Do You Have to File Taxes If You’re Under 18?

If you are under 18, you have to file a federal tax return only when your income crosses one of the IRS thresholds that apply to any dependent. For the 2026 tax year, those thresholds are $16,100 in wages, $1,350 in investment income, or $400 in net self-employment earnings.1Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-322Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center Age itself doesn’t decide anything. Income does.

The Income Triggers That Require a Return

The IRS uses the same filing rules for a minor as for any other dependent. A return is required for the 2026 tax year in any of these situations:

The $16,100 wage threshold is generous. Most teenagers with a part-time job never get near it. The $1,350 investment threshold catches families more often, because a custodial account or savings bond can push past that number quietly, without the child ever working a day. And the $400 self-employment number is the lowest trigger in the whole system.

Why the Thresholds Look This Way

A dependent’s standard deduction is not the full $16,100 that independent adults receive automatically. It’s the greater of $1,350 or earned income plus $450, capped at $16,100.1Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 Once income passes that personalized deduction, the IRS wants a return.

A 16-year-old earning $8,000 from a summer job gets a standard deduction of $8,450, which zeroes out the tax on those wages. A 16-year-old with $2,000 in dividends and no job gets only the $1,350 minimum deduction, leaving $650 potentially taxable. Earned income is treated more generously than investment income under this formula.

To be a dependent in the first place, a child generally has to be under 19 at year-end (or under 24 if a full-time student), live with the taxpayer for more than half the year, and not provide more than half of their own support.4Internal Revenue Service. Publication 501 (2025), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information Nearly every working teenager fits.

Why $400 Is the Lowest Bar

Self-employment income triggers a return at just $400 because it carries a tax that wages don’t: the self-employment tax, which covers Social Security and Medicare at a combined 15.3%.5Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes) A teen who mows lawns, babysits, tutors, or sells crafts online is self-employed in the eyes of the IRS, and $400 in net profit means a return is due even if income tax owed comes out to zero.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 554, Self-Employment Tax

A teenager who nets $2,000 freelancing owes about $283 in self-employment tax on Schedule SE, even with no income tax liability. If total tax for the year will hit $1,000 or more and withholding won’t cover 90% of the current-year tax or 100% of the prior-year tax, quarterly estimated payments come into play, and missing them creates an underpayment penalty.7Internal Revenue Service. Estimated Tax

The Kiddie Tax on Investment Income

If a minor’s unearned income tops $2,700 for 2026, part of it gets taxed at the parent’s marginal rate rather than the child’s. The first $1,350 is offset by the standard deduction, the next $1,350 is taxed at the child’s rate, and anything above $2,700 is taxed at the parent’s rate.8Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 553, Tax on a Childs Investment and Other Unearned Income (Kiddie Tax)

The kiddie tax applies when the child had more than $2,700 in unearned income, is required to file, and had at least one parent alive at year-end. The age reach is wider than most people expect: children under 18, 18-year-olds who didn’t earn more than half their own support, and full-time students aged 19 through 23 in the same support situation.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8615 (2025) The child reports the kiddie tax on Form 8615, attached to their own return.

Filing Anyway to Get a Refund

Plenty of minors file even when they don’t have to. If an employer withheld federal income tax from your paychecks and your actual tax liability turns out to be zero, filing a return is the only way to get that money back. A teenager who earned $5,000 over the summer and had $400 withheld gets the full $400 back by filing a simple return.

One thing not to count on: the Earned Income Tax Credit. A taxpayer claiming the EITC without a qualifying child has to be at least 25, which rules out almost every minor.10Internal Revenue Service. Who Qualifies for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) For most teens, the refund comes from recovering what was withheld, not from a credit.

How a Minor Actually Files

The return uses the child’s Social Security number and reports only the child’s income. A minor who is old enough to understand what they’re signing can sign for themselves. If a younger child can’t, a parent or guardian signs the child’s name, then “by,” their own signature, and their relationship — for example, “parent” or “guardian for minor child.”11Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 301, When, How and Where to File

Before starting, gather the child’s Social Security number and any income documents from the year: a Form W-2 from each employer,12Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement and Forms 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, or 1099-B for investment income. A self-employed minor tracks their own income and expenses on Schedule C.

Most teenagers can file free. IRS Free File is available to taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $89,000 or less, and Direct File lets eligible taxpayers prepare and submit returns directly through the IRS site without third-party software.13Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Tax Filing Season Opens With Several Free Filing Options Available E-filing processes refunds in weeks; paper takes months.

Deadline and Penalties

Individual returns are due April 15. For the 2025 tax year, the deadline is April 15, 2026.14Internal Revenue Service. IRS Announces First Day of 2026 Filing Season Filing Form 4868 by that date grants an automatic six-month extension to file, moving the filing deadline to October 15, but any tax owed is still due April 15 and interest accrues from that date.15Internal Revenue Service. Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

Late-filing penalties run 5% of unpaid taxes per month, up to 25%. A separate late-payment penalty adds 0.5% per month on the unpaid balance.16Internal Revenue Service. Get the Facts About Late Filing and Late Payment Penalties Both are calculated as a percentage of unpaid tax, so a minor who owes nothing owes no penalty for filing late. If a refund is waiting, though, filing is still the only way to claim it.