- 1). Determine if your child needs to file a return. Use the Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents in Publication 929, Tax Rules for Children and Dependents, to determine your child's standard deduction. Your child is not required to file if her total income is below her standard deduction. In 2009, this could be as little as $950 or as much as $5,700.
- 2). Calculate your child's gross income. Generally, this would be the total of your child's earned and unearned income reported on his W-2s, 1099s and other tax forms.
- 3). Determine if your child has any adjustments to gross income. Most children will not have any. For information on adjustments, refer to the Form 1040 instructions.
- 4). Subtract your child's standard deduction as calculated in Step 1 from the adjusted gross income. This is your child's taxable income. If your child only has earned income and or her investment income is less than $1,900 in 2009, use the tax tables provided in the 1040 instructions to determine her tax liability.
Any investment income your child received in excess of $1,900 for 2009 will be taxed at your marginal tax rate. This is commonly referred to as Kiddie Tax.
Use the calculations to fill out Form 1040. - 5). Have you child sign the return if you will be mailing in a paper form. If your child is too young to sign, sign his name followed with the word "by" and your signature, indicating parent or guardian for minor child.
- 6). Mail the return to your regional IRS center. If electronically filing, follow the instructions provided by your e-file provider to submit the return to the IRS.
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