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You are probably thinking that our main target here are those who are not required to file a tax return, but those of you who file scrupulously every year may also be interested to find out what happens if or when, for different reasons, you may no longer be required to do so.
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In most cases, the amount of your income, your filing status, and your age determine if you must file a tax return.
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The minimum income levels for the various filing statuses are listed in the table below, a table you may be familiar with from our previous newsletter. If you earned below the minimum income for your filing status, you may not be required to file a federal tax return.
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| Single |
Under 65
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$ 10,300 |
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65 or older
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$ 11,850 |
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Head of
Household |
Under 65
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$ 13,250 |
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65 or older
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$ 14,800 |
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Married Filing
Jointly |
Under 65
(both spouses)
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$ 20,600 |
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65 or older
(one spouse)
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$ 21,850 |
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65 and older
(both spouses)
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$ 23,100 |
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| Married Filing Separately |
Any Age
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$ 4,000 |
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| Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Children |
Under 65
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$ 16,600 |
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65 and older
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$ 17,850 |
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Nevertheless, even if your income is below the minimum for your status, you must still file a return if any of the conditions below apply for 2015:
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1.
You owe any special taxes, including:
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Alternative minimum tax; |
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Additional tax on a qualified plan, including an IRA, or other tax-favored account (but if you are filing a return only because you owe this tax, you can file Form 5329 by itself); |
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Household employment taxes (but if you are filing a return only because you owe this tax, you can file Schedule H by itself); |
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Social security and Medicare tax on tips you didn't report to your employer or on wages you received from an employer who didn't withhold these taxes; |
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Recapture of first-time homebuyer credit; |
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Write-in taxes, including uncollected social security and Medicare or RRTA tax on tips you reported to your employer or on group-term life insurance and additional taxes on health savings accounts.
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2.
You (or your spouse, if filing jointly) received health savings account, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA distributions. |
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3.
You had net earnings from self-employment of at least $400.
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4.
You had wages of $108.28 or more from a church or qualified church-controlled organization that is exempt from employ is exempt from employer social security and Medicare taxes
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5.
Advance payments of the premium tax credit were made for you, your spouse, or a dependent who enrolled in coverage through the Marketplace. You, or whoever enrolled you, should have received Form(s) 1095-A showing the amount of the advance payments.
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| Please note that if your annual gross self-employment income is at least as much as the income level for your filing status, you have to send in a Form 1040 and Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ reporting your earnings. You also must file a Schedule SE to pay self-employment tax if your net earnings exceed $400. |
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And, of course, there are special rules that apply for children and other dependents. Those who are claimed as a dependent on someone's tax return are subject to different IRS filing requirements, regardless of whether they are children or adults. Since a dependent is unable to claim their own exemption, a tax return is necessary when their earned income is more than the standard deduction for a single taxpayer. However, the threshold decreases to more than $1,000 when the dependent's income is unearned, such as from dividends and interest.
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| If you are not in any of the above categories and not required to file a federal tax return, you may still want to do so for any of the reasons stated below. |
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| Premium Tax Credit. If you enrolled in health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace in 2015, you may be eligible for the premium tax credit. You will need to file a return to claim the credit. If you chose to have advance payments of the premium tax credit sent directly to your insurer during 2015 you must file a federal tax return. You will reconcile any advance payments with the allowable premium tax credit. You should receive Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement, by early February. The form will have information that will help you file your tax return. |
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If advance payments of the premium tax credit were made for you, your spouse with whom you are filing a joint return, or a dependent who enrolled in coverage through the Marketplace, you must file a 2015 return and attach Form 8962.
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| You must attach Form 8962 even if someone else enrolled you, your spouse, or your dependent. If you are a dependent who is claimed on someone else's 2015 return, you do not have to attach Form 8962. |
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| Tax Withheld or Paid. If your employer withheld federal income tax from your pay, or you made estimated tax payments, or you overpaid last year and had it applied to this year’s tax, you could be due a refund. But you have to file a tax return to get it. |
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| Earned Income Tax Credit. If you worked and earned less than $53,267 last year, you could receive EITC as a tax refund, if you qualify, with or without a qualifying child. You may be eligible for up to $6,242. You can use the 2015 EITC Assistant tool on the IRS website to find out if you qualify. If you do, file a tax return to claim it. |
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Additional Child Tax Credit. If you have at least one child that qualifies for the Child Tax Credit and you don’t get the full credit amount, you may qualify for the Additional Child Tax Credit.
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American Opportunity Tax Credit. This credit is available for four years of post secondary education and can be up to $2,500 per eligible student. You, your spouse or your dependent must have been a student enrolled at least half time for at least one academic period. Even if you don’t owe any taxes, you still may qualify. You must complete Form 8863, Education Credits, and file it with your return to claim the credit.
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| If you adopted a qualifying child, you must file to claim the Adoption Tax Credit. |
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| Still not certain if you should file a tax return this year? As we always advise you to do, contact a trusted tax professional who will give you the best option for your specific financial situation and take care of all your dealings with the IRS. |
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