What Is Unearned Income?

Unearned income is income that you did not work to earn. Unearned income is often important in figuring out if a dependent needs to file a tax return.

Unearned income includes, but is not limited to

interest, dividends, and capital gains

unemployment compensation

taxable social security benefits

retirement income (IRA distributions, pensions, annuities)

trust distributions

income from rental property

alimony

child support

gambling winnings