Unintended Consequences of GOP Tax Law

[brantly]

@mom2aphysicsgeek

The student gets to claim the $12,000 standard deduction, so the taxable portion is only beyond that.

A tax filer who is claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return (such as most of our students) does not automatically get a standard deduction of $12k. This is how the SD is calculated for dependents:

The standard deduction for an individual who can be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return is generally limited to the greater of:

$1,050,
OR
The individual’s earned income for the year plus $350 (maxed at $12,000).

It CAN be $12k, but it is not automatically $12k, as it is for an individual filer.