IRS Publication 501 — Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information
This is the passage the answer relied on, shown in the document's own words. The highlighted text is the exact excerpt quoted — extracted verbatim by the citation system, so it cannot be fabricated.
Open official source at page 3 ↗
A person who is a dependent may still have to file a return. It depends on the person’s earned income, unearned income, and gross income. For details, see Table 2. A dependent must also file if one of the situations described in Table 3 applies.
Responsibility of parent. If a dependent child must file an income tax return but can’t file due to age or any other reason, a parent, guardian, or other legally responsible person must file it for the child. If the child can’t sign the return, the parent or guardian must sign the child’s name followed by the words “By (your signature), parent for minor child.” Earned income. Earned income includes salaries, wages, professional fees, and other amounts received as pay for work you actually perform. Earned income (only for purposes of filing requirements and the standard deduction) also includes any part of a taxable scholarship. See chapter 1 of Pub. 970 for more information on taxable and nontaxable scholarships.
Child’s earnings. Amounts a child earns by performing services are included in the child’s gross income and not the gross income of the parent. This is true even if under local law the child’s parent has the right to the earnings and may actually have received them. But if the child doesn’t pay the tax due on this income, the parent is liable for the tax.
Unearned income. Unearned income includes income such as interest, dividends, and capital gains. Trust distributions of interest, dividends, capital gains, and survivor annuities are also considered unearned income.
Election to report child’s unearned income on parent’s return. You may be able to include your child’s interest and dividend income on your tax return. If you do this, your child won’t have to file a return. To make this election, all of the following conditions must be met.
• Your child was under age 19 (or under age 24 if a student) at the end of 2025. (A child born on January 1, 2007, is considered to be age 19 at the end of 2025; you can’t Publication 501 (2025) 3
Excerpt shown from a longer document — use the official source button above to read the complete publication.