• Unearned income includes taxable interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. It also includes unemployment compensation, taxable social security benefits, pensions, annuities, and distributions of unearned income from a trust. 
• Earned income includes salaries, wages, tips, professional fees, and taxable scholarship and fellowship grants. 
• Gross income is the total of your unearned and earned income.

If your gross income was $5,050 or more, you usually can't be claimed as a dependent, unless you're a qualifying child. 

As a dependent, you must file a tax return if any of the following apply:

1. You owe special taxes listed on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), such as:

   • Alternative minimum tax.

   • Penalties on early withdrawals from retirement or tax-favored accounts.

   • Social Security or Medicare taxes on unreported tips or wages without proper withholding.

   • Uncollected Social Security, Medicare, or railroad retirement taxes on certain benefits.

   • Household employment taxes (e.g., you hired a nanny).

   • Recapture taxes (repaying tax benefits you no longer qualify for).

2. You (or your spouse, if filing jointly) took money out of an Archer MSA, Medicare Advantage MSA, or Health Savings Account (HSA).

3. You earned $400 or more from self-employment.

4. You earned $108.28 or more from a church or church-controlled organization not required to withhold Social Security or Medicare taxes.

5. You received advance payments of the premium tax credit for health insurance through the Marketplace (Form 1095-A shows this).

6. You owe tax under Section 965 (related to foreign income) or are making installment payments or deferrals under that rule.

7. You bought a clean vehicle (new or used) and used the tax credit upfront to lower the price at the dealership.

Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the webpage or document at the time it is accessed.