How Can You Make Money as a 12 Year Old?

Earning money as a 12-year-old represents an early step towards financial independence and understanding the value of work. This pursuit allows young individuals to gain experience, develop new skills, and manage their own funds. It fosters a sense of responsibility and can lay a foundation for future financial literacy, teaching the practical application of earning, saving, and spending.

Local Service-Based Opportunities

Providing services directly to neighbors and family friends offers a straightforward path for a 12-year-old to earn money within their community. Many households seek assistance with routine tasks, presenting accessible opportunities. These roles often require reliability and a willingness to learn specific household needs.

Babysitting is a common service, typically involving supervising younger children in a familiar and safe environment. Responsibilities often include engaging children in activities, preparing simple snacks, and ensuring their well-being. It is important for a young babysitter to understand emergency procedures and have access to parental contact information.

Pet care, such as dog walking or feeding, provides another valuable service for busy pet owners. This can involve daily walks, playtime, and ensuring pets have fresh food and water.

Yard work offers various outdoor tasks that can be completed manually, such as raking leaves, weeding garden beds, or watering plants, which do not require power tools. These activities help maintain outdoor spaces. Car washing is another popular option, using basic supplies like soap, sponges, and water. Discussing the scope of work and setting a fair rate, whether hourly or per task, is a practical step. Tracking hours worked or tasks completed helps in determining the total income received.

Creative and Product-Based Opportunities

Creating and selling products allows a 12-year-old to explore their creativity while learning about production and sales. This approach involves transforming materials or ingredients into items that can be offered for purchase. It introduces concepts of cost, pricing, and profit margin.

Handmade crafts provide a broad category for product creation. Simple items like greeting cards, friendship bracelets, or small decorative pieces can be made with readily available materials. The cost of these materials should be considered when setting a selling price to ensure a reasonable profit. Baking goods, such as cookies or cupcakes, can be a popular option, though it requires adult supervision, especially when using kitchen appliances. The ingredients represent a direct cost of goods sold, which should be factored into the price per baked item.

Setting up a lemonade stand or a seasonal snack stand is a classic entrepreneurial venture. This typically involves preparing a beverage or snack, setting up a temporary display in a suitable location, and interacting with customers. Understanding the cost of lemons, sugar, or other ingredients helps in calculating the profit from each sale. For any product, whether crafts or food, selling can occur through neighborhood sales or at supervised local community events like small craft fairs. Selling old toys or books they no longer use also offers a way to earn money while decluttering, providing a simple transaction model for unwanted items.

Earning Safely and Responsibly

Earning money at a young age requires careful consideration of safety, responsible conduct, and basic financial management. Parental involvement is paramount to ensure all activities are age-appropriate and conducted in secure environments. Communicating job details, including location and duration, with a parent or guardian is a fundamental safety practice.

Working in safe and familiar surroundings is important for any earning activity. This often means providing services within one’s own neighborhood or for trusted family friends. Avoiding situations that involve entering strangers’ homes alone or sharing personal information online helps protect a young earner. All earning endeavors should be undertaken with parental supervision and approval.

Understanding basic money management principles is an important aspect of earning. For most 12-year-olds, annual earnings will likely fall below the federal standard deduction threshold, which is $15,750 for a single filer in 2025. However, if a dependent child’s earned income exceeds this amount, or if their net earnings from self-employment reach $400 or more in a year, they would typically be required to file a federal income tax return, such as Form 1040. For self-employment income, there is also a self-employment tax of 15.3% on net earnings that exceed the $400 threshold, which covers Social Security and Medicare contributions.

Even if no tax is owed, keeping simple records of income and expenses is a beneficial practice. This can involve a basic ledger or spreadsheet to track earnings and any costs incurred, like materials for crafts or supplies for a lemonade stand. This record-keeping helps in understanding profitability and serves as a foundation for potential future tax obligations. Opening a savings account, often a custodial account with parental assistance, allows a young earner to save a portion of their earnings, setting financial goals and learning the importance of saving for future needs or wants.