Can I E-file a Minor Child's Tax Return with a Parent/Grandparent Signature?

What if the minor is away at college though? My son is 17 and I'm trying to do his taxes but he's already at school. Can I still efile for him or do I need him to print and mail a paper return with his signature?

For a minor who is away at college, you can still e-file as their parent. The IRS understands these practical situations. You would follow the same process of indicating you're signing as their personal representative during the e-filing process. If you're uncomfortable with that approach, another option is to have your son sign Form 8879 (the IRS e-file signature authorization form) which you can email to him to sign and return to you. Most tax software can generate this form for you. But honestly, for a dependent minor child, your signature as the parent is generally sufficient.

Does it work for more complicated situations? My daughter is 16 but she has income from a trust fund her grandparents set up. I'm confused about who needs to sign what since there's technically a trustee involved too.

I'm a little skeptical about these tax tools. How does it compare to just calling the IRS directly and asking them who can sign? Wouldn't that be more reliable than some online tool?

For trust fund situations, yes it absolutely helps with those complexities. The tool analyzes the specific situation and explains who has legal authority to sign in cases involving trustees. It can break down the different signing requirements for the trust income versus other types of income your daughter might have. As for calling the IRS directly, I tried that route first and spent over 2 hours on hold before giving up. While the IRS is definitely authoritative, actually reaching them is incredibly difficult during tax season. The taxr.ai tool pulls directly from IRS publications and tax code to provide accurate information without the wait.

Wait, how does this actually work? Is it like a paid service that just calls the IRS for you? I don't understand how they can get through when nobody else can.

This sounds too good to be true. The IRS phone lines are notoriously impossible, especially during tax season. I find it hard to believe some service can magically get through when millions of people can't. What's the catch here?

It's not that they call the IRS for you - they have a system that navigates the IRS phone tree and holds your place in line. When they reach a human agent, they connect that call to your phone. So you're talking directly to the IRS, not to a middle person. It saved me literally days of effort. Regarding skepticism, I completely understand because I felt the same way! Their system uses some algorithmic approach to optimize when and how they call based on IRS wait patterns. There's no magic - they just figured out the patterns of when calls are most likely to get through and automated the holding process. The IRS agent I spoke with was definitely a real IRS employee who provided official guidance.

What about a situation where parents are divorced? Can either parent sign or does it have to be the custodial parent? My ex keeps insisting he has to be the one to sign our son's return because he claims him as a dependent.

In a divorce situation, generally the custodial parent should sign the child's return. Being the parent who claims the child as a dependent doesn't automatically give that parent the right to sign the tax return. The IRS typically looks to the custodial parent as the one with authority to sign for the minor. If your custody arrangement gives both parents legal custody rights, either parent can technically sign. However, to avoid potential issues, it's often best if the parent who has the child the majority of the time handles this. If your ex is insisting and it's creating conflict, consider consulting your divorce decree as it might address tax matters specifically.

An emancipated minor is legally considered an adult for most purposes including taxes! Your brother should be signing his own return. If TurboTax is forcing a parent signature field, he might need to call their customer service to override that setting or consider using a different tax software. The IRS definitely recognizes his legal right to sign his own return as an emancipated minor.

This is really helpful, thanks! I'm actually in a similar situation with my 15-year-old son who just started working at a local grocery store. He's so excited about getting his first paycheck but completely overwhelmed by the idea of taxes. I love that you mentioned making it a learning opportunity - I think I'll sit down with him and go through each section of the return so he understands what's happening. It's amazing how intimidating tax filing can seem when you're new to it, but breaking it down step by step makes it much more manageable. Did your daughter find the process educational, or was she mostly just relieved to get it done?

That's such a great approach! I wish I had thought to involve my daughter more in the process when she first started working. She was mostly just relieved to get it done, but looking back, I think she would have benefited from understanding each step like you're planning to do with your son. One thing that really helped us was using the IRS's Interactive Tax Assistant online tool to double-check our understanding of the filing requirements for minors. It's free and walks you through different scenarios step by step. Your son might find it interesting to see how the system determines whether he even needs to file (spoiler: with his grocery store job, he probably does need to file to get his refund!). The excitement about that first paycheck is so real! My daughter was shocked at how much was taken out for taxes initially, but then thrilled when we explained she'd likely get most of it back. It's a great real-world lesson in how the tax system works.

This is exactly the kind of thorough explanation I was hoping to find! As someone new to this community and dealing with my first experience helping a teenager file taxes, I really appreciate how you broke down both the signature requirements and the educational aspect. I'm in a similar boat with my 17-year-old nephew who I'm raising (his parents aren't in the picture). He worked part-time at a restaurant last year and made around $3,200. Reading through this thread has been incredibly helpful - I was worried I might need special paperwork since I'm his uncle, but it sounds like since I have legal guardianship, I can sign his return just like a parent would. The part about making it a learning opportunity really resonates with me. He's been anxious about "doing taxes" because it sounds so adult and complicated, but you're right that walking through each step together would probably make it less intimidating. Plus, like your daughter, he'll probably be excited to get that refund! Thanks for taking the time to explain everything so clearly.