Students working at a summer job may not earn enough to owe income tax, but they will probably have to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes.
As a new employee, students fill out a Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, so their employer withholds the right amount of tax from regular pay, bonuses, commissions and tips. Anyone who receives $20 or more in tips in any one month from a job must report them to his or her employer.
“Also, income from being self-employed, in jobs like baby-sitting and lawn mowing, is subject to income tax,” said IRS spokesman Michael Devine. “If your net earnings from self-employment are $400 or more, you have to pay self-employment tax and file Schedule SE.”
Whether you’re required to file a return next year from summer jobs this year will depend on the type and the amount of your gross income, filing status, age, and whether someone is eligible to claim you as a dependent.
Anyone who has more than one job should make sure their employers are withholding an adequate amount of taxes to cover their total income tax liability. You can see if your withholding is correct using the Withholding Calculator on IRS.gov, the official IRS website.