Glad I stumbled onto this string. The confusion for me was thinking that the kiddie tax and the tax bracket rate was an either/or situation. But it’s not. It sounds like taxable scholarships are factored in both ways. For my situation, my son has $1750 in taxable scholarships plus $1600-$1800 in earned income from a job. Sounds like he won’t owe anything this year. Next year, he’ll have $3500 in taxable scholarships (because it’s over two semesters) and he’ll have much more earned income due to an on-campus job, likely a summer job, and more internships. So he will probably owe something next year.
I wonder what the tax is on medical students who get a full ride – tuition and R&B AND a stipend? How do they even afford the taxes on that?