{"id":20259,"date":"2025-11-14T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T12:56:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T18:56:26","slug":"when-do-children-pay-taxes-on-investment-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/income\/investments\/when-do-children-pay-taxes-on-investment-income\/","title":{"rendered":"How much unearned income can a child have before paying taxes? Or filing a return?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If your child has investments (unearned income) and that\u2019s their only source of income, then you generally follow the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/income\/other-income\/child-unearned-income\/\">kiddie tax rules <\/a>shown below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the 2025 tax year, a child can earn up to $1,350 unearned income tax-free.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Income above this amount is subject to tax under the kiddie tax rules:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The first $1,350 of unearned income is tax-free.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The next $1,350 is taxed at the child&#8217;s own tax rate (usually 10%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Any unearned income&nbsp;above $2,700 is taxed at the parents&#8217; marginal tax rate.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-do-i-have-to-file-a-return-for-my-child-s-unearned-income\">Do I have to file a return for my child\u2019s unearned income?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A child who can be claimed as a dependent must file a tax return if their total unearned income is more than $1,350 for the 2025 tax year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parents have two options for reporting a child&#8217;s unearned income:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>child files their own return<\/strong>&nbsp;and attaches&nbsp;Form 8615,&nbsp;Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income if their unearned income is over $2,700.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The<strong> parents include the child&#8217;s income on their own return<\/strong>\u00a0using\u00a0Form 8814,\u00a0Parents&#8217; Election To Report Child&#8217;s Interest and Dividends, provided the child&#8217;s only income is from interest and dividends and totals less than $13,500. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>If your child has other types of income, you must file a return for the child. You can&#8217;t report the income on your return. Other income includes earned income or capital gains \/ losses from stock sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If your child has investments (unearned income) and that\u2019s their only source of income, then you generally follow the kiddie tax rules shown below. For the 2025 tax year, a child can earn up to $1,350 unearned income tax-free.&nbsp; Income above this amount is subject to tax under the kiddie tax rules:&nbsp; Do I have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[24,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-income","category-investments"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>When Do Children Pay Taxes On Investment Income? | H&amp;R Block<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How much investment income can children earn before paying taxes? 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