help with son's taxes

My son won an essay contest at his school and received 2000$, this was his only income and he got a 1099-misc, without any withholding. How does he file this year? Thanks

he doesnt have to file.
Its under the minimum $$ amount of income that he has to report to the IRS.

Thank you!

Does that apply to NY state as well?

it applies everywhere.

Agreed. A friend who was a student in NY didn’t have to file taxes for several years despite earning an income because the total amount each year was well below $5000. Back then, I believe ~$7000 was the threshold below which one didn’t have to file.

Thanks all,very helpful !!

Congrats to your son!

Really? He may not owe taxes, but I thought the income limit for not reporting is $400.

@madison85

If this is 1099 income…isn’t the threshold for filing $400 for the year?

the $400 minimum is for the SELF employed.

http://www.efile.com/tax/do-i-need-to-file-a-tax-return/

I know the $400 is for self employed. But someone receiving a 1099 is usually considered self employed, and has not paid into SS…right?

no.
thats the form they use when reporting scholarships.
Same thing happened to DS, when he received an additional scholarship from USC.
Trust me, if the student is NOT self employed and his income is less than the IRS minimum, they dont have to file a tax return.

1099-Misc is a form used for reporting a whole lot more than scholarships. I’ve received them for all kinds of misc. income. If the amount of the scholarship was $30k, you couldn’t advise just to ignore it. I think you are right that with $2000 it is likely to all be within the student’s personal exemption amount, but tax advice that it’s all covered, don’t worry about it?

yeah, I reported (for my DD) MISC income of about $4k; that’s what Turbotax said I needed to do. I think this is one of those “complicated” things.

First, you have to determine if it is

  1. Taxable scholarship (as earned income and to be reported on line 7) or

  2. Other taxable income (as unearned income and to be reported on line 21)

Single dependent is require to file Federal tax return if any of following apply:
A) Unearned income (any incomes other than earned) was over $1050

B) Earned income was over $6300

C) Gross income was more than the greater of $1050 or earned income (up to $5950) plus $350

Here are two publications that might help:
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p929/ar02.html
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch01.html

I think OP was asking whether or not that applies to New York state income taxes as well as federal taxes. And the answer is, it may be different depending on the tax rules that New York state has.

What box number lists the 1099 Misc income?

@BelknapPoint Good point. Each state has different reporting thresholds.