Do I Need to File Taxes for My Children? Common Questions About Kids and Taxes
Hello tax people of Reddit! I'm a bit confused about filing requirements for my kids this year. My daughter (16) made about $6,800 working part-time at a local restaurant last summer and during school breaks. She got a W-2 and everything. My son (14) mows lawns and did some babysitting for neighbors, bringing in roughly $2,300 in cash last year. I've never had to deal with this before since they've never earned this much. Do they need to file their own tax returns? Can I still claim them as dependents on my taxes? I'm especially confused about my son's situation since he was paid in cash and didn't get any official tax forms. Also, if they do need to file, how exactly does that work? Do I file for them as a parent or do they need to do it themselves? Any advice would be super helpful as I'm trying to get organized before the April deadline!
18 comments
Join the conversation
Cass Green
Yes, you absolutely can still claim your children as dependents on your tax return as long as they meet the qualifying criteria (which it sounds like they do if they're living with you and you're providing more than half their support). For your daughter, since she earned $6,800, she will need to file her own return. The filing threshold for dependents with earned income is $12,950 for 2024 filing year (2025 filing season), BUT if any income tax was withheld from her paychecks (check her W-2), she should file to get that refunded. It's also good practice for her to learn how taxes work. For your son with the $2,300 cash income, technically this is self-employment income. If it's above $400, he needs to file a return because of self-employment tax requirements, even though he's below the standard filing threshold. He would use Schedule C to report his lawn mowing/babysitting business income.
0 coins
Finley Garrett
•Thanks for the explanation. So if my kids file their own returns, do they check the box that says "Someone can claim you as a dependent"? Also, how does my son report cash income when he doesn't have any documentation? Will this affect my tax return at all?
0 coins
Cass Green
•Yes, they would need to check the box that says "Someone can claim you as a dependent" on their tax returns. This ensures the IRS knows they're not claiming themselves as their own exemption. For your son's cash income, he doesn't need documentation from the people who paid him to file his taxes. He should keep his own records of what he earned (dates, amounts, who paid him). He'll report this income on Schedule C as self-employment income. His filing doesn't affect your return directly, but it's important that your returns are consistent – you claiming them as dependents and them indicating they can be claimed.
0 coins
Madison Tipne
I was in a similar situation last year with my teenager who started working. What saved me tons of headaches was using https://taxr.ai to analyze all our documents. It automatically identified that my son needed to file but confirmed I could still claim him as a dependent. The system even flagged potential education credits we qualified for because he was taking dual enrollment classes. The best part was that it simplified everything by explaining exactly what forms we needed and gave us personalized guidance for our situation. Much better than the generic advice I was finding elsewhere that kept confusing me more.
0 coins
Holly Lascelles
•How does it work with the cash income situation though? My daughter does pet sitting and I have no idea how to report that properly.
0 coins
Malia Ponder
•I've seen lots of these "AI tax" services popping up. Did it actually save you any money compared to just using TurboTax or something? And is it secure to upload all your tax docs to some random website?
0 coins
Madison Tipne
•For cash income like pet sitting, it actually walked me through creating a simple income log that satisfies IRS requirements. It explained that even without formal documentation, you just need consistent personal records of when and how much was earned. Super helpful for my son's referee gig that was all cash payments. Regarding savings, it saved me more than the cost because it identified a credit I would have missed. And on security, they use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after analysis. I was skeptical too at first, but their privacy policy was actually stricter than the major tax prep companies I've used.
0 coins
Malia Ponder
Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai based on the recommendation here. I was honestly surprised how helpful it was with my kids' tax situation. The document analysis caught that my daughter qualified for a partial education credit I would have completely missed since she's taking some community college classes. What I found most useful was the clear explanation of dependent filing requirements that was specific to our situation rather than generic guidelines. It explained exactly when my kids need to file their own returns while still being claimed as dependents on mine. The personalized checklist it created saved me hours of research!
0 coins
Kyle Wallace
If you're struggling to get clear answers about your kids' taxes, I had to call the IRS directly for a similar situation last year. Waited on hold for LITERALLY 3 hours before giving up multiple times. Finally used https://claimyr.com and got through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They called the IRS, navigated the phone tree, waited on hold, and then called me when an agent was on the line. The agent confirmed that my kids could file their own returns but I could still claim them as dependents as long as I provided more than 50% of their support. Also clarified some questions about my son's cash-only lawn mowing business.
0 coins
Ryder Ross
•Wait, so you pay a service to wait on hold for you? How does that even work? Couldn't you just put your phone on speaker and do something else while waiting?
0 coins
Gianni Serpent
•This sounds like BS. No way they can get through faster than a regular person. The IRS treats all callers the same and everyone waits in the same queue. Sounds like a scam to me.
0 coins
Kyle Wallace
•The service connects you directly when an IRS agent is already on the line. You don't have to keep your phone tied up or check it constantly - you just get a call when they've reached a human. I tried the speaker phone approach first but kept missing them when they finally answered after 2+ hours because I had to go do other things. They don't claim to have a "faster line" or anything like that. They just have systems that wait on hold for you, then call you when a human answers. For me, not having to block out an entire afternoon just to maybe reach the IRS was totally worth it. Plus, the IRS agent I got was super helpful with my specific dependent filing questions.
0 coins
Gianni Serpent
I have to eat my words. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr anyway since I've been trying to reach the IRS for three weeks about my kids' filing status with no luck. It actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back about 40 minutes later with an IRS agent already on the line. The agent confirmed that my son's scholarship money wasn't taxable as long as it was used for qualified education expenses, and that I could still claim him while he files his own return for his part-time job. I don't usually admit when I'm wrong on Reddit, but this seriously saved me hours of frustration and I got the answers I needed directly from the IRS instead of guessing.
0 coins
Henry Delgado
One thing that hasn't been mentioned - if your kids are filing, this is the perfect opportunity to open Roth IRAs for them! My 16-year-old made about $5,000 last year, and we put $3,000 of it in a Roth IRA. Since they're in such a low tax bracket now, it's amazing for long-term growth, and they can always take out the contributions penalty-free if needed for college.
0 coins
Miranda Singer
•That's a really interesting idea I hadn't considered! Can you really open a retirement account for a minor? And does it matter that they don't make that much?
0 coins
Henry Delgado
•You absolutely can open a retirement account for a minor, but it will need to be a custodial Roth IRA that you manage until they turn 18. The only requirement is that they have earned income - they can contribute up to 100% of their earned income with a max of $6,500 for 2024. The beauty of starting so young is the power of compound interest. Even small contributions now can grow tremendously by retirement age. My daughter's $3,000 contribution could potentially grow to over $100,000 by retirement age without adding another penny. Plus, it's teaching her about investing early.
0 coins
Olivia Kay
Dont forget about the kiddie tax if your children have substantial unearned income (like interest or dividends over $2,300). This can get complicated since it might get taxed at the parents' rate. My daughter had some investments from her grandparents that triggered this and it was a nightmare to figure out!
0 coins
Joshua Hellan
•The kiddie tax mainly applies to investment income though, not earned income from jobs. Since OP's kids have earned income from working, they should be fine as long as they don't also have significant investment income.
0 coins