Form 8814: Parents Election to Report Childs Interest and Dividends

What Form 8814 is

Form 8814, Parents' Election To Report Child's Interest and Dividends, lets a parent report a child's investment income on the parent's own return so the child does not have to file a separate return. The IRS About Form 8814 page describes it exactly that way. This template is the 2025 form, attached to a parent's 2025 Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR. As of October 3, 2026, 2025 is the latest version posted.

The form opens with a caution: the tax on the child's income may be lower if you file a separate return for the child instead, because some tax benefits the child could take are not available on your return. The instructions list examples such as the additional standard deduction if the child is blind, the penalty on early withdrawal of the child's savings, and itemized deductions like the child's charitable contributions.

Who can use Form 8814

According to the 2025 Instructions for Form 8814, you can make the election only if the child:

• was under age 19 (or under age 24 if a full-time student) at the end of 2025,
• had income only from interest and dividends, including capital gain distributions and Alaska Permanent Fund dividends,
• had gross income for 2025 of less than $13,500,
• is required to file a 2025 return and does not file a joint return,
• had no estimated tax payments made for 2025 and no federal income tax withheld.

The instructions also explain which parent may make the election when parents are married filing separately, divorced or never married. A separate Form 8814 is needed for each child.

What to have ready

• Your name and Social Security number as shown on your return
• The child's name and Social Security number
• The child's Forms 1099-INT, 1099-OID and 1099-DIV for 2025

How to fill out Form 8814 online

Click "Fill Template Now", type the amounts into the lines, and download the completed PDF to attach to your return. The 2025 form is one page:

Header and lines A to C

Enter the names and SSN shown on your return. Line A is the child's name and line B the child's SSN. Check line C if you are attaching more than one Form 8814.

Part I: Child's Interest and Dividends To Report on Your Return (lines 1a to 12)

Line 1a is the child's taxable interest and line 1b tax-exempt interest, which is not included in line 1a. Line 2a is ordinary dividends (including Alaska Permanent Fund dividends) and line 2b the qualified dividends included in 2a. Line 3 is capital gain distributions. Line 4 adds lines 1a, 2a and 3. The 2025 form uses these thresholds:

• If line 4 is $2,700 or less, skip to line 13.
• If line 4 is $13,500 or more, do not file this form; the child must file their own return.

Line 5 is the $2,700 base amount and line 6 subtracts it. Lines 7 and 8 are the shares of qualified dividends and capital gain distributions as decimals (rounded to at least three places), and lines 9 and 10 apply them to line 6. The instructions say line 9 goes on Form 1040 lines 3a and 3b, and line 10 on Schedule D, line 13. Line 12 is included on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, with "Form 8814" written next to the amount.

Part II: Tax on the First $2,700 of Child's Interest and Dividends (lines 13 to 15)

Line 13 is the $1,350 amount not taxed and line 14 subtracts it from line 4. On line 15, if line 14 is $1,350 or more, enter $135; otherwise multiply line 14 by 10%. The form says to include line 15 in the tax on Form 1040, line 16, and check box 1 on that line.

Filing

Attach Form 8814 to your own 2025 Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR and file by your return's due date. Form 8814 has no signature line of its own. The dollar thresholds above are printed on the 2025 form and are adjusted from year to year, so use the form for the tax year you are filing.

Common mistakes

• Using Form 8814 when the child had wages or other earned income
• Including tax-exempt interest on line 1a
• Combining two children on one form
• Forgetting the "Form 8814" label next to Schedule 1, line 8z, or the box on Form 1040, line 16
• Electing without comparing it to a separate return for the child

Related forms are in our IRS tax form templates.