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| Tax School Homepage |
| Whether you must file a federal income tax return depends on many factors such as your gross income, your filing status used, your age and whether you are a dependent. If you are required to file a tax return but you fail or willfully fail to do so you may have to pay a penalty. Not filing your return is serious business and you could be subject to criminal prosecution for choosing to not file. |
| Gross income is all income your receive in the form of money, goods, property or services which is not exempt from tax. If you are married and lived with your spouse in a community property state, half of any income received by your spouse may be considered yours. You must file a tax return if you owe any self-employment tax. Usually you would owe self employment tax if your self-employment income is at least $400. |
| Your filing status generally depends on whether you are single or married at the end of the year. You could be married in March and could have become single by the end of the year. What matters is what is true on December 31st. Therefore, if you could benefit on your taxes by getting married on the last day of the year, then get married. The IRS has no problem with that as long as you stay married and are not going to divorce the following month and try the same scheme every December 31st. Age is a factor in determining if you must file a return only if you are 65 or older at the end of the year. |
| You must file an income tax return for a decedent if you are the surviving spouse, executor, administrator, or legal representative. You must also file an income tax return for a decedent if the decedent was required to file at the time of death. |
| If you are single dependent, you must file a return if your earned income was more than $1,000, your earned income of more than $6,100. Additionally, you must file if your gross income was more than the larger of $1,000 or your earned income up to $5,750 plus $350. If you are single dependent who is blind or age 65 or older, you must file a return if your unearned income was more than $2,500, your earned income was more than $7,600 or your gross income was the larger of $2,500 or your earned income plus $1,850. If you are a married dependent, and you were either age over 65 or blind, you must file a return if your gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions. |
| If you are a married dependent, and you were either age over 65 or blind, you must file a return if your gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions. You must also file if your unearned income was more than $2,200 or your earned income was more than $7,300. If your gross income was more than the larger of $2,200 or your earned income plus $1,550 then you have an obligation to file. To determine whether you must file a return, include in your gross income any income you earned or received abroad and any income you can exclude under the foreign earned income exclusion. |
| If you are a U.S. citizen and also a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico, you generally must file a U.S. income tax return for any year in which you meet the filing requirements. Your income requirements include income from sources within Puerto Rico. Your income also includes income you received for your services as an employee of the United States or any U.S. agency. If you are a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico for the whole year, your U.S. gross income does not include income from sources within Puerto Rico. Your income does not include all income and does not include income for your services as an employee of the United States or any U.S. agency. If you had income from Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, you may have to file a U.S. federal income tax return. Special rules may apply when determining whether you must file a U.S. federal income tax return and you may also have to file a tax return with the possession government. |
| Copyright © 2014 [Hera's Income Tax School]. All Annual Filing Season Program rights reserved. |
| Revised: 12/14/14 |
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