2024 Kiddie Tax Threshold
For 2024, the Kiddie Tax Threshold figures are $1,300 (Unearned income reduction amount) and $2,600 (Unearned income filing trigger).
Effective 2024-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2023-34 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Unearned income filing triggerSource: 2024 Instructions for Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Compared with 2023
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unearned income reduction amount | $1,250 | $1,300 | +$50 (+4.0%) |
| Unearned income filing trigger | $2,500 | $2,600 | +$100 (+4.0%) |
Who it applies to
Children with unearned income and their parents
What changed this year, and why
For 2024, the IRS set the unearned income threshold for the Kiddie Tax at $1,300. This amount reduces the net unearned income on a child's tax return that is taxed at the parents' rates.
Common questions
- What is the Kiddie Tax?
- The Kiddie Tax is a rule that taxes a child's unearned income above a threshold at the parents' tax rates rather than the child's own rates.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Kiddie tax threshold headroom takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
The five conditions, and the three age tests
A child must file Form 8615 for 2024 only when five conditions are all satisfied. First, the child's unearned income must exceed $2,600. Second, the child must be required to file a tax return at all. Third, the child must meet one of three age tests: either the child was under age 18 at the end of 2024; or the child was age 18 and did not have earned income exceeding half of the child's support; or the child was a full-time student at least age 19 and under age 24 and did not have earned income exceeding half of the child's support. Fourth, at least one parent must have been alive at the end of 2024. Fifth, the child must not file a joint return for the year. The term "child" for these rules includes a legally adopted child and a stepchild, and the rules apply whether or not the child is claimed as a dependent. If neither parent was living at the close of the year, the rules do not apply regardless of the other conditions.
Form 8615 must be filed for any child who meets all of the following conditions. 1. The child had more than $2,600 of unearned income. 2. The child is required to file a tax return. 3. The child either: a. Was under age 18 at the end of 2024, b. Was age 18 at the end of 2024 and didn’t have earned income that was more than half of the child's support, or c. Was a full-time student at least age 19 and under age 24 at the end of 2024 and didn’t have earned income that was more than half of the child's support. (Earned income is defined later. Support is defined below.) 4. At least one of the child's parents was alive at the end of 2024. 5. The child doesn’t file a joint return for 2024.
2024 Instructions for Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (IRS)
What counts as unearned income
For the 2024 Kiddie Tax, the IRS defines unearned income as essentially any income a child receives that is not pay for work performed. In other words, it is all income other than salaries, wages, and similar amounts received as earned income. The definition covers a broad range of sources: taxable interest, dividends, capital gains (including capital gain distributions), rents, royalties, pension and annuity income, taxable scholarship and fellowship grants not reported on Form W-2, unemployment compensation, alimony, the taxable portion of Social Security and pension payments, and income (other than earned income) received as the beneficiary of a trust. If a child's unearned income exceeds $2,600, the amount over the $1,300 reduction is taxed at the parent's rate when that rate is higher than the child's own rate. Earnings from a job the child actually worked remain earned income and are not subject to the Kiddie Tax calculation on Form 8615.
Unearned income is generally all income other than salaries, wages, and other amounts received as pay for work actually performed (earned income). It includes taxable interest, dividends, capital gains (including capital gain distributions), rents, royalties, pension and annuity income, taxable scholarship and fellowship grants not reported on Form W-2, unemployment compensation, alimony, the taxable part of social security and pension payments, and income (other than earned income) received as the beneficiary of a trust.
2024 Instructions for Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (IRS)
The support test that decides whether an older child is caught
For the federal Kiddie Tax in 2024, children who are 18, or who are full-time students aged 19 to 23, are only caught by the tax if they did not have earned income that was more than half of their support. This support test determines whether an older child is subject to the special tax rules for unearned income. Support includes all amounts spent to provide the child with food, lodging, clothing, education, medical and dental care, recreation, transportation, and similar necessities. To figure the child's total support, you count support provided by the parent, the child, and others. However, a scholarship received by a child who is a full-time student is not considered support. If the child's earned income exceeded half of their total support, they are not subject to the Kiddie Tax, even if they meet the age or student requirements. For children under age 18 at the end of 2024, the support test does not apply; they are subject to the tax regardless of their earned income level.
Was age 18 at the end of 2024 and didn’t have earned income that was more than half of the child's support, or c. Was a full-time student at least age 19 and under age 24 at the end of 2024 and didn’t have earned income that was more than half of the child's support.
2024 Instructions for Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (IRS)
Reporting the child's income on the parent's return instead
Instead of filing Form 8615 for the child, a parent may elect to report the child's interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions directly on the parent's own return using Form 8814. If the parent makes this election, the child is relieved of the obligation to file either a tax return or Form 8615 at all. The tradeoff is that the child's income is added to the parent's income, which can push the parent into a higher bracket or reduce certain deductions and credits. The federal income tax on the child's income - including any qualified dividends and capital gain distributions - may end up higher under this election than it would have been on a separate Form 8615. The election is therefore not automatically beneficial; it should be compared against filing Form 8615 for the child. Detailed rules for making and evaluating the election are found in the instructions for Form 8814.
If the parent makes this election, the child won’t have to file a return or Form 8615.
2024 Instructions for Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (IRS)
Why the child's own bracket is not the end of it
The purpose of Form 8615 is to impose the parent's tax rate on a qualifying child's unearned income above $2,600, but only when that rate exceeds the child's own rate. In other words, the child's own tax bracket is not the end of the calculation: the IRS looks through to the parent's return to make sure the child's investment income is not taxed at a lower rate simply because it was shifted to a child in a lower bracket. If the child's unearned income is more than $2,600, Form 8615 is used to recompute the tax. Only the unearned income exceeding the threshold is taxed at the parent's rate; the first $2,600 remains taxed at the child's rates. The form therefore computes two amounts - the regular child tax and the tentative tax using the parent's rate - and the child owes the higher of the two. This is the mechanism that prevents families from avoiding higher marginal rates by holding income-producing assets in a child's name.
For children under age 18 and certain older children described below in Who Must File, unearned income over $2,600 is taxed at the parent's rate if the parent's rate is higher than the child's. If the child's unearned income is more than $2,600, use Form 8615 to figure the child's tax.
2024 Instructions for Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (IRS)
A January 1 birthday counts the child a year older
For purposes of the kiddie tax, a child's age is determined as of the end of the tax year. However, the IRS treats a child born on January 1 as if they reached their next age on the last day of the year. This means a child born on January 1, 2007 is considered to be 18 at the end of 2024, even though they would turn 18 on January 1, 2025. This matters because the kiddie tax generally applies to children under age 18, but a January 1 birthday can push a child into the next age category. For example, a child born on January 1, 2006 is treated as 19 at year-end, and a child born on January 1, 2001 is treated as 24. The chart in the instructions shows these specific dates. Children treated as 18 or 19 must meet additional conditions to be subject to the kiddie tax, such as being a full-time student or not having earned income exceeding half their support. A child treated as 24 or older is not subject to the kiddie tax at all, regardless of student status or income level.
Certain January 1 birthdays. Use the following chart to determine whether certain children with January 1 birthdays meet condition 3 under Who Must File, earlier. IF you were born on... THEN, at the end of 2024, you are considered to be... January 1, 2007 18* January 1, 2006 19** January 1, 2001 24***
2024 Instructions for Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (IRS)
A capital loss bigger than the offset does not just disappear
When figuring a child's unearned income for the kiddie tax, capital losses are applied against capital gains first. If the losses exceed the gains, the difference (up to $3,000) is subtracted from the child's other unearned income, such as interest and dividends. However, any capital loss that exceeds this $3,000 offset does not simply disappear. Instead, the excess is carried forward to the next tax year, where it can offset future capital gains or reduce other unearned income. This means that a large capital loss in one year continues to have tax consequences in subsequent years, potentially reducing the child's taxable unearned income in future years. The carryover rule ensures that capital losses are not wasted but are used over multiple years until the entire loss has been applied. For the 2024 tax year, the unearned income threshold is $1,300.
Any difference over $3,000 is carried to the next year.
2024 Instructions for Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (IRS)
If a parent's income later changes, the child's tax has to be refigured
When a child's tax is calculated on Form 8615 using the parent's income information, and the parents' income later changes, the child's tax must be refigured using the adjusted amounts. This also applies if there are changes to the net unearned income of other children for whom the parent is required to file Form 8615. If the child's tax changes as a result of these adjustments, the parent or child must file Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, to correct the original return. This rule ensures that the child's tax liability accurately reflects the parents' actual income for the year, rather than the estimates used when the original return was filed. The amended return requirement applies regardless of whether the parents' income increased or decreased, as both situations can affect the child's tax calculation under the kiddie tax rules.
If the parents’ income changes after the child’s return is filed, the child’s tax must be refigured using the adjusted amounts.
2024 Instructions for Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Rev. Proc. 2023-34 (IRS)
- Unearned income reduction amount
For taxable years beginning in 2024, the amount in § 1(g)(4)(A)(ii)(I), which is used to reduce the net unearned income reported on the child’s return that is subject to the “kiddie tax,” is $1,300.
2024 Instructions for Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (IRS)
- Unearned income filing trigger
1. The child had more than $2,600 of unearned income.