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Glossary/Kiddie tax

What is Kiddie tax?

In short

The kiddie tax taxes a child's unearned income above a threshold at the parents' marginal rate, to stop families shifting investment income to children in lower brackets.

Key takeaways

  • It applies to children under 18, to 18-year-olds, and to full-time students aged 19 to 23, when their earned income doesn't exceed half their support.
  • Earned income, such as wages, is taxed at the child's own rates.
  • Parents can sometimes elect to report the child's income on their own return.

Where it's tested

TCP: Individual Tax Planning Strategies — study notes, a five-minute revision sheet and practice questions.

Practise: 3 questions

Question 1 of 3 · 0 answered

Under the 'kiddie tax', a child's unearned income above a threshold amount is generally taxed:

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