When the lemonade stand makes bank: Young entrepreneurs and taxes

IRS Tax Tip 2022-88, June 8, 2022

Teens and young adults often go into business for themselves over the summer or after school. This work can include babysitting, lawn mowing, dog walking or other part-time or temporary work. When a teen or young adult is an employee of a business, their employer withholds taxes from their paycheck. However, when they are classified as an independent contractor or are self-employed, they're responsible for paying taxes themselves.

Things to keep in mind:

  • Parents can't claim a dependent's earned income on their own tax return.
  • In addition to income tax, people who are self-employed are generally responsible for self-employment tax as well. It's like the Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from the pay of most wage earners.

Here's what young entrepreneurs can do to keep on top of their tax responsibilities:


Pay estimated tax, if required. If a teen or young adult being claimed as a dependent expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for 2022, they must make estimated payments on a quarterly basis. They should be sure to pay enough tax on time to avoid a penalty. They can use one of these forms to calculate their estimated taxes:

If a taxpayer also has a job where tax is withheld by their employer, they can request that their withholding be increased to cover their estimated taxes from their self-employed income. That way, they don't have pay estimated tax separately. The Tax Withholding Estimator is a great tool to help wage earners figure out how much they should be withholding.


If people owe taxes, they can pay electronically through Online Account and IRS Direct Pay. Visit the Payments page of IRS.gov for the full list of payment options.

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