This Form 8814 2026 guide explains the IRS Parents' Election To Report Child's Interest and Dividends. Form 8814 allows an eligible parent to elect the specified treatment for a child interest and dividend income. It is not permission to include every kind of child income on a parent return. The election conditions and the tax effect should be reviewed before choosing this route instead of a separate child return.
Reviewed October 31, 2026. This is an independent guide. The version and availability information below identifies the IRS documents used for this page.
What Form 8814 2026 does and who prepares it
A parent uses the election only when the child-income and taxpayer conditions in the instructions are met.
For the connected reporting route, see Form 8615. Keep the role of that document separate from the task explained on this page.
| Official form | Form 8814 |
|---|---|
| IRS title | Parents' Election To Report Child's Interest and Dividends |
| Guide period | 2026 |
| Target version | 2026 |
| Availability | Draft — not for filing |
| Last checked | October 31, 2026 |
Get the Form 8814 2026 PDF and check its status
Use the IRS source to confirm the document before completing a real filing. The download link is a reference to the official file; it is not a statement that every copy inside the PDF may be printed and submitted. Follow any instructions about electronic filing, scannable copies, recipient copies or attachments.
Which version of Form 8814 2026 should you use?
The 2026 in the title identifies the tax year or calendar-year information addressed by this guide. For a 2026 income reporting document, the preparation or filing activity may occur in 2027. Do not change the income year simply because the calendar has changed. The exact filing or furnishing date comes from the instructions for this form and the filer circumstances. The linked target PDF is a draft. It may be used to understand the proposed layout, but it is not a form to file. Amounts or instructions still subject to completion must be checked again when the final version is released.
Records to gather for Form 8814 2026
- Child interest and dividend statements.
- Child income summary.
- Parent filing information.
- Prior election records.
- Applicable-year election worksheets.
Keep a working reconciliation with these records. It should show the source of each reported item, any correction made before filing and the reason a different amount appears on a connected form. This is especially useful when a statement is corrected or a prior-year balance continues into the current calculation.
How to work through Form 8814 2026
- Confirm applicability. Start with the purpose, filer category and version of the form. Complete any eligibility or applicability question before spending time on the numerical calculation.
- Prepare the source workpapers. Gather the records listed below and reconcile their totals. Keep prior-year balances, current-year transactions and estimated payments separate where they serve different purposes.
- Complete dependent calculations first. When a line refers to another form, schedule or worksheet, finish that supporting calculation first. Preserve any classification, limitation and carryforward information.
- Follow the line sequence. Use the actual line labels and arithmetic in the applicable form. A line number from an older version may refer to something different after a revision.
- Reconcile the filing package. Check names, identifying numbers, tax periods, totals and required attachments. Then use the filing method, signature process and deadline that apply to this filer and form.
Form-specific IRS instructions and reporting details
The following points retain the operative wording of the IRS documents linked above. Read each point with its stated conditions and the applicable form version. References to another form or section describe a connected requirement; they do not mean that every reader must file every referenced document.
Parents Who Don’t File a Joint Return For parents who don’t file a joint return and are electing to report the child’s interest and dividend income on their return, the following discussions explain which parent’s tax return must be used to figure the tax. Only the parent whose tax return is used can make the election described earlier under Parents who qualify to make the election. Parents are married. If the child’s parents file separate returns, use the return of the parent with the greater taxable income. Parents not living together.
If the child’s parents are married to each other but not living together, and the parent with whom the child lives (the custodial parent) is considered unmarried, use the return of the custodial parent. If the custodial parent isn’t considered unmarried, use the return of the parent with the greater taxable income. For an explanation of when a married person living apart from his or her spouse is considered unmarried, see Head of Household in Pub. 501. Parents are divorced.
If the child’s parents are divorced or legally separated, and the parent who had custody of the child for the greater part of the year (the custodial parent) hasn’t remarried, use the return of the custodial parent.
Additional reporting conditions
Parents who qualify to make the election. You qualify to make this election if you file Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR and any of the following apply. • You are filing a joint return for 2026 with the child’s other parent. • You and the child’s other parent were married to each other but file separate returns for 2026 and you had the higher taxable income. • You were unmarried, treated as unmarried for federal income tax purposes, or separated from the child’s other parent by a divorce or separate maintenance decree.
The child must have lived with you for most of the year (you were the custodial parent). If you were the custodial parent and you remarried, you can make the election on a joint return with your new spouse. But if you and your new spouse don’t file a joint return, you qualify to make the election only if you had higher taxable income than your new spouse.
Ordinary Dividends Line 2a. Enter the ordinary dividends your child received in 2026. Ordinary dividends should be shown in box 1a of Form 1099-DIV. Also include ordinary dividends your child received through a partnership, an S corporation, or an estate or trust. Ordinary dividends received as nominee. If your child received, as a nominee, ordinary dividends that actually belong to another person, enter the amount and “ND” on the dotted line next to line 2a. Do not include amounts received as a nominee in the total for line 2a.
Calculations and supporting information
Line 2b. Enter all qualified dividends your child received in 2026. Qualified dividends are those dividends normally reported on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 3a. They are the ordinary dividends that are eligible for the same lower tax rate as a net capital gain. Qualified dividends should be shown in box 1b of Form 1099-DIV. For detailed information about qualified dividends, see Pub. 550. Enter the child’s qualified dividends on Form 8814, line 2b. But don’t include this amount on the parent’s Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 3a.
Instead, include the amount from Form 8814, line 9, on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 3a. (The amount on Form 8814, line 9, may be less than the amount on Form 8814, line 2b, because lines 7 through 12 of the form divide the $2,700 base amount on Form 8814, line 5, between the child’s qualified dividends, capital gain distributions, and other interest and dividend income, reducing each of those amounts.)
Exceptions and related reporting
Capital Gain Distributions Line 3. Enter the capital gain distributions your child received in 2026. Capital gain distributions should be shown in box 2a of Form 1099-DIV. The amount of these distributions that is added to your income must be reported on Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses, line 13, or, if you aren’t required to file Schedule D, on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 7a, whichever applies.
This is the amount on Form 8814, line 10. (The amount on Form 8814, line 10, may be less than the amount on Form 8814, line 3, because lines 7 through 12 of the form divide the $2,700 base amount on Form 8814, line 5, between the child’s qualified dividends, capital gain distributions, and other interest and dividend income, reducing each of those amounts.) Note: Don’t include these dividends on Form 8814, line 12; or Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z. Types of capital gain distributions.
Capital gain distributions are organized into the following three subcategories. • Collectibles (28% rate) gain distributions. • Unrecaptured section 1250 gain distributions. • Section 1202 gain distributions.
Further form details
Line 9. Include this amount on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, lines 3a and 3b. Enter “Form 8814” and this amount on the dotted line next to those lines unless you file Schedule B (Form 1040). If you file Schedule B, include this amount on line 5 and identify it as from “Form 8814.” Complete Schedule B as instructed. Also include this amount on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 3a. You must file Schedule B if this amount plus the parents’ dividends is more than $1,500.
Line 10. Include this amount on Schedule D (Form 1040), line 13; or Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 7a. Enter “Form 8814” and this amount on the dotted line next to line 13 of Schedule D or in the space to the left of line 7a of Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. Check the box on line 7b, “Schedule D not required”, if applicable.
If any of the child’s capital gain distributions were reported on Form 1099-DIV as unrecaptured section 1250 gain, section 1202 gain, or collectibles (28% rate) gain, see Types of capital gain distributions, earlier, to locate the instructions for the type(s) of capital gain distributions your child has and for details on the amount(s) to report on Schedule D.
Reading the lines and boxes
These selected labels come from the linked target PDF. They are a reading aid, not a replacement for the full line instructions or a completed calculation. Match the label and document version before transferring any amount.
| Line or box | Label in the source form | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A | Child’s name (first, initial, and last) | Use the identity of the person or entity requested on this line. Check that the name and identification number agree with the underlying tax records. |
| C | If more than one Form 8814 is attached, check here | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 1a | Enter your child’s taxable interest. If this amount is different from the amounts shown on the child’s | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 1b | Enter your child’s tax-exempt interest. Do not include this amount on line 1a | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 2a | Enter your child’s ordinary dividends, including any Alaska Permanent Fund dividends. If your child | Follow the stated arithmetic and line references in sequence. Complete the referenced inputs first and retain the worksheet supporting the result. |
Further selected fields
| Line or box | Label in the source form | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 2b | Enter your child’s qualified dividends included on line 2a. See the instructions | Follow the stated arithmetic and line references in sequence. Complete the referenced inputs first and retain the worksheet supporting the result. |
| 3 | Enter your child’s capital gain distributions. If your child received any capital gain distributions as a | Identify the income or transaction category before entering a total. Preserve the distinction between gross amounts, adjustments and the resulting taxable or reportable figure. |
| 4 | Add lines 1a, 2a, and 3. If the total is $2,700 or less, skip lines 5 through 12 and go to line 13. If the | Follow the stated arithmetic and line references in sequence. Complete the referenced inputs first and retain the worksheet supporting the result. |
| 6 | Subtract line 5 from line 4 | Follow the stated arithmetic and line references in sequence. Complete the referenced inputs first and retain the worksheet supporting the result. |
| 7 | Divide line 2b by line 4. Enter the result as a decimal (rounded to at least three | Follow the stated arithmetic and line references in sequence. Complete the referenced inputs first and retain the worksheet supporting the result. |
A practical example
A child has bank interest and dividend income. The parent checks whether all election conditions are satisfied and compares the permitted reporting choices before deciding how to prepare the returns.
This example illustrates the order of the review. It does not assume an unverified deduction, exemption, treaty rate or final tax amount. The applicable form instructions and the actual records determine the result.
Common mistakes to avoid with Form 8814 2026
- Check permitted income types and limits before making the election.
- Do not assume an election always reduces combined tax.
- Separate this election from the tax computation for certain children filing their own returns.
Questions about Form 8814 2026
Does receiving or downloading this form mean I must file it?
A parent uses the election only when the child-income and taxpayer conditions in the instructions are met. The form purpose and the applicable filing or furnishing conditions determine the action. Downloading a blank PDF does not itself create a filing obligation or establish eligibility for a tax benefit.
Can I file the draft PDF?
No. The linked target is marked as a draft. Use it to understand the proposed layout and prepare records, but wait for the applicable final filing version. Check the IRS source again before using any year-specific amount, worksheet or filing instruction.
What should I do if the underlying information is wrong?
Check permitted income types and limits before making the election. Keep the original record and the correction trail. The issuer correction process, an amended return and an updated certificate can be different procedures. Choose the process that matches the document and the actual error.
Which records should I keep with the completed form?
Retain the source documents, applicable worksheets, submitted version and filing or furnishing confirmations. For this form, the working file should include child interest and dividend statements, child income summary, parent filing information. Keep continuing balances and prior-year support for as long as they remain relevant under the applicable recordkeeping rules.
Related forms and next steps
Use these guides when the connected issue applies to your records. Each page has its own purpose, reporting year and availability status.