As a minor, how will my earned income affect my family's tax return if I'm claimed as a dependent?

Your parents' concern is understandable, but there are some misconceptions here. As a dependent under 18, you can earn up to $12,950 in 2025 without it affecting your parents' ability to claim you as a dependent. This is called the "dependent earned income threshold." The confusion might be about the Child Tax Credit. Your parents get this credit for having a dependent child under 17, and their income - not yours - determines if they get the full credit. So your job doesn't directly reduce this credit. What probably happened with your parents is that when your stepdad started working, their combined income increased, which might have phased out certain credits or deductions they previously qualified for. This is different from what would happen if you got a job. You should feel free to earn money! You'll need to file your own return if you earn more than $12,950, but this doesn't stop your parents from claiming you as a dependent. And your income alone won't reduce their refund.

Just wanted to share my experience with this! I was confused about the same thing when my daughter started working at 16. I found this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me understand exactly how her income would impact our tax situation. You just upload your documents or even pictures of tax forms, and it explains everything in super simple terms. It showed me that my daughter could work part-time without affecting our ability to claim her as a dependent or reducing our Child Tax Credit. The analyzer even explained the exact thresholds we needed to be aware of! It saved me from making the mistake of discouraging her from working, which would have actually hurt her in the long run by delaying her work experience. Might be worth checking out if your parents are still concerned!

I have to come back and say that taxr.ai was actually incredibly helpful! After asking about it in my previous comment, I decided to give it a try with my daughter's mixed income situation. The system immediately clarified that her W-2 income would require filing a tax return (she made about $7,000), but that I could still claim her as a dependent. It also explained that her babysitting money (about $2,500 for the year) counts as self-employment income and should be reported if it exceeds $400. The best part was learning that her income didn't affect my Child Tax Credit at all! That was my big worry. It even showed me how to help her file her first return while still marking that "someone can claim you as a dependent." I feel so much more confident about our family's tax situation now!

I had the exact same issue trying to get through to someone at the IRS to explain how my son's new job would affect our taxes. Spent DAYS trying to get a human on the phone without success. Then I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and it was a complete game-changer. They have this service that gets you past the IRS phone tree and puts you in direct contact with an actual IRS representative who can answer your specific questions. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I finally got to speak with someone who explained that my son's summer job earnings (around $5,500) wouldn't affect my ability to claim him as a dependent or impact my tax credits. The IRS agent was able to walk me through all the rules about dependent income and how it relates to family tax returns. After months of confusion and misinformation from friends and family, it was such a relief to get definitive answers directly from the source!

I need to publicly admit I was wrong about Claimyr! After posting my skeptical comment, I was still desperate for answers about my kid's tax situation, so I decided to try it anyway. The service actually worked exactly as described. I received a call back about 37 minutes after starting the process, and there was an IRS agent ready to talk to me. I didn't have to navigate a single phone menu or wait on hold at all! The agent confirmed that my daughter's part-time job ($6,800 for the year) wouldn't affect my ability to claim her as a dependent or impact any of my tax credits. She also explained that my daughter should file her own return to get back the federal taxes withheld from her paychecks. I've been giving my daughter incorrect information for months because I couldn't get clear answers from the IRS. This service is legitimately useful if you need to speak with the IRS directly.

Another perspective - I'm a college student now, but I worked all through high school while being claimed as a dependent. My income never affected my parents' tax refund. The only thing that happened is I had to file my own tax return each year. The benefit was actually huge for me: I learned about taxes early, built up work experience, and even qualified for some tax credits when I started college because I had a work history. Plus now I have a good credit score because I started building credit early. Don't let tax confusion stop you from getting valuable work experience as a teen! Your future self will thank you.

One important thing no one's mentioned - some of your income might be completely tax-free if you're 16! If you're doing babysitting, lawn mowing, pet sitting, or other household-type work directly for people (not through a company), that's considered "household employee" work. If you earn less than $2,600 from any ONE household in 2025, that employer doesn't have to withhold Social Security or Medicare taxes, and you don't have to report that income if your total earnings are below the filing threshold! So you could potentially earn quite a bit without ANY tax consequences at all, depending on the type of work.