For a 2025 federal return, first determine whether the child must file at all. A child who must file generally submits their own return. If the child has more than $2,700 of unearned income and meets the age, support, parent, and filing conditions, attach Form 8615 to the child’s return. A qualifying parent may instead elect to report certain interest and dividend income on the parent’s return with Form 8814, but only when every eligibility condition is met. The election can increase tax, so compare the two results before filing.
The figures and rules below are for tax year 2025. State income-tax treatment is separate, and the child’s account ownership, trust status, or other special circumstances may require additional rules.
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Identify the tax year and the filing question
Tax thresholds for children change. This guide addresses U.S. federal income-tax reporting for tax year 2025, using the 2025 Internal Revenue Service instructions for Forms 8615 and 8814. A 2025 return is generally filed in 2026, but you should use the instructions for the year shown on the return you are preparing.
There are two different questions:
- Does the child have to file a return? General filing requirements depend on the child’s total income and circumstances. Neither the $2,700 Form 8615 figure nor the $13,500 Form 8814 figure is a universal filing threshold.
- If a return is required, which reporting method applies? The child may file personally, with Form 8615 attached when its special-tax conditions are met. In a narrower set of cases, a parent can make an election on Form 8814 so the child does not file.
Use current-year IRS filing guidance for the first question. Then work through the Form 8615 and Form 8814 tests separately; satisfying one form’s conditions does not automatically satisfy the other’s.
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- Collect the child’s year-end facts. Gather all Forms 1099 and other statements, the child’s age at December 31, earned and unearned income, support information, filing status, withholding, estimated payments, and any prior-year overpayment applied under the child’s name and Social Security number.
- Determine whether the child is required to file. Apply the current-year federal filing rules to all of the child’s income and circumstances. If no return is required, neither special rule is needed unless another provision makes a return necessary.
- Test Form 8615. For 2025, the form’s special calculation applies when unearned income is more than $2,700 and every age, support, living-parent, filing, and required-return condition is met.
- Test Form 8814 independently. The child must meet the narrower age, income-type, gross-income, withholding, payment, joint-return, and parent-eligibility requirements. The parent election is optional, not automatic.
- Compare the tax before choosing. The IRS cautions that Form 8814 can produce more tax, including on qualified dividends and capital-gain distributions. Use the actual 2025 figures and forms rather than choosing solely because the child qualifies.
- Attach the correct form on time. A child filing personally attaches Form 8615 when required. A parent making the election attaches one Form 8814 for each qualifying child to the parent’s timely filed Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, or Form 1040-NR, including any extension.
When the child files: Form 8615
Form 8615 is attached to the child’s own federal return when the child is required to file and the special child-unearned-income rule applies. It calculates the tax attributable to the child’s unearned income under the parent-based computation required by the form. The rule can apply whether or not the child is claimed as a dependent.
2025 Form 8615 conditions
| Condition | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Unearned income | More than $2,700 for 2025. This is the Form 8615 trigger described in the 2025 instructions, not a general filing threshold. |
| Required return | The child must be required to file a federal return under the ordinary filing rules. |
| Age and support | The child is under 18 at year end; or is age 18 and did not have earned income exceeding half of their support; or is a full-time student age 19 through 23 and did not have earned income exceeding half of their support. |
| Living parent | At least one parent was alive at the end of the year. |
| Filing status | The child does not file a joint return. |
The detailed instructions govern special birthday situations and the support calculation. A full-time-student scholarship is excluded from support under the described rule. Keep the support records used for the calculation rather than relying on a rough estimate.
What counts as unearned income
For this rule, unearned income is broader than investment income in the everyday sense. It generally includes taxable interest; ordinary and qualified dividends; capital gains; rents and royalties; pension and annuity income; certain taxable scholarships; unemployment compensation; taxable Social Security and pension amounts; and income received as a trust beneficiary, among other items. Wages and other compensation for services are earned income and are analyzed separately in the age-and-support tests.
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A child can therefore have Form 8615 exposure even when the income did not come from a brokerage account. Classify each item from the child’s statements and the current-year instructions before deciding which form to attach.
How to prepare the child’s filing
- Prepare the child’s federal return using the child’s own name and Social Security number.
- Enter every income item, including wages, interest, dividends, gains, and other unearned amounts. Do not limit the return to the investment statement that prompted the question.
- Complete Form 8615 when the $2,700 and all other conditions apply. Follow the form’s requests for the child’s parent information and the parent’s tax data.
- Attach Form 8615 to the child’s return and include any other schedules required by the income, such as investment-income schedules.
- Retain statements, support records, and the parent information used in the computation with the child’s tax records.
If the child is required to file but does not meet every Form 8615 condition, file the return without Form 8615 unless another rule requires a different attachment. The filing obligation and the special tax calculation are separate determinations.
When a parent elects: Form 8814
Form 8814 lets an eligible parent elect to report a child’s qualifying income on the parent’s return. It is not a general assignment of the child’s income. The election covers only the categories and amounts allowed by the 2025 instructions, and all conditions must be satisfied for that child.
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2025 eligibility checklist
| Requirement | 2025 rule |
|---|---|
| Age at year end | The child was under 19, or under 24 if a full-time student. |
| Income types | The child had only interest, ordinary dividends, capital-gain distributions, and Alaska Permanent Fund dividends in the categories permitted by the form. Wages, rents, royalties, and other nonqualifying income prevent this route. |
| Gross income | Less than $13,500. Exactly $13,500 does not satisfy a “less than” condition. |
| Required filing absent election | The child would have been required to file a return without the parent election. |
| Joint return | The child does not file a joint return. |
| Payments and credits | No estimated tax payments and no prior-year overpayment were applied under the child’s name and Social Security number. |
| Withholding | No federal income tax was withheld under the specified backup-withholding rules described in the instructions. |
| Parent eligibility | The parent making the election must be the parent designated by the family’s filing, marital, custody, and taxable-income circumstances. |
The form’s computation also identifies amounts of $1,350 and below that are not taxed when the election is used, subject to the form’s calculation. Do not treat that figure as a separate filing threshold or as permission to omit income from the form.
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Which income can be included
Review every item before electing. Qualifying interest and dividend categories can include capital-gain distributions and Alaska Permanent Fund dividends when the instructions’ requirements are met. The election does not move the child’s wages, rents, royalties, pension income, unemployment compensation, trust income, or other nonlisted amounts to the parent’s return. If the child has even one nonqualifying category, the Form 8814 route may be unavailable.
Which parent may make the election
Family circumstances determine the eligible parent:
- Married parents filing jointly use their joint return.
- When married parents file separately, the instructions generally identify the parent with greater taxable income.
- In specified unmarried, separated, or divorced-parent situations, the custodial parent may qualify, subject to the detailed rules and possible effects of remarriage.
- When parents lived together but were not married, the instructions generally make the parent with greater taxable income the eligible parent.
These are not substitutes for the full 2025 instructions. Custody changes, remarriage, and unusual living arrangements can alter the result.
How to make the election
- Confirm that the child would otherwise have to file and that every Form 8814 condition is met.
- Complete a separate Form 8814 for each child. Do not combine several children on one form.
- Use the qualifying interest, dividend, capital-gain-distribution, and Alaska Permanent Fund dividend amounts requested by the form. Keep the underlying statements in case the return is questioned.
- Attach each completed Form 8814 to the eligible parent’s Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, or Form 1040-NR.
- File the parent’s return by its due date, including any valid extension. A valid election means the child does not file a separate federal return under this route.
Form 8615 versus Form 8814
The following comparison highlights the decision points without treating either method as automatically preferable.
| Question | Child return with Form 8615 | Parent election with Form 8814 |
|---|---|---|
| Who files? | The child files their own return. | The qualifying parent reports the child’s permitted income on the parent’s return. |
| Income scope | Unearned income broadly, including many categories beyond investments. | Only the interest and dividend categories and related distributions allowed by the form. |
| Key 2025 amount | More than $2,700 of unearned income, plus all other Form 8615 conditions. | Gross income less than $13,500, plus all other Form 8814 conditions. |
| Age rule | Under 18, or certain 18-year-olds, or full-time students ages 19–23 under the support test. | Under 19, or under 24 if a full-time student. |
| Parent status | At least one parent must be alive at year end. | A parent must qualify under the election’s marital, filing, custody, and taxable-income rules. |
| Tax result | Calculated on the child’s return under Form 8615 when applicable. | May increase the parent’s tax, including tax on qualified dividends and capital-gain distributions. |
Compare the tax result before electing
Eligibility answers whether Form 8814 is available; it does not answer whether it is advantageous. The IRS specifically warns that reporting the child’s income on the parent’s return may produce higher tax. The effect can be material when the child has qualified dividends or capital-gain distributions, because the parent’s return may apply the parent’s marginal circumstances to the elected amounts.
Prepare both permissible routes when the numbers are close:
- For the child route, calculate the child’s complete return and Form 8615, if required.
- For the parent route, calculate the parent’s return with Form 8814 attached and include the form’s additional tax amounts.
- Compare total federal tax, not just the tax shown on the child’s return. Consider whether withholding, estimated payments, credits, or other return items change the household result.
- Keep the calculation supporting the choice. A software result is useful only if the software supports the 2025 forms and the entries accurately reflect the child’s income.
Do not choose Form 8814 simply to avoid preparing a separate child return, and do not attach Form 8615 merely because the child has an investment account. The forms respond to different facts.
Common mistakes and how to correct them
Using the wrong year’s thresholds
The $2,700 and less-than-$13,500 figures here are 2025 figures. Replace them with the amounts in the instructions for another tax year. A threshold from an older return cannot be carried forward automatically.
Treating a threshold as a filing rule
More than $2,700 is the Form 8615 unearned-income condition described here, not a universal rule that a child below that amount never files. Likewise, less than $13,500 is one Form 8814 condition, not a general exemption from filing.
Including nonqualifying income on Form 8814
Wages, rents, royalties, and other unlisted income cannot be moved to the parent merely because the child’s interest and dividends are small. Recheck all Forms 1099 and other statements before making the election.
Missing the strict “less than” test
Gross income of exactly $13,500 does not meet the Form 8814 limit. Use the amount calculated under the form and confirm the wording in the current instructions.
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Ignoring payment or withholding history
An estimated payment or prior-year overpayment applied under the child’s name and Social Security number can disqualify the election. Specified federal backup withholding can also disqualify it. Check payment records, not only the year-end income statements.
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Separate returns, custody, remarriage, and cohabitation can change which parent is eligible. Resolve that question before attaching the form; an otherwise complete Form 8814 is not valid if the electing parent does not qualify.
Forgetting the child’s joint-return restriction
Neither route described here applies in the same way when the child files jointly. Confirm filing status before completing either form.
Assuming a valid election always lowers tax
The parent election can increase federal tax. Run the comparison with the actual 2025 income rather than relying on convenience or a presumed household-rate benefit.
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Interest above the Form 8615 amount
A 17-year-old has taxable interest exceeding $2,700 and no wages. The family must first determine whether the child is required to file. If so, the age, support, living-parent, and non-joint-return conditions must be checked; when all are satisfied, the child files and attaches Form 8615. The family should still test Form 8814 only if the child’s income consists solely of qualifying categories and every election condition is met.
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A 16-year-old has only dividends and capital-gain distributions, gross income below $13,500, no estimated payments, no prior-year overpayment, and no disqualifying withholding. If the parent also qualifies, Form 8814 may be available. The parent should compare that return with a child-filed return before electing.
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Mixed income
A 18-year-old has interest, wages, and a small rental payment. The mixed categories prevent treating the entire amount as Form 8814 income. The family must determine the child’s filing obligation and report each item on the child’s return; Form 8615 is added only if its own conditions are met.
Full-time student support test
A 20-year-old full-time student may fall within the Form 8615 age range if earned income did not exceed half of support. The support calculation must follow the instructions, and a qualifying full-time-student scholarship is excluded from support under the stated rule. Age alone does not decide the result.
Records to keep
- Brokerage, bank, fund, and payer statements showing interest, dividends, distributions, and withholding.
- Records of wages and other earned income used in the support test.
- Documentation of housing, food, education, medical, transportation, and other support amounts when the age test requires a support calculation.
- Proof of full-time-student status and scholarship amounts.
- Evidence of estimated payments, prior-year overpayments, and any federal backup withholding.
- A copy of the child’s return, Form 8615 or Form 8814, and the parent return to which the form was attached.
Keep records for the period required for the return under ordinary federal tax-record rules. The forms’ calculations can depend on facts that do not appear on a brokerage statement.
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Federal rules do not settle state reporting
This guide addresses federal income tax only. States may use different filing thresholds, child-income rules, parent elections, definitions, or attachment requirements. Before filing a state return, check the tax authority for the child’s state of residence and any state where the income is sourced. Do not assume that a federal Form 8814 election transfers automatically to a state return.
When professional help is appropriate
Consider a tax professional when the child has trust income, a custodial account with unclear ownership, substantial capital gains, multiple states, divorced or remarried parents, unusual support arrangements, or withholding that may disqualify Form 8814. Those facts can affect ownership, filing status, parent eligibility, or state treatment beyond the two federal form summaries here.
Quick Recap
Final filing checklist
- Write down the tax year and use that year’s IRS instructions.
- Determine whether the child must file under the ordinary federal rules.
- Classify every income item as earned or unearned and identify non-investment income.
- Run every Form 8615 condition, including the age/support, living-parent, and joint-return tests.
- Run every Form 8814 condition, including the strict gross-income limit, permitted income categories, payment and withholding restrictions, and parent eligibility.
- Calculate the tax under each available route and account for the IRS warning that Form 8814 may increase tax.
- Attach the selected form correctly and file by the applicable due date, including extensions.
- Handle the state return separately.
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