high school student & income taxes

[tyniknate]

Totally off topic, but I thought someone here would certainly know the answer.

My son is in high school and worked at summer camp for 7 weeks. He earned less than $100 per week, so that makes about $700 in earnings. He has also cashed in about $700 worth of savings bonds this year.

What is the maximum he can make/earn in interrest before he has to file income taxes? I've googled and googled but I've not found a difinitive answer. Thanks so much for your help!

 

[phred52]

Well, last year I claimed my DD as a deduction on my taxes.

She had earned a little $ at a job and had taxes withheld from the paychecks.

When she filed federal taxes, she took a 'basic standard deduction' which is DIFFERENT than what you generally think of because she was a dependent on someone else's (my) taxes. So her deduction was $1065.

I have no idea how cashing in savings bonds work, how much of the proceeds are taxed. I would think the earnings alone are taxed not the original amount spent to purchase them....That amount would have to be figured out and added to his earned income to figure out the dollar amount to be taxed. Hopefully it is below the basic standard deduction .......

 

[phred52]

My DD filed to get back what was withheld... otherwise she wouldn't have needed to file.

We use H & R Block at Home .... a computer program. VERY easy to plug in the numbers.

 

[timmac]

Fair warning, I'm not a tax professional.

He's certain well below even the standard deduction amount, so he has no federal tax liability, and basically doesn't *have* to file. However, if any federal tax was withheld at all, it would be to his advantage to file to get that amount refunded.

 

[kamik86]

when I was in high school and college I filed becuase I had money withheld. In high school and the first year of college I had 0 tax liability though so the only reason to file was to get my money back. (My parents still claimed me).

Later in college when I had co-ops jobs that paid better I did owe, I wouldn't have if I was on my own but my parents still claimed me. The reason for this was that if they claimed me between getting to deduct what they paid for college for me and the child stuff they would get several hundred dollars more back, way more then my total tax liability. So my mom figured her taxes out both with and without me and gave me half the difference, this way we both made out by having her claim me.

 

[njmom47]

Dd1 only earned $800something dollars last year, and we filed income taxes for her. She got less than $100 back but she did get something.

 

[Eeyore98]

Totally off topic, but I thought someone here would certainly know the answer.

My son is in high school and worked at summer camp for 7 weeks. He earned less than $100 per week, so that makes about $700 in earnings. He has also cashed in about $700 worth of savings bonds this year.

What is the maximum he can make/earn in interrest before he has to file income taxes? I've googled and googled but I've not found a difinitive answer. Thanks so much for your help!

I think (not 100% sure) you can earn $600 in a year before you have to file. But if anything was withheld from the summer camp earnings, he'd want to file anyway to be able to get that back.

 

[stitch and co]

Had to look this up for both of my teenagers. In the 2010 form 1040 instructions, if you are filing single and under 65 you have to file a return if you have gross income of at least $9,350 (gross income on a tax form is usually wages plus any taxable interest). If you go to the IRS website and look under forms and publications you can pull up a PDF of the form 1040 instructions.

If he had any tax withheld, he should file to get the amount withheld back since it looks like he is well below $9,350.

 

[timmac]

I think (not 100% sure) you can earn $600 in a year before you have to file. But if anything was withheld from the summer camp earnings, he'd want to file anyway to be able to get that back.

More specifically, I believe it's that amounts less than $600 don't have to be reported to the IRS (by employer or employee).

 

[mommy2mygirls]

Tax professional here.

It all depends on how much interest he earned. The rule for if a dependent has to file is if any of the following are true:

1) His unearned income was greater than $950 (this is his interest amount).
2) His earned income was greater than $5,700 (it wasn't, it was only $700).
3) His GROSS income was more than the larger of:
a) $950 or
b) His earned income plus $300 (which in his case would be $1,000).

So in his situation, it works out that he needs to file if his interest was over $300.

However, like many other people said here, even if his interest was under $300, if he had any federal tax withheld from the summer camp, he should file in order to get that money back.

These are the 2010 numbers. I'm not sure what the 2011 numbers will be yet, but probably the same if not very similar.

I hope this helps! If you have any other questions, let me know.

 

[mbf]

Is he 18 yet? I thought kids were not required to pay any income taxes until they are the age of 18 (the year they turn that age). That is what an accountant friend told me.

However, if he had taxes taken out of his camp check (and it may not have been enough to do so) then he probably will get a refund of whatever he paid (not sure on the savings bond thing). Also, if he is a senior and you will be filing FAFSA after the first of the year then you will probably need him to file taxes for that purpose. (just guessing on that though)

 

[SondraC]

Is he 18 yet? I thought kids were not required to pay any income taxes until they are the age of 18 (the year they turn that age). That is what an accountant friend told me.

However, if he had taxes taken out of his camp check (and it may not have been enough to do so) then he probably will get a refund of whatever he paid (not sure on the savings bond thing). Also, if he is a senior and you will be filing FAFSA after the first of the year then you will probably need him to file taxes for that purpose. (just guessing on that though)

I wonder if this is true? I'm thinking about child actors and singers that earn millions per year, and not have to pay any income taxes?

 

[Acklander]

I wonder if this is true? I'm thinking about child actors and singers that earn millions per year, and not have to pay any income taxes?

The need to file taxes is based on income, not age.

 

[tyniknate]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I think he will need to file based on what the breakdown says. I don't think the return will even be enough to cover what it will cost to file, though. I would do it myself for him, but with the savings bonds....I don't know how to do it. Can he still do a 1040EZ?

 

[kamik86]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I think he will need to file based on what the breakdown says. I don't think the return will even be enough to cover what it will cost to file, though. I would do it myself for him, but with the savings bonds....I don't know how to do it. Can he still do a 1040EZ?

I'm not sure the exact rules for the EZ but it is on the form I believe. That is what I did the first few years. Its very simple he can probably do it himself. We were taught how to do them my junior year of high school.

 

[scrapquitler]

Totally off topic, but I thought someone here would certainly know the answer.

My son is in high school and worked at summer camp for 7 weeks. He earned less than $100 per week, so that makes about $700 in earnings. He has also cashed in about $700 worth of savings bonds this year.

What is the maximum he can make/earn in interrest before he has to file income taxes? I've googled and googled but I've not found a difinitive answer. Thanks so much for your help!

If they withheld anything at all, he has to file to get it back as a refund.

 

[mommy2mygirls]

Yes, he can file a form 1040EZ. It should be pretty simple since all he has is the one source of income and one source of interest. If you aren't comfortable doing the forms by hand, I believe TurboTax and maybe H&R Block has free software you can use for simple returns. There is also an option on the IRS.gov website called freefile which you should be able to use for free to prepare his taxes. Nothing is available yet because it's too early, but check those sites and you should be able to find something for free come tax time.

 

[tyniknate]

Thank you! Poor kid worked 16 hour days at camp and paid federal taxes out of what little he received. Don't get me wrong, he loves working there and will be back again this summer. It's a great experience.

One more question, if you don't mind. He worked at camp in 2010 also and paid federal taxes. Is there any way he can get that money back, or are we out of luck? It's not a huge amount, but to a 16 yr old it all adds up.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Straitlover]

Yes, he can file an amended 2010 return. The form is on the IRS website.

EDIT: well, since he didn't file originally, amended is not the way to go. I do believe he can still file a regular 2010 form past the original due date, though, since he was not required to do one.

 

[mommy2mygirls]

Straitlover is correct. He can file a 2010 return to get that money back. Even though it's "late" there are no penalties or anything since he was never required to file in the first place. Just file a regular 2010 1040EZ. I'm not sure what state you're in, but if you're in one that has state income taxes (if any were withheld), make sure he files his state tax return too to get that money back!