Not everyone needs to file an income tax return each year. If your total income for the year doesn't hit certain IRS thresholds, then you may not need to file a federal tax return. But you may want to file a return anyway - there may be benefits to doing so. So, how much do you have to make to file taxes? Several factors can impact whether you should file a tax return, and we'll go through each one here.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Most taxpayers are eligible to take the S tandard Deduction . The standard tax deduction is a fixed amount that the IRS lets you subtract from your income. The Standard Deduction automatically applies, and the amount you're eligible for is determined by your age and filing status. The IRS sets these amounts before the tax filing season. You'll generally see an increase in the deduction to account for inflation each year.
The deductions you claim on your tax return determine how much of your income is taxable. So, if your income is less than the Standard Deduction, and you don't have other income to report, you won't need to file a tax return. An example of income that you would need to report, regardless of the amount, is self-employment income .
In 2023, you don't need to file a tax return if all of the following are true for you:
For 2024, this earning threshold (2024 Standard Deduction) increases to $14,600.
This chart shows the minimum amount you needed to have earned in 2023 to file taxes, depending on your status:
Filing Status
Taxpayer age at the end of 2023
File a return if your gross income was at least this amount in 2023:
Head of Household
Head of Household
Married Filing Jointly
under 65 (both spouses)
Married Filing Jointly
65 or older (one spouse)
Married Filing Jointly
65 or older (both spouses)
Married Filing Separately
Qualifying Surviving Spouse
Qualifying Surviving Spouse
In most cases, if your only income is from Social Security benefits, then you don't need to file a tax return. The IRS typically doesn't consider Social Security as taxable income .
Now, there are situations that can cause you to have to report your Social Security income on a tax return. For example, if you're married and live with your spouse, but you file separate tax returns, you may have to report your Social Security income. This happens when your Social Security income is more than your Standard Deduction, based on your filing status. At that point, it counts as taxable income, and you'll have to file a return.
Another situation is if you earn other tax-exempt income with your Social Security benefit. For example, say you get tax-exempt interest payments during the year along with your Social Security income. If this amount makes your total income greater than the threshold for your filing status, you'll have to file a return.
Here's an example of when you may need to file, even with tax-exempt income:
You are under age 65, can’t be claimed as a dependent by someone else, and receive $30,000 in Social Security benefits, but also receive another $31,000 in tax-exempt interest. $14,700 of your Social Security benefits would be taxable income. That's because the total amount is greater than your Standard Deduction ($13,850 for a single taxpayer in 2023, $14,600 in 2024). In this case, you would need to file a tax return.
To figure out whether your Social Security benefits are taxable, do the following:
TurboTax can help you estimate whether you'll need to file a tax return and what income could be taxable.
If you've had federal taxes withheld from your paycheck, you may want to file a return even if you aren't required to, so you can receive a tax refund.
There are several reasons your Standard Deduction could be higher. For example, if you are at least 65 years old, you get an increase in your Standard Deduction. You also get an increased Standard Deduction if:
The largest Standard Deduction would be for a married couple who are both blind and both more than 65 years old.
Having a larger Standard Deduction means you can have higher income and still not have to file a return. This is true even if your income is higher than someone under age 65 that has to file.
Let's break down taxes when it comes to minors. No matter how young you are, if you earn a certain amount of money, you have to file taxes.
Earned income is money you get for working, like from a part-time job. For 2023, if a minor makes more than $13,850 from working, they have to file taxes . The filing threshold for unearned income, like interest your child earns from a savings account, is $1,250 for 2023.
Dependent status is equally important to this equation. If you claim your child as a dependent, and they meet these income thresholds, they need to file a tax return. But, there's another option: If they only have unearned income, and it's less than $12,500, you can choose to include this income on your own tax return.
If you claim someone as a dependent on your tax return, they are subject to certain IRS filing requirements whether they are children or adults. A tax return is necessary when their earned income is more than their Standard Deduction.
The Standard Deduction for single dependents who are under age 65 and not blind is the greater of:
A dependent's income can be "unearned" when it comes from sources like dividends or interest payments. When a dependent's unearned income is greater than $1,250 in 2023 ($1,300 in 2024), the dependent must file a tax return.
There are years when you might not be required to file a tax return, but you may want to do so anyway. If you have federal taxes withheld from your paycheck, you could potentially qualify for a tax refund. This is true if you didn't earn more than your Standard Deduction, and if too much money was withheld from your paycheck for taxes. The only way you can get that tax refund is to file a tax return.
For example, say you are a single taxpayer whose only income is earnings of $2,500 from a job. You had $300 withheld from your paycheck for federal tax. In this case, you could get a refund for the entire $300 since you earned less than the Standard Deduction.
Keep in mind, the IRS doesn't automatically issue refunds without a tax return. So if you want to claim a tax refund then you should file a tax return.
With TurboTax Live Full Service, a local expert matched to your unique situation will do your taxes for you start to finish. Or, get unlimited help and advice from tax experts while you do your taxes with TurboTax Live Assisted.
And if you want to file your own taxes, you can still feel confident you'll do them right with TurboTax as we guide you step by step. No matter which way you file, we guarantee 100% accuracy and your maximum refund.
