My form keeps asking me to fill out Line 6 on the 8615 form and I do not have this form. What do I do?

[RayW7]

IRS form 8615 is Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income.

Line 6- Enter the parent’s taxable income from Form 1040 or 1040-NR, line 15. If zero or less, enter -0-. If the parent files Form 2555, see the instructions

If you do not have Unearned Income then you can delete this form:

"Unearned income" is income gained from a source other than employment, work, or other business activity. Money from work, by contrast, is "earned income." Unearned income includes all forms of investment income, including interest, dividends, most rent and royalty income. It also includes capital gains—the profit you make when you sell something for more than what you paid for it.

Who must file the form?

For 2020, a child must file Form 8615 if all of the following conditions apply:

• The child has more than $2,200 in unearned income
• The child is required to file a tax return
• The child does not file a joint tax return with a spouse
• At least one of the child's parents is alive
• The child is within certain age limits

For tax purposes, the child's "age" is the age on December 31. The child must file the form if any of these conditions apply:

• The child is under 18 at the end of the year
• The child is 18 years old and does not have earned income that is more than half of the child's support for the year, or
• The child was a full-time student age 19-23 and does not have earned income that is more than half of the child's support

Treatment of unearned income

In general, in 2020 the first $1,100 worth of a child's unearned income is tax-free. The next $1,100 is taxed at the child's income tax rate for 2020. Anything above $2,200, however, is taxed at the rate that applies to trusts and estates, which usually is higher than the child's rate. This tax treatment has gained a nickname: the "kiddie tax." Calculating how much tax applies to the child's income is the purpose of Form 8615.

Information on the form

When filing the form, you must provide the child's name and Social Security Number (SSN) and the name and Social Security Number of a parent, as well as which filing status the parent is using, such as single, joint or married filing separately. The form has three parts:

• Part I identifies the child's unearned income and how much of it is subject to the kiddie tax
• Part II calculates the kiddie tax

[Surfing123]

I am having the same issue.  I delete this form and it comes back.  I looked through the review questions and he has no unearned income over $2200.  So by definition, my child does not need to file this form.  Is this a bug in TurboTax where  your child reports any INT - like $6 - the program automatically assumes this must be over $2200?

[JamesG1]

The form is being deleted and is immediately re-generated because of the answers to TurboTax's questions about this form.

This TurboTax Help explains who must file IRS form 8615:  Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income.

For 2020, a child must file Form 8615 if all of the following conditions apply:

• The child has more than $2,200 in unearned income
• The child is required to file a tax return
• The child does not file a joint tax return with a spouse
• At least one of the child's parents is alive
• The child is within certain age limits

For tax purposes, the child's "age" is the age on December 31. The child must file the form if any of these conditions apply:

• The child is under 18 at the end of the year
• The child is 18 years old and does not have earned income that is more than half of the child's support for the year, or
• The child was a full-time student age 19-23 and does not have earned income that is more than half of the child's support

In addition, the IRS defines unearned income as: 

• Interest, dividend, or investment income,
• Retirement or Social Security income,
• Alimony or child support,
• Unemployment or worker's compensation,
• Gifts, prizes, awards, or winnings,
• Inheritances,
• Income received while incarcerated, even if it involves active work.

[Fantaki1]

Form 8615 is asking for information about my other children capital gain and qualified dividends.  The step-by-step did not ask any of these questions, and did not find any errors!!   Do I calculate and complete this section on my own?  Or leave it blank?   Does it affect tax due?   

Shouldn't TurboTax link my minor children tax return to my tax return, and to each other, to transfer this information from one return to another?  Or at least provide clear instructions or other help/support for this form?

[Fischer]

Did you ever get this resolved? I am having the same issue - it is putting my earned income from my 1099NEC on this form and it won't let me delete it.

[MaryM428]

Form 8615 appears after you have answered the question:

"did you support yourself in 2020?"
 

if you answer YES. The form will not appear because you supported yourself.
 

If you answer NO. The government will assume that you were living under the care of a parent and/or guardian. that being said, the government requires you to file at their income tax rate because their income also helped you.

Form 8615 must be filed for any child who meets all of the following conditions. c. Was a full-time student at least age 19 and under age 24 at the end of 2020 and didn't have earned income that was more than half of the child's support.

[susannekant]

How do you go back to update the answer that is causing the problem?

[KathrynG3]

Start by returning to your personal information. In TurboTax Online, this is from the left menu, under My Info.

Click Edit next to your name and scroll to 3. A few other things we need to know.

Second, to delete Form 8615, follow these steps:

• From the left menu, select Tax Tools.
• Select Tools.
• Scroll to Delete a Form.
• Scroll to Form 8615 and select Delete and Delete Selected Form and Continue.
• Scroll to the bottom of the next window and select Continue With My Return.

For more information, see: 

What is the 2020 Kiddie Tax?

What is IRS Form 8615: Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income - TurboTax Tax Tips & Video...

@susannekant

[isamom1982]

@Fantaki1  - Did you ever get an answer to your question?  I am having exactly the same on.  TT only asks to fill in the parents taxable income (Form 8615, line 6).  But I was curious and scrolled through that form and it seems that there are more things that might have to be filled-in - like the lines 5 from "other children" forms 8615, as you mention. Turbotax does not ask to fill that in and it seems to remain black - even when we have other children with form 8615

Is that information irrelevant/make no diffrence - including to the IRS?  Or is this a programming oversight?

Maybe @RayW7 or @KathrynG3 know...?

[CarissaM]

@isamom1982 You are commenting on an old thread. Which version of the software are you using? You may want to give us a call by phone by following the instructions here , to help you get a faster resolution. 

[isamom1982]

2021 Home & Business - still has the same issue.  One needs to go into Form View, calculate manually using the IRS Instructions and then enter the numbers.  It will likely yield a different tax from what TT is proposing if  qualified dividends are involved.