Unearned Income
For Form 8615, “unearned income” includes all taxable income other than earned income as defined later. Unearned income includes taxable interest, ordinary dividends, capital gains (including capital gain distributions), rents, royalties, etc. It also includes taxable social security benefits, pension and annuity income, taxable scholarship and fellowship grants not reported on Form W-2, unemployment compensation, alimony, and income (other than earned income) received as the beneficiary of a trust.
Form 8615 must be filed for any child who meets all of the following conditions.
The child had more than $2,100 of unearned income.
The child is required to file a tax return.
The child either:
Was under age 18 at the end of 2015,
Was age 18 at the end of 2015 and did not have earned income that was more than half of the child’s support, or
Was a full-time student at least age 19 and under age 24 at the end of 2015 and did not have earned income that was more than half of the child’s support.
(Earned income is defined later. Support is defined below.)
At least one of the child’s parents was alive at the end of 2015.
The child does not file a joint return for 2015.
For these rules, the term “child” includes a legally adopted child and a stepchild. These rules apply whether or not the child is a dependent. These rules do not apply if neither of the child’s parents were living at the end of the year.
Support. Your child’s 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 your child’s support, count support provided by you, your child, and others. However, a scholarship received by your child is not considered support if your child is a full-time student. For details, see Pub. 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.
