What is a requirement for a taxpayer to claim a child’s interest and dividends on their own tax return?

To claim a child's interest and dividends on the taxpayer's own tax return, it is essential that the child meets certain requirements, one of which is the child's age at the end of the year. Specifically, the child must be under 19 at year-end to be eligible for this provision.

This is based on the IRS rules regarding dependents which allow parents to report their children’s unearned income (like interest and dividends) on their tax returns if the child is younger than 19 years old. This provision is specifically designed to simplify the tax reporting process for families, enabling parents to incorporate their children's unearned income into their own filings when their income is below a certain threshold.

Other factors like whether the child filed their own tax return or their gross income being over a specified limit are relevant in other contexts but do not directly link to the requirement for parents to claim the child’s income on their tax returns. For instance, if a child files their own tax return, the parent would not typically report that income on their tax return. Similarly, reaching a gross income threshold or being a full-time student does not inherently align with the requirement of age as the primary factor for claiming a child's income.