We know the thought of filing taxes makes most people want to run screaming from the room. And while there are definitely ways to make paying taxes easier, it’s still something most people would rather avoid.
Of course, you can’t just decide not to pay. But depending on your income, age, and filing status, you might not have to!
Let’s break down how much money you have to make to file taxes.
General income requirements for filing taxes
The first thing to consider is whether your income exceeds the income requirements. If it does, sorry, but you must file income tax.
These are the general filing requirements for the 2022 tax year (in other words, the taxes you’ll be paying in 2023). If your gross income is equal to — or higher than — the amounts listed below, you’ll need to file income tax.
Remember, these are the numbers for if you need to file your income tax — it doesn’t necessarily mean you owe money.
How the standard deduction impacts whether you have to file
If all your earnings come from traditional W-2 jobs, then making less than the standard deduction would reduce your taxable income down to zero — meaning you don’t have to pay the IRS anything.
Even assuming your employer withheld taxes during the year, though, you might want to file a return anyway. That way, you can get some money back as a tax refund.
What the standard deduction means for Social Security recipients
The standard deduction works differently if your only income is from Social Security.
Social Security isn’t taxable unless you also have income from other sources. So even if you received more than the standard deduction amount in Social Security payments, you’re still exempt from filing.
There’s another group of taxpayers that have to deal with the opposite situation — they have to file even if they made less than the standard deduction.
We’re talking about self-employed people.
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Self-employment income requirements for tax filing
If you freelance, work on a 1099 contract, or own a small business, your filing requirement kicks in at a much lower income level. Whether it’s a full-time business or a casual side hustle, you must file taxes if you earn $400 or more in self-employment income.
Yes, you read that right. $400.
There’s a common misconception that you don’t have to file 1099 taxes if you make less than $600, but that’s not true. The actual limit is $200 lower.
Why the mismatch? Because "although related, these are completely separate functions," says Kristine Stevenson Seale, EA, a tax resolution specialist and author. "The $600 threshold reporting requirement is for the payer. The $400 threshold reporting requirement is for the payee," meaning the "sole proprietor, independent contractor, or self-employed person."
Even if you don’t think of yourself as self-employed, the government might. Self-employment income includes everything from working as a freelance writer, to selling crafts on Etsy, to delivering for GrubHub. Even being paid in cash to pet-sit your neighbor’s dog counts. Basically, any time you’re earning money for working outside of a regular W-2 job counts as self-employment.
How do filing requirements work if you have multiple gigs?
Keep in mind, people with multiple side hustles need to "add up [income from] all their business ventures" to check if it's higher than $400, says Thomas Williams, EA, USTCP, a tax accountant and author. The tax filing threshold is "more likely to trigger in a multi=activity scenario," he explains.
As an example, pretend you earned:
- $200 from dog walking stints
- $50 for writing a blogpost
The two gigs add up to $400, so you would have to file taxes.
How can you pay less tax when you file?
Just because you’re reporting your self-employment income, it doesn’t mean you need to pay tax on all of it. Business write-offs can save you hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars a year on self-employment tax. The great news is, you can take them on top of the standard deduction.
Keeper automatically finds and deducts these expenses for you, saving self-employed people an average of $1,249 a year. Try it out, and you can make tax time easier than ever — maybe even so easy you won’t mind filing. (Which you can do right from the app!)
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How much do you need to make to pay quarterly self-employment taxes?
Self-employed people who expect to owe $1,000 or more also have another tax requirement to worry about: paying quarterly taxes.
How do you know how much you’ll owe in advance? We’re so glad you asked! Figuring out quarterly taxes gives people so much headache we created a free quarterly tax calculator to take the stress out.
Quarterly taxes are due on:
- Q1 - April 15
- Q2 - June 15
- Q3 - September 15
- Q4 - January 15
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Dependent income requirements for filing taxes
Still being claimed as a dependent on someone else’s taxes? You’ll have to deal with a set of different rules. Check out your tax filing requirements chart below.
If you earned more than the amounts shown, you must pay taxes as a dependent.
(Wondering how income can count as “unearned”? It’s just a fancy way of talking about income from interest, dividends, and capital gains — money that accrues without any extra work on your part!)
Other tax filing requirements
“Okay,” you’re saying to yourself, “I don’t make enough to have to pay taxes! That means I’m done, right?”
Not necessarily. You’ll still need to file if:
- You owe Social Security or 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
- You owe uncollected Social Security, Medicare, or railroad retirement tax on tips you did report to your employer
- You owe taxes on on group-term life insurance coverage over $50,000
- You owe alternative minimum tax (for high-income taxpayers)
- You owe additional tax on an IRA or another tax-favored account
- You owe household employment taxes (from employing housekeepers, gardeners, or others who work around your home as employees)
- You owe recapture taxes (from selling something you depreciated on your taxes)
- You (or your spouse, if filing jointly) received Archer MSA, Medicare Advantage MSA, or health savings account distributions
- You had wages of $108.28 or more from a church or qualified church-controlled organization that’s exempt from employer Social Security and Medicare taxes
- You, your spouse, or a dependent received advance payments from the health coverage tax credit
Should you ever file if you’re not required to?
We know it sounds weird — why would you ever file taxes if you don’t have to, right? Well, how about when filing taxes earns you money?
It’s true: If you’re owed a refund from your W-2 withholding, overpaid your quarterly taxes, or qualify for one of the many refundable tax credits, you’ll only be able to collect if you file a return telling the IRS that it owes you money.
Tax credits worth filing for
Here are some of the credits you’ll probably want to do your taxes for, even when you aren’t required to file:
Just make sure you double-check your eligibility before claiming a refundable credit on your return. Falsely claiming credits can count as tax fraud, and can be a criminal offense.
Knowing when and when not to file taxes can be tricky, and the answer will be different for everybody. But unless you’re certain you don’t have to file, it’s generally better to be on the safe side and send in that return.
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The last thing you want is to realize after the deadline that you were supposed to file — after all, being late on your taxes is no laughing matter.
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At Keeper, we’re on a mission to help people overcome the complexity of taxes. We’ve provided this information for educational purposes, and it does not constitute tax, legal, or accounting advice. If you would like a tax expert to clarify it for you, feel free to sign up for Keeper. You may also email support@keepertax.com with your questions.
