Title 26 — Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-73
§73 Services of Child
Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle A— Income Taxes › Chapter 1— NORMAL TAXES AND SURTAXES › Subchapter B— Computation of Taxable Income › Part II— ITEMS SPECIFICALLY INCLUDED IN GROSS INCOME › § 73
Summary
Money earned by a child for the child's work counts as the child's own income, not the parent's, even if the parent actually receives the payment. Expenses connected to that income are treated as paid by the child too. A parent here includes anyone with parental rights and duties entitled to the child's services. In certain cases the tax can still be assessed against the parent.
Full Legal Text
Title 26, §73
Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Amounts received in respect of the services of a child shall be included in his gross income and not in the gross income of the parent, even though such amounts are not received by the child.
(b)All expenditures by the parent or the child attributable to amounts which are includible in the gross income of the child (and not of the parent) solely by reason of subsection (a) shall be treated as paid or incurred by the child.
(c)For purposes of this section, the term “parent” includes an individual who is entitled to the services of a child by reason of having parental rights and duties in respect of the child.
(d)For assessment of tax against parent in certain cases, see section 6201(c).
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
26 U.S.C. § 73
Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73