Under §1(g)(2), the kiddie tax applies to a child if either of the following two conditions are true:
(1) the child has not reached age 18 by the end of the taxable year;
(2) the child has not reached age 24, their earned income is not more than one-half of their support, and they must be a full-time student;
The kiddie tax does not apply unless all three of the following conditions are true:
(a) the child is required to file a return for the year;
(b) the child has at least one parent alive at the close of the taxable year; and
(c) the child will not file a joint return for the taxable year.
In layman's terms, this means that college students (often going into debt or working low paying jobs) are being taxed at their parents tax rate until their earned income exceeds their unearned.