any other child Schedule D Tax Worksheet.
filing Form 8615 also files Form 2555, see the Using the
c. Subtract (b) from the amount on line 10 of this
Schedule D Tax Worksheet for line 9 tax next to figure the
Schedule D Tax Worksheet. If the result is more
line 9 tax.
than zero, that amount is the line 8 capital gain ex-
Using the Schedule D Tax Worksheet for line 9 tax. cess. If the result is zero or less, there is no line 8
Use the Schedule D Tax Worksheet (in the Schedule D in- capital gain excess.
structions) to figure the tax on line 9, if the child, the pa- 11. If there is no line 8 capital gain excess, skip step 12
rent, or any other child has unrecaptured section 1250 below and go to step 13.
gain or 28% rate gain. If you must use the Schedule D Tax
Worksheet, first complete any Schedule D and any actual 12. If there is a line 8 capital gain excess, complete a sec-
Schedule D Tax Worksheet required for the child, the pa- ond Schedule D Tax Worksheet as instructed above
rent, or any other child. Then, figure the line 9 tax using and in step 13, but in its entirety and with the following
another Schedule D Tax Worksheet. (Don’t attach this additional modifications. (These modifications are to
Schedule D Tax Worksheet to the child’s return.) be made only for purposes of filling out this additional
Complete this Schedule D Tax Worksheet as follows. Schedule D Tax Worksheet.)
1. On line 1, enter the amount from Form 8615, line 8. a. Reduce the amount you would otherwise enter on
line 9 (but not below zero) by the line 8 capital
2. On line 2, enter the qualified dividends included on gain excess.
Form 8615, line 8. (See the earlier discussion for
Form 8615, line 8.) b. Reduce the amount you would otherwise enter on
line 6 (but not below zero) by any of the line 8 cap-
3. On line 3, enter the total of the amounts, if any, on ital gain excess not used in (a) above.
line 4g of all Forms 4952 filed by the child, the parent,
or any other child. c. If the child, the parent, or any other child has 28%
rate gain, reduce the amount you would otherwise
4. On line 4, enter the total of the amounts, if any, on enter on line 8 of Worksheet 1 for Line 11 of the
line 4e of all Forms 4952 filed by the child, the parent, Schedule D Tax Worksheet—28% Rate Gain
or any other child. If applicable, include instead the (Line 9 Tax), shown later, (but not below zero) by
smaller amount entered on the dotted line next to the line 8 capital gain excess, and refigure the
line 4e. amount on line 11 of this Schedule D Tax Work-
5. On lines 5 and 6, follow the worksheet instructions. sheet.
6. On line 7, enter the net capital gain included on Form d. If the child, the parent, or any other child has un-
8615, line 8. (See the earlier discussion for line 8.) recaptured section 1250 gain, reduce the amount
you would otherwise enter on line 8 of Worksheet
7. On lines 8 through 10, follow the worksheet instruc- 2 for Line 11 of the Schedule D Tax Work-
tions. sheet—Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain (Line 9
8. On line 11, enter zero if neither the child, nor the pa- Tax) (but not below zero) by the line 8 capital gain
rent, nor any other child has unrecaptured section excess not used in step 12c above, and refigure
1250 gain (Schedule D, line 19) or 28% rate gain the amount on line 11 of this Schedule D Tax
(Schedule D, line 18). Otherwise, enter the amount of Worksheet.
unrecaptured section 1250 gain and 28% rate gain in- 13. Complete lines 12 through 47 following the worksheet
cluded in the net capital gain on Form 8615, line 8. instructions. On line 35, enter the smaller of (a) line 9
Figure these amounts as explained later under Figur- of this worksheet; or (b) the total of the amounts, if
ing unrecaptured section 1250 gain (line 11) and Fig- any, on line 19 of all Schedules D (Form 1040) filed
uring 28% rate gain (line 11). by the child, the parent, or any other child. Use the
9. If the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet was parent's filing status to complete lines 15, 44, and 46.
used to figure the parent's tax or the tax of any child, Enter the amount from line 47 of this Schedule D Tax
go to step 10 below. Otherwise, skip steps 10, 11, Worksheet on Form 8615, line 9, and check the box on
and 12 below, and go to step 13. that line. Don’t attach this worksheet to the child’s return.
10. Determine whether there is a line 8 capital gain ex- Figuring 28% rate gain (line 11). If the child, the pa-
cess as follows. rent, or any other child has 28% rate gain, figure the
a. Add the amounts on line 2c of all Foreign Earned amount of 28% rate gain included in the net capital gain
Income Tax Worksheets completed by the parent on Form 8615, line 8, using the following worksheet.
or any child for whom Form 8615 is filed. (But, for
each child, don’t add more than the excess, if any,
of the amount on line 5 of the child's Form 8615
over the child’s taxable income on Form 1040 or
1040-NR, line 15.)

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Worksheet 1 for Line 11 of the Schedule D Worksheet 2 for Line 11 of the Schedule D
Tax Worksheet—28% Rate Gain Tax Worksheet—Unrecaptured
(Line 9 Tax) Section 1250 Gain
(Line 9 Tax)
1. Enter the amount, if any, from your child’s
Schedule D (Form 1040), line 18 1. Enter the amount, if any, from your child’s
Schedule D, line 19
If line 1 is zero or blank, skip lines 2 through
4, enter -0- on line 5, and go to line 6. If line 1 is zero or blank, skip lines 2 through
4, enter -0- on line 5, and go to line 6.
2. Enter the amount, if any, from the last line of your
child’s completed Line 5 Worksheet in the 2. Enter the amount, if any, from the last line of your
instructions for Form 8615, line 8. (See the line 8 child’s completed Line 5 Worksheet in the
instructions for which Line 5 Worksheet to use) instructions for Form 8615, line 8. (See the line 8
instructions for which Line 5 Worksheet to use)
3. Enter the amount from line 2 of your child’s
completed Line 5 Worksheet 3. Enter the amount from line 2 of your child’s
completed Line 5 Worksheet
4. Divide line 2 by line 3. Enter the result as a
decimal 4. Divide line 2 by line 3. Enter the result as a
decimal
5. Multiply line 1 by line 4
5. Multiply line 1 by line 4
6. If no other child has 28% rate gain, enter -0-.
Otherwise, repeat lines 1 through 5 above for 6. If no other child has unrecaptured section 1250
each other child who has 28% rate gain and enter gain, enter -0-. Otherwise, repeat lines 1 through 5
the total of the line 5 amounts for those other for each other child who has unrecaptured section
children 1250 gain and enter the total of the line 5 amounts
for those children
7. Enter the amount, if any, from line 18 of the
parent's Schedule D (Form 1040) 7. Enter the amount, if any, from line 19 of the
parent's Schedule D (Form 1040)
8. Add lines 5, 6, and 7. Also include this amount on 8. Add lines 5, 6, and 7. Also include this amount on
the Schedule D Tax Worksheet, line 11 the Schedule D Tax Worksheet, line 11

Figuring unrecaptured section 1250 gain (line 11).
If the child, the parent, or any other child has unrecap- Using Schedule J (Form 1040), for line 9 tax. Use
tured section 1250 gain, figure the amount of unrecap- Schedule J to figure the line 9 tax on Form 8615 if Sched-
tured section 1250 gain included in the net capital gain on ule J is used to figure the tax on the parent's return. First
Form 8615, line 8, using the following worksheet. complete the actual Schedule J for the parent, then use
another Schedule J as a worksheet to figure the tax to en-
ter on line 9 of Form 8615. (Don’t attach this worksheet to
the child's return.)
Complete this worksheet Schedule J as follows.
1. On line 1, enter the amount from Form 8615, line 8.
2. On lines 2a, 2b, and 2c, enter the amounts from the
parent's Schedule J, lines 2a, 2b, and 2c.
3. Complete line 3 following the Schedule J instructions.
4. Complete line 4. If Form 8615, line 8, includes any net
capital gain, use the Qualified Dividends and Capital
Gain Tax Worksheet to figure the tax amount on this
line.
For details on how to use the worksheet, see the in-
structions for Form 8615, line 9 in the Instructions for
Form 8615, but use the amount from line 3 of this
worksheet Schedule J (instead of the amount on
Form 8615, line 8).
However, if the child, the parent, or any other child
has 28% rate gain or unrecaptured section 1250 gain,
use the Schedule D Tax Worksheet. Follow the earlier
instructions under Using the Schedule D Tax Work-
sheet for line 9 tax, except use the amount on line 3 of
this worksheet Schedule J (instead of the amount on
Form 8615, line 8) in step 1.

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5. On lines 5 through 16, enter the amounts from the pa- Step 3. Figuring the Child's Tax (Form
rent's Schedule J, lines 5 through 16.
8615, Part III)
6. Complete lines 17 and 18 following the Schedule J
(Form 1040) instructions. The final step in figuring the child’s tax is to determine the
larger of:
7. On lines 19 through 22, enter the amounts from the
parent's Schedule J, lines 19 through 22. 1. The total of:
8. Complete line 23 following the Schedule J instruc- a. The child’s share of the tentative tax based on the
tions. parent's tax rate, plus
Enter the amount from line 23 of this worksheet Sched- b. The tax on the child’s taxable income in excess of
ule J on Form 8615, line 9, and check the box on that line. net unearned income, figured at the child’s tax
rate; or
Line 10 (Parent's Tax) 2. The tax on the child’s taxable income, figured at the
child’s tax rate.
Enter on line 10 the amount from Form 1040, 1040-SR, or
1040-NR, line 16. Don’t include the tax, if any, from Form This is the child’s tax. It is figured on Form 8615, lines
4972 or Form 8814 or any tax from recapture of an educa- 14 through 18.
tion credit.
Line 14 (Child's Taxable Income in Excess
If you file Form 2555, enter the amount from line 4 of
of Net Unearned Income)
your Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet (in the In-
structions for Forms 1040 and 1040-SR), instead of your If lines 4 and 5 of Form 8615 are the same, the child’s tax-
tax from Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 16. able income isn’t more than the child’s net unearned in-
come. Enter zero on lines 14 and 15, and go to line 16.
Line 11 (Tentative Tax) Also skip the rest of this discussion and the discussion for
line 15 that follows.
Subtract line 10 from line 9 and enter the result on this
line. This is the tentative tax. If lines 4 and 5 aren't the same, subtract line 5 from
line 4 and enter the result on line 14. Then, before com-
If line 7 is blank, skip lines 12a and 12b and enter the pleting line 15, you must determine the amount of net cap-
amount from line 11 on line 13. Also skip the discussion ital gain and qualified dividends, if any, included on
for lines 12a and 12b that follows. line 14.

Lines 12a and 12b (Dividing the Tentative Net capital gain and qualified dividends on line 14. If
Tax) the child doesn’t have any net capital gain or qualified divi-
dends, the amount of the net capital gain and qualified
If an amount is entered on line 7, divide the tentative tax dividends included on line 14 is zero.
shown on line 11 among the children according to each If the child has net capital gain, the amount of net capi-
child's share of the total net unearned income. This is tal gain included on line 14 is the amount from line 2 of the
done on lines 12a, 12b, and 13. Add the amount on line 7 child’s completed Line 5 Worksheet minus the amount
to the amount on line 5 and enter the total on line 12a. Di- from the last line of that worksheet. (See the earlier dis-
vide the amount on line 5 by the amount on line 12a and cussion of line 8 of Form 8615.)
enter the result, as a decimal, on line 12b. If the child has qualified dividends, the amount of quali-
fied dividends included on line 14 is the amount from
Example. In the earlier example under Line 7 (Net Un- line 1 of the child’s completed Line 5 Worksheet minus the
earned Income of Other Children), Sharon's Form 8615 amount from the next to the last line of that worksheet.
shows $1,600 on line 7. The amount entered on line 12a (See the earlier discussion of line 8 of Form 8615.)
is $2,400, the total of the amounts on lines 5 and 7 ($800
+ $1,600). The decimal on line 12b is 0.333, figured as fol- Line 15 (Tax on Child's Taxable Income in
lows and rounded to three places.
Excess of Net Unearned Income)
$800
= 0.333 Figure the tax on the amount on line 14 using the Tax Ta-
$2,400
ble, the Tax Computation Worksheet, the Qualified Divi-
dends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet, the Schedule D
Line 13 (Child's Share of Tentative Tax) Tax Worksheet, or Schedule J (Form 1040), as follows.
If an amount is entered on line 7, multiply line 11 by the • If line 14 doesn’t include any net capital gain or quali-
decimal on line 12b and enter the result on line 13. This is fied dividends, use the Tax Table or Tax Computation
the child’s share of the tentative tax. Worksheet (or Schedule J, if applicable) to figure this
tax.

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• If line 14 includes any net capital gain or qualified divi- c. Subtract (b) from the amount on line 10 of this
dends, use the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Schedule D Tax Worksheet. If the result is more
Tax Worksheet to figure this tax. For details, see the than zero, that amount is the line 14 capital gain
instructions for Form 8615, line 15. However, if the excess. If the result is zero or less, there is no
child has 28% rate gain or unrecaptured section 1250 line 14 capital gain excess.
gain, use the Schedule D Tax Worksheet. (But use
12. If there is no line 14 capital gain excess, skip step 13
Schedule J instead, if it applies.)
below and go to step 14.
Child files Form 2555. If line 14 includes any net capital 13. If there is a line 14 capital gain excess, complete a
gain or qualified dividends and the child files Form 2555, second Schedule D Tax Worksheet as instructed
go to Using the Schedule D Tax Worksheet for line 15 tax above and in step 14 below but in its entirety and with
next to figure the line 15 tax. the following additional modifications. (These modifi-
cations are to be made only for purposes of filling out
Using the Schedule D Tax Worksheet for line 15 tax. this Schedule D Tax Worksheet.)
Use the Schedule D Tax Worksheet (in the Schedule D in-
structions) to figure the line 15 tax if the child has unrecap- a. Reduce the amount you would otherwise enter on
tured section 1250 gain or 28% rate gain. Don’t attach this line 9 (but not below zero) by the line 14 capital
Schedule D Tax Worksheet to the child’s return. gain excess.
Complete this Schedule D Tax Worksheet as follows. b. Reduce the amount you would otherwise enter on
1. On line 1, enter the amount from Form 8615, line 14. line 6 (but not below zero) by any of the line 14
capital gain excess not used in (a) above.
2. On line 2, enter the qualified dividends included on
Form 8615, line 14. (See the earlier discussion of c. If the child has 28% rate gain, reduce the amount
line 14.) you would otherwise enter on line 11, as figured in
step 9, (but not below zero) by the line 14 capital
3. Leave lines 3 through 5 blank. gain excess.
4. Enter the amount from line 2 on line 6. d. If the child has unrecaptured section 1250 gain,
5. On line 7, enter the net capital gain included on Form reduce the amount you would otherwise enter on
8615, line 14. (See the earlier discussion of line 14.) line 11, as figured in step 9, (but not below zero)
by the line 14 capital gain excess not used in (c)
6. Skip line 8. above.
7. Enter the amount from line 7 on line 9. 14. Complete lines 12 through 47 following the worksheet
8. Complete line 10, following the worksheet instruc- instructions. Use the child's filing status to complete
tions. lines 15, 44, and 46.
9. On line 11, enter zero if the child has no 28% rate gain Enter the amount from line 47 of this Schedule D Tax
(Schedule D, line 18) or unrecaptured section 1250 Worksheet on Form 8615, line 15, and check the box on
gain (Schedule D, line 19). Otherwise, see Worksheet that line. Don’t attach this worksheet to your return.

1 for Line 11 of the Schedule D Tax Worksheet—28% Using Schedule J (Form 1040) for line 15 tax. If
Rate Gain (Line 9 Tax) and Worksheet 2 for Line 11 of Schedule J applies, use it as a worksheet to figure the tax
the Schedule D Tax Worksheet—Unrecaptured Sec- to enter on Form 8615, line 15. On line 1 of this work-
tion 1250 Gain (Line 9 Tax) under Using the Sched- sheet, enter the amount from Form 8615, line 14. Com-
ule D Tax Worksheet for line 9 tax, earlier. For each plete lines 2a through 23 following the Schedule J instruc-
worksheet you complete, subtract line 5 of that work- tions. Use the child’s filing status to complete lines 4, 8,
sheet from line 1 of that worksheet, and include the 12, and 16.
result on line 11 of this worksheet. Enter the amount from line 23 of this worksheet Sched-
10. If the child isn’t filing Form 2555, skip steps 11, 12, ule J on Form 8615, line 15, and check the box on that
and 13 below, and go to step 14. If the child is filing line. Don’t attach this worksheet to the child’s return.
Form 2555, go to step 11.
Line 16 (Combined Tax)
11. Determine whether there is a line 14 capital gain ex-
cess as follows. Add lines 13 and 15 and enter the total on line 16. This is
a. Subtract from line 2c of your Foreign Earned In- your child’s tax figured at the parent's rate on net un-
come Tax Worksheet the excess, if any, of the earned income and the child’s tax rate on other income.
amount on line 5 of the child's Form 8615 over the
child's taxable income on Form 1040 or 1040-NR, Line 17 (Tax at Child's Rate)
line 15.
Figure the tax on the amount on line 4. Use the Tax Table,
b. Subtract (a) from the amount on line 14 of Form the Tax Computation Worksheet, the Qualified Dividends
8615. and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet, the Schedule D Tax
Worksheet, or the child’s actual Schedule J (Form 1040),

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whichever applies. Enter the tax amount on line 17. If the child's Form 1040 or 1040-NR, line 16. Instead, enter the
amount was figured using the Qualified Dividends and amount from Form 8615, line 18, on line 4 of the child's
Capital Gain Tax Worksheet, the Schedule D Tax Work- Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet. Then complete
sheet, or Schedule J, check the box on that line. the rest of the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet (in
the Instructions for Forms 1040 and 1040-SR) to figure the
Child files Form 2555. If your child files Form 2555 and child’s tax.
has a net capital gain or qualified dividends, figure the tax
using the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Work-
sheet or the Schedule D Tax Worksheet, whichever ap- Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

plies. To fill out that worksheet, follow the instructions in A child may be subject to AMT if he or she has certain
the footnote to the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet items given preferential treatment under the tax law.
(in the Instructions for Forms 1040 and 1040-SR). These items include accelerated depreciation and certain
tax-exempt interest income. The AMT may also apply if
Line 18 (Tax) you have passive activity losses or certain distributions
from estates or trusts.
Enter on line 18 the larger of line 16 or line 17. Also enter
this amount on the child’s Form 1040 or 1040-NR, line 16. For more information on who is liable for AMT and how
This is the child’s tax. to figure it, see Form 6251.

Child files Form 2555. If your child files Form 2555,
don't enter the amount from Form 8615, line 18, on the

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Glossary

Adjusted gross income. Gross in- income as defined earlier under Line 1 Net capital gain. The excess of net
come (defined later) minus adjust- (Unearned Income). long-term capital gain over any net
ments to income (defined next). short-term capital loss. For 2020, this
Exemption. The deduction for per- is the smaller of the gain on line 15 or
Adjustments to income. Deductions sonal exemptions is suspended (equal the gain on line 16 of Schedule D
that are subtracted from gross income to $0) for tax years 2018 through 2025. (Form 1040). If Schedule D (Form
in figuring adjusted gross income. Although you can't claim a deduction 1040) isn’t required, net capital gain is
They include deductions for moving for exemptions, your eligibility to claim the amount of capital gain distributions
expenses, a penalty on early with- an exemption for a child or qualifying on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR,
drawal of savings, and contributions to relative remains important to determine line 7.
an individual retirement arrangement your eligibility to claim the child tax
(IRA). Adjustments to income can be credit, the additional child tax credit, Net unearned income. The total of
taken even if itemized deductions (de- and the credit for other dependents, as all unearned income (other than
fined later) aren’t claimed. well as other tax benefits. tax-exempt income) reduced by the
sum of:
Alternative minimum tax (AMT). A Full-time student. A full-time student
tax designed to collect at least a mini- is a child who during some part of each 1. Any adjustments to income (de-
mum amount of tax from taxpayers of any 5 calendar months of the year fined earlier) that are related to the
who benefit from the tax laws that give was enrolled as a full-time student at a unearned income, plus
special treatment to certain kinds of in- school, or took a full-time on-farm train- 2. $2,200.
come and allow deductions and credits ing course given by a school or a state,
for certain kinds of expenses. county, or local government agency. A Qualified dividends. Dividends eligi-
school includes a technical, trade, or ble for the lower tax rates that apply to
Capital gain distribution. An alloca- mechanical school. It doesn’t include a net capital gain. They are reported to
ted amount paid to, or treated as paid an on-the-job training course, corre- you in box 1b of Form 1099-DIV. You
to, a shareholder by a mutual fund, spondence school, or school offering report them on Form 1040, 1040-SR,
regulated investment company, or real courses only through the Internet. or 1040-NR, line 3a. For more informa-
estate investment trust from its net re- tion, see Pub. 550.
alized long-term capital gains. This Gross income. All income from all
amount is in addition to any ordinary sources that isn’t exempt from tax and Qualifying child. To be your depend-
dividend paid to the shareholder. You must be included on your tax return. ent (defined earlier), a person must be
will receive a statement from the payer Gross income is the total of your either your qualifying child or your qual-
if this applies to you. earned and unearned income. ifying relative (defined next). Generally,
For purposes of determining a person is your qualifying child if that
Dependent. A person, other than the whether you must file a return, gross person:
taxpayer or the taxpayer's spouse, you income includes gain from the sale of • Is your child, stepchild, foster child,
can claim on your return. To be your your main home (even if you can ex- brother, sister, stepbrother, step-
dependent, a person must be your clude part or all of it) and includes in- sister, or a descendant of any of
qualifying child or qualifying relative come earned outside the United States them;
(both defined later). For more informa- (even if you can exclude part or all of
tion, see Dependents in Pub. 501. it). • Lived with you for more than half of
the year;
Earned income. Salaries, wages, Itemized deductions. Deductions al- • Didn’t provide more than half of his
tips, professional fees, and other lowed on Schedule A (Form 1040) for or her own support for the year;
amounts received as pay for work ac- medical and dental expenses, taxes,
tually performed. home mortgage interest and invest- • Was under age 19 at the end of the
For purposes of determining a de- ment interest, charitable contributions, year and younger than you (or your
pendent's standard deduction, earned and casualty and theft losses. They are spouse if filing jointly) (or was un-
income also includes any part of a subtracted from adjusted gross income der age 24 at the end of the year, a
scholarship or fellowship grant that the in figuring taxable income. Itemized de- student, and younger than you (or
dependent must include in his or her ductions can’t be claimed if the stand- your spouse if filing jointly), or was
gross income. ard deduction is chosen. any age and permanently and to-
tally disabled); and
For purposes of completing Form For tax years 2018 through
• Didn’t file a joint return with his or
8615, earned income also includes a ! 2025, miscellaneous itemized her spouse.
taxable distribution from a qualified dis- CAUTION deductions are suspended
ability trust. It doesn’t include unearned and not deductible.

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For details, see Dependents in Pub. Support. All amounts spent to provide rents, royalties, etc. Distributions of in-
501. the child with food, lodging, clothing, terest, dividends, capital gains, and
education, medical and dental care, other unearned income from a trust are
Qualifying relative. To be your de- recreation, transportation, and similar also unearned income to a beneficiary
pendent (defined earlier), a person necessities. To figure your child's sup- of the trust. However, for purposes of
must be either your qualifying child port, count support provided by you, completing Form 8615, a taxable distri-
(defined earlier) or your qualifying rela- your child, and others. However, a bution from a qualified disability trust is
tive. Generally, a person is your quali- scholarship received by your child isn’t considered earned income.
fying relative if that person: considered support if your child is a
• Lives with or is related to you, full-time student. See Pub. 501 for de- Unrecaptured section 1250 gain.
tails. Generally, any part of your net capital
• Has less than $4,300 of gross (to- gain from selling section 1250 property
tal) income, Tax year. The time period covered by (real property) that is due to deprecia-
• Is supported (generally more than a tax return. Usually, this is January 1 tion. For details, see Pub. 550.
50%) by you, and to December 31, a calendar year, but
taxpayers can elect a fiscal tax year 28% rate gain. Gain from the sale of
• Is neither your qualifying child nor with different beginning and ending collectibles and, generally, the taxable
the qualifying child of anyone else. dates. part of your gain from the sale of quali-
For details, see Dependents in Pub. fied small business stock held more
501. Taxable income. Gross income mi- than 5 years. For details, see the In-
nus any adjustments to income and ei- structions for Schedule D (Form 1040).
Standard deduction. An amount that ther itemized deductions or the stand-
can be subtracted from adjusted gross ard deduction.
income in figuring taxable income. The
standard deduction isn’t used if item- Unearned income. Income other than
ized deductions are claimed. earned income. This is invest-
ment-type income and includes inter-
est, dividends, and capital gains (in-
cluding capital gain distributions),

How To Get Tax Help

If you have questions about a tax is- or in your local community, if you qual- • TCE. The Tax Counseling for the
sue, need help preparing your tax re- ify, which include the following. Elderly (TCE) program offers free
turn, or want to download free publica- tax help for all taxpayers, particu-
• Free File. This program lets you
tions, forms, or instructions, go to larly those who are 60 years of age
prepare and file your federal indi-
IRS.gov and find resources that can and older. TCE volunteers special-
vidual income tax return for free us-
help you right away. ize in answering questions about
ing brand-name tax-prepara-
pensions and retirement-related is-
Preparing and filing your tax return. tion-and-filing software or Free File
sues unique to seniors. Go to
After receiving all your wage and earn- fillable forms. However, state tax
IRS.gov/TCE, download the free
ings statements (Form W-2, W-2G, preparation may not be available
IRS2Go app, or call 888-227-7669
1099-R, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, etc.); through Free File. Go to IRS.gov/
for information on free tax return
unemployment compensation state- FreeFile to see if you qualify for
preparation.
ments (by mail or in a digital format) or free online federal tax preparation,
other government payment statements e-filing, and direct deposit or pay- • MilTax. Members of the U.S.
(Form 1099-G); and interest, dividend, ment options. Armed Forces and qualified veter-
ans may use MilTax, a free tax
and retirement statements from banks • VITA. The Volunteer Income Tax
service offered by the Department
and investment firms (Forms 1099), Assistance (VITA) program offers
of Defense through Military One-
you have several options to choose free tax help to people with
Source.
from to prepare and file your tax return. low-to-moderate incomes, persons
Also, the IRS offers Free Fillable
You can prepare the tax return your- with disabilities, and limited-Eng-
Forms, which can be completed
self, see if you qualify for free tax prep- lish-speaking taxpayers who need
online and then filed electronically
aration, or hire a tax professional to help preparing their own tax re-
regardless of income.
prepare your return. turns. Go to IRS.gov/VITA, down-
load the free IRS2Go app, or call
Free options for tax preparation. 800-906-9887 for information on
Go to IRS.gov to see your options for free tax return preparation.
preparing and filing your return online

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Using online tools to help prepare • IRS.gov/Forms: Find forms, in- and Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and
your return. Go to IRS.gov/Tools for structions, and publications. You Tax Statement.
the following. will find details on 2020 tax
changes and hundreds of interac- IRS social media. Go to IRS.gov/
• The Earned Income Tax Credit SocialMedia to see the various social
tive links to help you find answers
Assistant IRS.gov/EITCAssistant ( ) media tools the IRS uses to share the
to your questions.
determines if you’re eligible for the latest information on tax changes,
earned income credit (EIC). • You may also be able to access tax scam alerts, initiatives, products, and
law information in your electronic
• The Online EIN Application services. At the IRS, privacy and se-
filing software.
(IRS.gov/EIN) helps you get an curity are paramount. We use these
employer identification number tools to share public information with
(EIN). Need someone to prepare your tax you. Don’t post your SSN or other con-
• The Tax Withholding Estimator return? There are various types of fidential information on social media
(IRS.gov/W4app) makes it easier tax return preparers, including tax pre- sites. Always protect your identity
for everyone to pay the correct parers, enrolled agents, certified public when using any social networking site.
amount of tax during the year. The accountants (CPAs), attorneys, and The following IRS YouTube chan-
tool is a convenient, online way to many others who don’t have professio- nels provide short, informative videos
check and tailor your withholding. nal credentials. If you choose to have on various tax-related topics in English,
It’s more user-friendly for taxpay- someone prepare your tax return, Spanish, and ASL.
ers, including retirees and self-em- choose that preparer wisely. A paid tax • Youtube.com/irsvideos.
ployed individuals. The features in- preparer is:
• Youtube.com/irsvideosmultilingua.
clude the following. • Primarily responsible for the overall
– Easy to understand language. substantive accuracy of your re- • Youtube.com/irsvideosASL.
turn,
– The ability to switch between Watching IRS videos. The IRS Video
screens, correct previous en- • Required to sign the return, and portal (IRSVideos.gov) contains video
and audio presentations for individuals,
tries, and skip screens that don’t • Required to include their preparer
small businesses, and tax professio-
apply. tax identification number (PTIN).
nals.
– Tips and links to help you deter-
Although the tax preparer always
mine if you qualify for tax credits Online tax information in other lan-
signs the return, you're ultimately re-
and deductions. guages. You can find information on
sponsible for providing all the informa-
IRS.gov/MyLanguage if English isn’t
– A progress tracker. tion required for the preparer to accu-
your native language.
– A self-employment tax feature. rately prepare your return. Anyone paid
to prepare tax returns for others should Free interpreter service. Multilingual
– Automatic calculation of taxable have a thorough understanding of tax assistance, provided by the IRS, is
social security benefits. matters. For more information on how available at Taxpayer Assistance Cen-
• The First Time Homebuyer Credit to choose a tax preparer, go to Tips for ters (TACs) and other IRS offices.
Account Look-up IRS.gov/ ( Choosing a Tax Preparer on IRS.gov. Over-the-phone interpreter service is
HomeBuyer) tool provides informa- accessible in more than 350 lan-
Coronavirus. Go to IRS.gov/
tion on your repayments and ac- guages.
Coronavirus for links to information on
count balance.
the impact of the coronavirus, as well Getting tax forms and publications.
• The Sales Tax Deduction as tax relief available for individuals Go to IRS.gov/Forms to view, down-
Calculator IRS.gov/SalesTax ( ) fig- and families, small and large busi- load, or print all of the forms, instruc-
ures the amount you can claim if nesses, and tax-exempt organizations. tions, and publications you may need.
you itemize deductions on Sched-
You can also download and view pop-
ule A (Form 1040). Tax reform. Tax reform legislation af-
ular tax publications and instructions
fects individuals, businesses, and
Getting answers to your tax (including the Instructions for Forms
tax-exempt and government entities.
questions. On IRS.gov, you 1040 and 1040-SR) on mobile devices
Go to IRS.gov/TaxReform for informa-
can get up-to-date information as an eBook at IRS.gov/eBooks. Or
tion and updates on how this legisla-
on current events and changes in tax you can go to IRS.gov/OrderForms to
tion affects your taxes.
law. place an order.
• IRS.gov/Help: A variety of tools to Employers can register to use Busi-
Access your online account (indi-
help you get answers to some of ness Services Online. The Social
vidual taxpayers only). Go to
the most common tax questions. Security Administration (SSA) offers
online service at SSA.gov/employer for
• IRS.gov/ITA: The Interactive Tax fast, free, and secure online W-2 filing
Assistant, a tool that will ask you options to CPAs, accountants, enrolled
questions on a number of tax law agents, and individuals who process
topics and provide answers. Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement,

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IRS.gov/Account to securely access in- been lost or stolen or you suspect • Check or Money Order: Mail your
formation about your federal tax ac- you’re a victim of tax-related iden- payment to the address listed on
count. tity theft, you can learn what steps the notice or instructions.
you should take.
• View the amount you owe, pay on- • Cash: You may be able to pay your
line, or set up an online payment • Get an Identity Protection PIN (IP taxes with cash at a participating
agreement. PIN). IP PINs are six-digit numbers retail store.
assigned to eligible taxpayers to
• Access your tax records online. • Same-Day Wire: You may be able
help prevent the misuse of their to do same-day wire from your fi-
• Review your payment history. SSNs on fraudulent federal income nancial institution. Contact your fi-
• Go to IRS.gov/SecureAccess to re- tax returns. When you have an IP nancial institution for availability,
view the required identity authenti- PIN, it prevents someone else from cost, and cut-off times.
cation process. filing a tax return with your SSN. To
learn more, go to IRS.gov/IPPIN. What if I can’t pay now? Go to
Using direct deposit. The fastest IRS.gov/Payments for more informa-
way to receive a tax refund is to file Checking on the status of your re- tion about your options.
electronically and choose direct de- fund.
• Apply for an online payment
posit, which securely and electronically • Go to IRS.gov/Refunds. agreement IRS.gov/OPA ( ) to meet
transfers your refund directly into your
financial account. Direct deposit also • The IRS can’t issue refunds before your tax obligation in monthly in-
mid-February 2021 for returns that stallments if you can’t pay your
avoids the possibility that your check
claimed the EIC or the additional taxes in full today. Once you com-
could be lost, stolen, or returned unde-
child tax credit (ACTC). This ap- plete the online process, you will
liverable to the IRS. Eight in 10 taxpay-
plies to the entire refund, not just receive immediate notification of
ers use direct deposit to receive their
the portion associated with these whether your agreement has been
refunds. The IRS issues more than
credits. approved.
90% of refunds in less than 21 days.
• Download the official IRS2Go app • Use the Offer in Compromise Pre-
Getting a transcript of your return. to your mobile device to check your Qualifier to see if you can settle
The quickest way to get a copy of your refund status. your tax debt for less than the full
tax transcript is to go to IRS.gov/ amount you owe. For more infor-
Transcripts. Click on either “Get Tran- • Call the automated refund hotline
mation on the Offer in Compromise
script Online” or “Get Transcript by at 800-829-1954.
program, go to IRS.gov/OIC.
Mail” to order a free copy of your tran-
Making a tax payment. The IRS uses
script. If you prefer, you can order your Filing an amended return. You can
the latest encryption technology to en-
transcript by calling 800-908-9946. now file Form 1040-X electronically
sure your electronic payments are safe
with tax filing software to amend 2019
Reporting and resolving your and secure. You can make electronic
Forms 1040 and 1040-SR. To do so,
tax-related identity theft issues. payments online, by phone, and from a
you must have e-filed your original
mobile device using the IRS2Go app.
2019 return. Amended returns for all
• Tax-related identity theft happens Paying electronically is quick, easy,
prior years must be mailed. See Tips
when someone steals your per- and faster than mailing in a check or
for taxpayers who need to file an
sonal information to commit tax money order. Go to IRS.gov/Payments
amended tax return and go to IRS.gov/
fraud. Your taxes can be affected if for information on how to make a pay-
Form1040X for information and up-
your SSN is used to file a fraudu- ment using any of the following op-
dates.
lent return or to claim a refund or tions.
credit.
• IRS Direct Pay: Pay your individual Checking the status of your amen-
• The IRS doesn’t initiate contact tax bill or estimated tax payment ded return. Go to IRS.gov/WMAR to
with taxpayers by email, text mes- directly from your checking or sav- track the status of Form 1040-X amen-
sages, telephone calls, or social ings account at no cost to you. ded returns. Please note that it can
media channels to request per- take up to 3 weeks from the date you
sonal or financial information. This • Debit or Credit Card: Choose an filed your amended return for it to show
includes requests for personal approved payment processor to up in our system, and processing it can
identification numbers (PINs), pay online, by phone, or by mobile take up to 16 weeks.
passwords, or similar information device.
for credit cards, banks, or other fi- • Electronic Funds Withdrawal: Of- Understanding an IRS notice or let-
nancial accounts. fered only when filing your federal ter you’ve received. Go to IRS.gov/
• Go to IRS.gov/IdentityTheft, the taxes using tax return preparation Notices to find additional information
IRS Identity Theft Central web- software or through a tax profes- about responding to an IRS notice or
page, for information on identity sional. letter.

theft and data security protection • Electronic Federal Tax Payment Contacting your local IRS office.
for taxpayers, tax professionals, System: Best option for busi- Keep in mind, many questions can be
and businesses. If your SSN has nesses. Enrollment is required. answered on IRS.gov without visiting

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an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center understand what these rights mean to know of one of these broad issues,
(TAC). Go to IRS.gov/LetUsHelp for you and how they apply. These are please report it to them at IRS.gov/
the topics people ask about most. If your rights. Know them. Use them. SAMS.
you still need help, IRS TACs provide
tax help when a tax issue can’t be han- What Can TAS Do For You? TAS for Tax Professionals
dled online or by phone. All TACs now
provide service by appointment, so TAS can help you resolve problems TAS can provide a variety of informa-
you’ll know in advance that you can get that you can’t resolve with the IRS. And tion for tax professionals, including tax
the service you need without long wait their service is free. If you qualify for law updates and guidance, TAS pro-
times. Before you visit, go to IRS.gov/ their assistance, you will be assigned grams, and ways to let TAS know
TACLocator to find the nearest TAC to one advocate who will work with you about systemic problems you’ve seen
and to check hours, available services, throughout the process and will do ev- in your practice.
and appointment options. Or, on the erything possible to resolve your issue.
IRS2Go app, under the Stay Connec- TAS can help you if: Low Income Taxpayer
•
ted tab, choose the Contact Us option Your problem is causing financial Clinics (LITCs)
and click on “Local Offices.” difficulty for you, your family, or
your business; LITCs are independent from the IRS.
The Taxpayer Advocate LITCs represent individuals whose in-
• You face (or your business is fac-
come is below a certain level and need
Service (TAS) Is Here To ing) an immediate threat of ad-
to resolve tax problems with the IRS,
Help You verse action; or
such as audits, appeals, and tax col-
What Is TAS? • You’ve tried repeatedly to contact lection disputes. In addition, clinics can
the IRS but no one has responded, provide information about taxpayer
TAS is an independent organization or the IRS hasn’t responded by the rights and responsibilities in different
within the IRS that helps taxpayers and date promised. languages for individuals who speak
protects taxpayer rights. Their job is to English as a second language. Serv-
ensure that every taxpayer is treated How Can You Reach TAS? ices are offered for free or a small fee
fairly and that you know and under- for eligible taxpayers. To find a clinic
stand your rights under the Taxpayer TAS has offices in every state, the near you, visit
Bill of Rights. District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. www.TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/
Your local advocate’s number is in your about-us/Low-Income-Taxpayer-
How Can You Learn About local directory and at Clinics-LITC/ or see IRS Pub. 4134,
Your Taxpayer Rights? TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/Contact- Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List.
Us. You can also call them at
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights describes 877-777-4778.
10 basic rights that all taxpayers have
when dealing with the IRS. Go to How Else Does TAS Help
TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov to help you Taxpayers?

TAS works to resolve large-scale prob-
lems that affect many taxpayers. If you

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                    To help us develop a more useful index, please let us know if you have ideas for index entries.
Index               See “Comments and Suggestions” in the “Introduction” for the ways you can reach us.
 
                                     Election to include child's income  Net unearned income           16
28% rate gain 12 18,                   on parent's return  10             Defined 23
  Defined 24                         Estimated tax, penalty  12
                                     Exemption:
                                       Defined 23                        P
A                                      Own exemption — dependent     8   Parents:
Adjusted gross income (AGI),         Exemption from withholding      9    Election (See Election to include 
  defined 23                         Extension of time to file  14          child's income on parent's return)
Adjustments to income,                                                    Which parent's return to use                    10
  defined 16 23,                                                         Penalty, estimated tax        12
Age 65 or older dependents 5         F                                   Publications (See Tax help)
Aliens:                              Figures (See Tables and figures)
  Individual taxpayer identification Figuring child's income    12
  number (ITIN)     2                Filing requirements 3 6–            Q
  Standard deduction   8             Form 1040:                          Qualified dividends  12
Alternative minimum tax (AMT)  5,      Schedule J 19 21,                  Defined 23
  11                                 Form 1099-DIV  12                   Qualifying child 23
  Defined 23                         Form 2555 16 18 21 22, , ,          Qualifying relative 24
Assistance (See Tax help)            Form 2848 7 15, 
                                     Form 6251 11
                                     Form 8615 13 22–                    R
                                                                         Recapture taxes  5
B                                    Form 8814 10 12 13, , 
                                                                         Relative, qualifying 24
Blind dependents, filing             Form W-4  9
                                                                         Remarried custodial parent, 
  requirements    5                  Full-time student, defined 23
                                                                          reporting child's unearned 
                                                                          income  11
C                                    G                                   Remarried widowed parent, 
Capital gain distributions 12        Gift, income from property           reporting child's unearned 
  Defined 23                           received as  15                    income  11
Capital losses  15                   Gross income, defined   23          Returns:
Child, qualifying 23                                                      Filing even if not required                    6
Child's earnings  7                                                       Parent's election to include child's 
Child's expenses  7                  I                                      income (See Election to include 
Child's return:                      Individual taxpayer identification     child's income on parent's return)
  Responsibility for 6 7,              numbers (ITINs)   2                Responsibility for child's return                 6 7, 
Child's unearned income:             Investment interest 11               Signing child's return       6
  Tax on  9                          IRS notice sent to child 7           Who must file 3 6–
Church, wages from    5              Itemized deductions:
Credits, reduced  11                   Defined 23
                                                                         S
                                                                         Schedule D Tax Worksheet                         18 19, , 
D                                    J                                    21
Deductible investment interest 11    Joint return of parents 10          Section 1202 gain   12
Deductions  11                                                           Self-employed, filing 
Deductions, reduced    11                                                 requirements    6
Dependents:                          L                                   Separated parents, reporting 
  Defined 23                         Life insurance 5                     child's unearned income                         11
  Exemption for 8                                                        Signing child's return        6
  Own exemption   8                                                      Social security numbers (SSNs) of 
                                     M
  Social security numbers (SSNs)                                          dependents   2
                                     Married parents filing 
  of    2                                                                Social security tax 5
                                       separately 11
Divorced parents, reporting child's                                      Standard deduction   8
                                     Medicare tax 5
  unearned income     11                                                  Defined 24
                                     Missing children, photographs of   2
                                                                          Worksheet for dependents 
                                                                            (Worksheet 1)    8
E                                                                         Zero 8
                                     N
Earned income   3 4,                                                     Support, defined 24
                                     Net capital gain:
  Defined 23
                                       Defined 23
Education credit, recaptured  5

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                                     Third party designee 7
T                                    Tips not reported to employer  5     W
Tables and figures:                  Trust income  16                     Withholding 8
  Determining whether Form 8615 is                                        Worksheets:
  required (Figure 2)  14                                                  Dependent's filing requirement                4 5, 
  Election to include child's income U                                     Form 8615 alternate worksheet                  15
  on parent's return (Figure 1) 10   Unearned income  4                    Qualified dividends and capital gain 
  Filing requirements for dependents   Defined 15 24,                      tax 17
  (Table 1) 6                          Election to include child's income  Schedule D Tax 19
Taxable income, defined 24             on parent's return (See Election    Standard deduction worksheet for 
Tax help 15 24,                        to include child's income on        dependents (Worksheet 1)                      8
Tax on child's unearned                parent's return)                    Unrecaptured section 1250 gain                 19
  income 9 24–                         Tax on 9
  Age requirement 13                 Unrecaptured section 1250 
  Figured on Form 8615 13              gain 12 19, 
Tax year, defined 24                   Defined 24

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