- Your level of earned income is one determining factor in whether or not you need to file your own return. The IRS defines earned income as wages and salaries that you were paid due to a job. The only other sort of income which applies as earned income is scholarship money. If your yearly income is over $9,350, you will need to file your own income tax return.
- The IRS defines an unearned income source as money that you make due to interest and dividend payments. Unearned income also includes capital gains. Like earned income, if you make more than $9,350 in unearned income you need to file your own tax return. This income level is based on gross income, not your net gain, so keep that in mind when determining whether or not you need to file an income tax return.
- You are also responsible for filing an income tax return if you owe certain special taxes, even if you do not meet the gross income requirements for earned or unearned income. The IRS requires that you file a return if you have made more than $400 annually in self-employment income, if you need to pay the alternative minimum tax, if you have earned church wages above $108.28 or if you own tax-favored accounts such as IRAs.
- You may not necessarily have to file your own income tax return if you meet special requirements. Your parents may be able to claim your unearned income on their income tax return, removing the need for you to file your own. The IRS permits your parents to do so as long as you are under 19, your only income was from unearned sources, the full amount of the unearned income was less than $9,500, you would otherwise need to file a report and you did not pay into any sort of federal or estimated tax payments. If none of these scenarios apply than you are not able to be included on your parents' return.
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