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Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Publication 929 Cat. No. 64349Y Tax Rules for Children and Dependents For use in preparing 2021 Returns Get forms and other information faster and easier at: • IRS.gov (English) • IRS.gov/Spanish (Español) • IRS.gov/Chinese (中文) • IRS.gov/Korean (한국어) • IRS.gov/Russian (Pусский) • IRS.gov/Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) Contents What’s New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Future Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Part 1. Rules for All Dependents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Filing Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Should a Return Be Filed Even if Not Required? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Responsibility for Child's Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Standard Deduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Dependent's Own Exemption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Withholding From Wages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Part 2. Tax on Unearned Income of Certain Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Parents' Election To Report Child's Interest and Dividends (Form 8814) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income (Form 8615) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 How To Get Tax Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 What’s New Charitable contribution deduction. If you don’t itemize your deductions in 2021, you may qualify to take a charita- ble deduction for cash contributions of up to $300 ($600 in the case of a joint return). For more information see Pub. 526, Charitable Contributions. Standard deduction amounts increased. For 2021, the standard deduction amount has been increased for all filers. The amounts are: • Single or Married filing separately—$12,550, • Married filing jointly or Qualifying widow(er)—$25,100, and • Head of household—$18,800. For married taxpayers who are age 65 or over or blind, the standard deduction is increased an additional amount of $1,350 ($1,700 if head of household or single). For individuals who can be claimed as a dependent, the standard deduction cannot exceed the greater of $1,100 or the sum of $350 and the individual's earned in- come but the total cannot exceed the applicable standard deduction for the dependent's filing status (including any additional amount for being age 65 or older and/or blind, if applicable). Dec 29, 2021