8615

Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income

Agency
IRS
Revision
2025
Fillable fields
32
Pages
1
Official source
IRS form page
Checked
October 21, 2026
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Page 1 of form 8615

Form 8615 (2025): Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income

Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income, figures a child's tax when part of the child's unearned income is taxed at a parent's rate. The 2025 instructions say that for children under age 18 and certain older children, unearned income over $2,700 is taxed at the parent's rate if the parent's rate is higher than the child's, and that Form 8615 is used to figure the child's tax when the child's unearned income is more than $2,700.

The instructions describe unearned income as generally all income other than salaries, wages, and other amounts received as pay for work actually performed, such as taxable interest, dividends, capital gains, rents and royalties. The form is part of the child's own return: it says "Attach only to the child's Form 1040 or 1040-NR."

This is the 2025 edition. You can fill out Form 8615 free in your browser on this page and download it without an account.

Top of page 1 of Form 8615 (2025): Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income, as printed by IRS

What's on Form 8615

Lines A to C: parent

The parent's name and social security number, and a box for the parent's filing status. The form says to see the instructions before completing them.

Part I: Child's Net Unearned Income

Lines 1 to 5: the child's unearned income, minus $2,700 or an itemized amount, limited to the child's taxable income.

Part II: Tentative Tax Based on the Tax Rate of the Parent

Lines 6 to 13: the parent's taxable income and tax, other children's net unearned income, and the child's share of the tentative tax.

Part III: Child's Tax

Lines 14 to 18: tax on the rest of the child's taxable income, then the larger of two tax figures, carried to the child's Form 1040 or 1040-NR, line 16.

How to fill out Form 8615

  1. 1

    Lines A to C

    Parents filing jointly: the parent listed first on the joint return. Married filing separately: the parent with the higher taxable income. Unmarried parents: generally the parent the child lived with most of the year.

  2. 2

    Line 1

    With no earned income, enter the child's adjusted gross income from Form 1040 or 1040-NR, line 11b. With earned income, use the Child's Unearned Income Worksheet in the instructions.

  3. 3

    Line 2

    Enter $2,700 if the child did not itemize deductions. If the child itemizes, the instructions say to enter the larger of $1,350 plus directly connected itemized deductions, or $2,700.

  4. 4

    Lines 3 to 5

    Subtract line 2 from line 1, then enter the smaller of line 3 or the child's taxable income on line 4. If line 3 is zero or less, or line 5 is zero, the form says to stop but still attach it to the child's return.

  5. 5

    Lines 6 to 13

    Enter the parent's taxable income and tax, add other children's line 5 amounts on line 7, and figure the tentative tax. Lines 12a and 12b split it among the children when line 7 has an amount.

  6. 6

    Lines 14 to 18

    Figure tax on the child's other taxable income and on all of line 4 at the child's rate. Line 18 is the larger of line 16 or line 17 and goes on the child's Form 1040 or 1040-NR, line 16.

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Where it goes, missing information and changes

Where it goes

With the child's Form 1040 or 1040-NR. The form says to attach it only to the child's return.

Parent's information not known

The instructions say the child should request an extension with Form 4868 if the parent's information isn't known by the original due date, and that an extension of time to file isn't an extension of time to pay.

Requesting parent information

After the end of the tax year, the child or the child's legal representative can send a signed, written request to the Internal Revenue Service Center where the parent's return will be filed.

Changes after filing

If the parent's income or another child's net unearned income changes, the instructions say the child's tax is refigured, and Form 1040-X is filed if it changes.

Other taxes

The instructions say the child may be subject to the alternative minimum tax (Form 6251) or the 3.8% net investment income tax (Form 8960).

Related forms

Who files Form 8615?

  • Children under age 18

    A child under age 18 at the end of 2025 who had more than $2,700 of unearned income and is required to file a tax return.

  • Some 18 year olds and students

    A child age 18 at the end of 2025, or a full-time student at least age 19 and under age 24, whose earned income was not more than half of the child's support.

  • Other conditions

    At least one parent was alive at the end of 2025, and the child does not file a joint return for 2025. The instructions say "child" includes an adopted child and a stepchild, dependent or not.

  • Parents who elect Form 8814

    The instructions say a parent may be able to report the child's interest, ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions on the parent's return, and then the child won't have to file a return or Form 8615.

  • The parent whose return is used

    The parent does not file Form 8615, but it uses that parent's taxable income, tax and filing status. The instructions explain which parent's return to use when parents file separately.

The instructions list conditions a child meets for Form 8615 to be filed. The form is attached to the child's return, not the parent's, and uses the parent's tax information.

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Questions about Form 8615

What counts as unearned income?

The instructions say it is generally all income other than pay for work actually performed, including taxable interest, dividends, capital gains, rents, royalties, pension and annuity income, unemployment compensation and alimony.

Which parent's information goes on Form 8615?

For a joint return, the parent listed first. For married parents filing separately, the one with the higher taxable income. For unmarried parents, generally the custodial parent. The instructions also cover remarriage.

Can the parent report the child's income instead?

The instructions say a parent may be able to elect to report the child's interest, ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions using Form 8814, and that the tax may be higher if this election is made.

Does Form 8615 apply to stepchildren?

The instructions say the term "child" includes a legally adopted child and a stepchild, whether or not the child is a dependent.

What if the child's net unearned income is zero?

If line 3 is zero or less, or line 5 is zero, the form says to stop and not complete the rest, but to attach Form 8615 to the child's return.

What if neither parent was alive at the end of the year?

The instructions say these rules don't apply if neither of the child's parents were living at the end of the year.