Do I have to file taxes as a minor earning under $12k? Questions about UTMA accounts too

At your income level, you probably don't have a federal filing requirement, but there are some important things to consider. If you're making less than $12,950 (2025 standard deduction for single filers), you generally don't need to file a federal tax return unless you have self-employment income over $400 or want to claim a refund for withheld taxes. But don't forget to check your state's requirements too - some states have lower thresholds! Regarding the UTMA account - yes, it is taxable. Since you're a minor, any income (interest, dividends, capital gains) from the UTMA is typically reported on your tax return, not your parents'. This is called "kiddie tax" and there are special rules. The first $1,150 of unearned income is tax-free, the next $1,150 is taxed at your rate (probably 10%), and anything above $2,300 is taxed at your parents' rate. For government assistance programs, most look at household income, but many don't count assets in a UTMA as household income since it legally belongs to you with restrictions. However, different programs have different rules, so you should check the specific programs your family uses.

After dealing with similar tax questions for my teenager, I found this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that saved us so much confusion. My kid started working at 17 and had an investment account from grandparents, and we were totally lost about filing requirements. The site analyzed our situation and explained exactly what we needed to do about both the W-2 income and the investment account. It specifically addressed the kiddie tax rules for the UTMA and showed us how to handle it properly without messing up our benefits eligibility. They have this really cool feature where you can upload documents and get personalized guidance instead of generic advice that might not apply to your situation.

I was super skeptical about taxr.ai but actually tried it after posting here. Wow, I was impressed! It specifically addressed my concerns about my younger sister's UTMA and how it interacts with our family's housing assistance. The tool explained that for most assistance programs, the UTMA isn't counted as household income since it's legally your money (even though you can't touch it yet). It also showed exactly which forms we needed for the small amount of dividend income and gave us language to use if we needed to explain the situation to our benefits caseworker. Saved us from making a mistake that could have affected our benefits. Definitely worth checking out if you're in a similar situation with government assistance.

If you're struggling to get answers about how your UTMA might affect government benefits, good luck calling the IRS directly - I spent WEEKS trying! Then someone recommended Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and I was honestly shocked when they got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed that my son's UTMA investment income needed to be reported on his return, not mine, and explained exactly how that worked with our housing assistance. Saved me so much stress since the local office kept giving us conflicting information. It's especially helpful for complicated situations like yours where you need specific answers about government benefits and tax interactions.

I take back what I said. I was the biggest skeptic about Claimyr but decided to try it yesterday out of desperation. I ACTUALLY got through to the IRS after trying for months on my own! The agent walked me through exactly how my daughter's part-time income and small investment account should be handled with our family's SNAP benefits. Turns out I was overthinking it - since she's under 18, her earned income doesn't count against our household total for SNAP as long as she's a student (which I never knew). For anyone else struggling with tax questions that affect government benefits, being able to actually TALK to someone who knows the rules is game-changing. No more getting different answers from every website I check.

As someone who works with low-income families, I wanted to add some clarity about UTMA accounts and benefits: 1) TANF (cash assistance) - Most states don't count a child's UTMA as household assets if the child is a minor AND the parent/guardian can prove they don't have access to the funds. 2) SNAP (food stamps) - Generally doesn't count UTMA assets against the household if they're inaccessible to the adults. 3) Medicaid - Rules vary by state, but most don't count restricted assets like UTMAs for eligibility. The most important thing is disclosure. Always report the account exists, then provide documentation showing it's restricted. Much better than having benefits terminated later for non-disclosure!

Just wanted to share my experience as a 17yo with a part-time job and a UTMA. My grandma set up a UTMA for me when I was 10. For the job income: I made about $8k last year but still filed taxes to get back the money withheld from my checks (got like $400 back!) For the UTMA: It earned about $300 in dividends and interest. My parents accountant said I didn't technically need to file for that since it was under $1,150, but we did anyway just to keep everything proper. The most important thing was documentation. We gave our HUD housing office copies showing it was a restricted account that nobody could touch until I turn 21. They wrote in their notes that it doesn't count toward our household income/assets.