Parents Push Back After New IRS Reporting Requirement Targets Some 4-H Youth
The new requirement has prompted questions from some families about how it could affect youth participating in 4-H livestock auctions.
A new federal tax reporting requirement is raising concerns among some 4-H families after Michigan State University Extension announced that youth who receive $2,000 or more from livestock and still exhibit auctions during a calendar year may receive a 1099-MISC tax form beginning with the 2026 fair season.
According to an informational handout distributed by MSU Extension, the change is tied to existing Internal Revenue Service reporting requirements, not a new state policy. The university says it recently identified a gap in its reporting process and is now taking steps to comply with federal law.
The handout states that all payments made directly to a youth, including auction proceeds and add-ons, count toward the $2,000 reporting threshold. Youth who meet or exceed that amount will receive a 1099-MISC from the MSU Controller’s Office, and counties conducting 4-H livestock auctions will require participants to complete a W-9 form before selling animals. The document also says Social Security numbers submitted through the process will be collected using a secure, encrypted system.
Amber, a Michigan mother involved with 4-H, said she believes the requirement sends the wrong message to children participating in the program.
“It’s crap, if I’m being honest. Why are we going after the kids?” Amber said. “We’re trying to raise farmers. We’re trying to get kids interested in the animals.”
She compared the situation to laws designed to protect children operating lemonade stands from tax burdens.
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“We’re going to be like, ‘You know what, little Johnny, you’re six years old, but you sold a $2,000 cow, so we’re going to tax you on that.’ In my mind, that is just asinine.”
Amber also expressed concern about parents being required to provide their children’s Social Security numbers as part of the W-9 process.
“Some of the concern also is turning over Social Security numbers of these children to these fair boards,” she said. “That’s another concern of ours.”
MSU Extension says the Social Security numbers will be digitally encrypted and accessible only to an authorized state-level administrator processing the 1099-MISC.
The university also notes that receiving a 1099-MISC does not automatically mean a child owes taxes. Instead, the form is used to report income to the IRS, and whether taxes are ultimately owed depends on a family’s overall tax situation.
Amber said many children spend months raising and caring for livestock before auction day.
“These kids work really, really hard on these projects,” she said. “For them to just kind of get smacked in the face at the end with the tax bills is quite ridiculous.”
She also argued the new paperwork adds another burden for families already facing rising costs.
“I feel like this is actually taxing the parents at the end of the day because your kids are your responsibility,” Amber said. “Why are we putting one more thing on parents that are already trying to struggle in a world that is full of taxes?”
MSU Extension says the reporting requirement will not be applied retroactively and only affects income earned beginning with the 2026 fair season.
This is bad and wrong on several levels. It smacks child labor laws in the face. That's just for starters. You'll also not it says add-ons. I believe if I am not wrong, that there are some scholarships to agricultural universities attached to some of these. Hello, MSU, you are going to slit your own throat. Who put MSU in charge of this? This is not a university issue. How are they going to encript a handwritten application? Every county fair board is going to be privy to these children's social security number. This going to piss of every farmer in the country. Is the person in the White House looking for a civil war? If he keeps it up he's going to get one. Just sayin' people are tired of seeing laws that make him and his chronies richer while the rest of us are trying to keep food on the table and gas in our cars. What happened to making us a country who could thrive without foreign oil? Someone in Germany told someone that she always felt if things went bad in Germany she would seek to enter the US because it was safe. Now, she feels there is no place safe and there is once again a lot of unrest in Germany. If that doesn't scare you I don't know what will. This situation is getting worse because the rich don't have to deal with every day life the way we do as working Amreicans. Kentucky, Wyoming, Virginia and Georgia have it the worst. In Georgia, they want people poor. They are still only paying $5.15/hour as minimum wage. The other three only pay $7.25/hour. So, in Geogia if you are starting a job at $5.15/hr and working your 40 hours you are making $204/week before taxes or $10,712/year before taxes. You cannot afford any extras. Health insurance alone is going to take $5,000/yr. So, now you are down to $5,712/yr before taxes. Try to life on that. If you are married, and your spouse works a 40 hour week, you together have $13,424 before taxes assuming only one of you has to pay for the health insurance. So, now if your kid makes $2,000 or more for the livestock they raised for the fair, it gets added to the parents income and taxed. NO! Wrong. I know this Cannot be legal.
It is called socialism! They tax everyone who works for anything.