WHO MUST FILE

1 Individuals—In General

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, whether you must file a federal income tax return depends on your gross income, your filing status, your age, and whether you are a dependent. For details, see Table 1 2025 Filing Requirements Chart for Most Taxpayers and Table 2. You must also file if one of the situations described in Table 3 applies. The filing requirements apply even if you owe no tax. You may have to pay a penalty if you are required to file a return but fail to do so. If you willfully fail to file a return, you may be subject to criminal prosecution.

TAX TIP:  Even if you do not have to file a return, it may be to your advantage to do so.

CAUTION:  File only one federal income tax return for the year regardless of how many jobs you had, how many Forms W-2 you received, or how many states you lived in during the year. Do not file more than one original return for the same year, even if you have not received your refund or have not heard from the IRS since you filed.

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident, whether you must file a return depends on three factors: 1) your gross income, 2) your filing status, and 3) your age.

Gross Income

This includes all income you receive in the form of money, goods, property, and services that isn’t exempt from tax. It also includes income from sources outside the United States or from the sale of your main home (even if you can exclude all or part of it). Include part of your social security benefits if:
1. You were married, filing a separate return, and you lived with your spouse at any time during 2025; or
2. Half of your social security benefits plus your other gross income and any tax-exempt interest is more than $25,000 ($32,000 if married filing jointly).

If either (1) or (2) applies, see the Instructions for Form 1040 or Pub. 915 to figure the social security benefits you must include in gross income. Common types of income will be discussed later in the course.

Community property states.

Community property states include Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. If you and your spouse lived in a community property state, you must usually follow state law to determine what is community property and what is separate income. For details, see Form 8958 and Publication 555 Community Property

Nevada, Washington, and California domestic partners.

A registered domestic partner in Nevada, Washington, or California must generally report half the combined community income of the individual and their domestic partner. See Publication 555 Community Property

Self-employed individuals.

If you are self-employed, your gross income includes the amount on line 7 of Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business; and line 9 of Schedule F (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Farming. See Self-Employed Persons, later, for more information about your filing requirements.

CAUTION:  If you do not report all of your self-employment income, your social security benefits may be lower when you retire..

Filing Status

Your filing status depends on whether you are single or married and on your family situation. Your filing status is determined on the last day of your tax year, which is December 31 for most taxpayers. We will have lessons on filing status soon.

Age

If you are 65 or older at the end of the year, you can generally have a higher amount of gross income than other taxpayers before you must file. See Table 1-1. You are considered 65 on the day before your 65th birthday. For example, if your 65th birthday is on January 1, 2026, you are considered 65 for 2025.

2 DEPENDENTS

If you are a dependent (one who meets the dependency tests in chapter 3), see Table 1-2 to find out whether you must file a return. You must also file if your situation is described in Table 1-3. Other Situations When You Must File a 2025 Tax Return

Responsibility of Parent

Generally, a child is responsible for filing their own tax return and for paying any tax on the return. If a dependent child must file an income tax return but can’t file due to age or any other reason, then a parent, guardian, or other legally responsible person must file it for the child. If the child can’t sign the return, the parent or guardian must sign the child’s name followed by the words “By (your signature), parent for minor child.”

Child’s Earnings

Amounts a child earns by performing services are included in the child’s gross income and not the gross income of the parent. This is true even if under local law the child’s parent has the right to the earnings and may actually have received them. But if the child does not pay the tax due on this income, the parent is liable for the tax.

3 Certain Children Under Age 19 or Full-Time Students

If a child’s only income is interest and dividends (including capital gain distributions and Alaska Permanent Fund dividends), the child was under age 19 at the end of 2025 or was a full-time student under age 24 at the end of 2025, and certain other conditions are met, a parent can elect to include the child’s income on the parent’s return. If this election is made, the child does NOt have to file a return. See Instructions for Form 8814, Parents’ Election To Report Child’s Interest and Dividends.

4 SELP-EMPLOYED PERSONS

You are self-employed if you:
• Carry on a trade or business as a sole proprietor,
• Are an independent contractor,
• Are a member of a partnership, or
• Are in business for yourself in any other way.
Self-employment can include work in addition to your regular full-time business activities, such as certain part-time work you do at home or in addition to your regular job.

You must file a return if your gross income is at least as much as the filing requirement amount for your filing status and age (shown in Table 1-1). Also, you must file Form 1040 or 1040-SR and Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-Employment Tax, if:
• Your net earnings from self-employment (excluding church employee income) were $400 or more, or
• You had church employee income of $108.28 or more. (See Table 1-3.)
Use Schedule SE (Form 1040) to figure your self-employment tax. Self-employment tax is comparable to the social security and Medicare tax withheld from an employee’s wages. For more information about this tax, see Pub. 334.

Employees of Foreign Governments or International Organizations

If you are a U.S. citizen who works in the United States for an international organization, a foreign government, or a wholly owned instrumentality of a foreign government, and your employer isn’t required to withhold social security and Medicare taxes from your wages, you must include your earnings from services performed in the United States when figuring your net earnings from self-employment.

Ministers

You must include income from services you performed as a minister when figuring your net earnings from self-employment, unless you have an exemption from self-employment tax. This also applies to Christian Science practitioners and members of a religious order who have not taken a vow of poverty. For more information, see Pub. 517.

5 ALIENS

Your status as an alien (resident, nonresident, or dual-status) determines whether and how you must file an income tax return.

The rules used to determine your alien status are discussed in Publication 519 U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

Resident Alien

If you are a resident alien for the entire year, you must file a tax return following the same rules that apply to U.S. citizens. Use the forms discussed in this publication.

Nonresident Alien

If you are a nonresident alien, the rules and tax forms that apply to you are different from those that apply to U.S. citizens and resident aliens. See Pub. 519 to find out if U.S. income tax laws apply to you and which forms you should file.

Dual-Status Taxpayer

If you are a resident alien for part of the tax year and a nonresident alien for the rest of the year, you are a dual-status taxpayer. Different rules apply for each part of the year. For information on dual-status taxpayers, see Publication 519 U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

6 WHO ELSE NEEDS TO FILE

Surviving Spouses, Executors, Administrators, and Legal Representatives

You must file a final return for a decedent (a person who died) if both of the following are true.
• Your spouse died in 2025 or you are the executor, administrator, or legal representative.
• The decedent met the filing requirements at the date of death.

U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Living Abroad To determine whether you must file a return, include in your gross income any income you received abroad, including any income you can exclude under the foreign earned income exclusion. For information on special tax rules that may apply to you, see Pub. 54. It is available online and at most U.S. embassies and consulates. See How To Get Tax Help in the back of this publication.

Residents of Puerto Rico

If you are a U.S. citizen and also a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico, you must generally file a U.S. income tax return for any year in which you meet the income requirements. This is in addition to any legal requirement you may have to file an income tax return with Puerto Rico.

If you are a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico for the entire year, your U.S. gross income doesn’t include income from sources within Puerto Rico. It does, however, include any income you received for your services as an employee of the United States or a U.S. agency. If you receive income from Puerto Rican sources that isn’t subject to U.S. tax, you must reduce your standard deduction. As a result, the amount of income you must have before you are required to file a U.S. income tax return is lower than the applicable amount in Table 1-1 or Table 1-2. For more information, see Publication 570 Tax Guide for Individuals With Income From U.S. Territories.

Individuals With Income From U.S. Territories

If you had income from Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, special rules may apply when determining whether you must file a U.S. federal income tax return. In addition, you may have to file a return with the individual island government. See Publication 570 Tax Guide for Individuals With Income From U.S. Territories for more information.

7 WHO SHOULD FILE

Even if you do not have to file, you should file a federal income tax return to get money back if any of the following conditions apply.
• You had federal income tax withheld or made estimated tax payments.
• You qualify for the earned income credit. See Pub. 596 for more information.
• You qualify for the additional child tax credit. See chapter 14 for more information.
• You qualify for the premium tax credit. See Pub. 974 for more information.
• You qualify for the American opportunity credit. See Pub. 970 for more information.
• You qualify for the refundable adoption credit. See Form 8839 and its instructions for more information.
More information to follow.

8 RESOURCES

IRS Publications

IRS Forms

Tables

Table 1. 2025 Filing Requirements Chart for Most Taxpayers

IF your filing status is . . .	AND at the end of 2025 you were . . .*	THEN file a return if your gross income was at least . . .**
Single	under 65	$15,750
	65 or older	$17,750
Head of Household (HOH)	under 65	$23,625
	65 or older	$25,625
Married Filing Jointly (MFS)***	under 65 (both spouses)	$31,500
	65 or older (one spouse)	$33,100
	65 or older (both spouses)	$34,700
Married Filing Separately (MFS)	any age	$5
Qualifying Surviving Spouse (QSS)	under 65	$31,500
	65 or older	$33,100
* If you were born before January 2, 1961, you’re considered to be 65 or older at the end of 2025. (If your spouse died in 2025, see Death of spouse, later. If you’re preparing a return for someone who died in 2025, see Death of taxpayer, later.) ** Gross income means all income you receive in the form of money, goods, property, and services that is not exempt from tax, including any income from sources outside the United States or from the sale of your main home (even if you can exclude part or all of it). Do not include any social security benefits unless (a) you’re married filing a separate return and you lived with your spouse at any time during 2025, or (b) one-half of your social security benefits plus your other gross income and any tax-exempt interest is more than $25,000 ($32,000 if married filing jointly). If (a) or (b) applies, see the Instructions for Form 1040 to figure the taxable part of social security benefits you must include in gross income. Gross income includes gains, but not losses, reported on Form 8949 or Schedule D. Gross income from a business means, for example, the amount on Schedule C, line 7; or Schedule F, line 9. But in figuring gross income, don’t reduce your income by any losses, including any loss on Schedule C, line 7; or Schedule F, line 9. *** If you did not live with your spouse at the end of 2025 (or on the date your spouse died) and your gross income was at least $5, you must file a return regardless of your age.





Table 1-2. 2025 Filing Requirements for Dependents

If your parents (or someone else) can claim you as a dependent, use this table to see if you must file a return. (See Table 1-3 for other situations when you must file.) In this table, unearned income includes taxable interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. It also includes unemployment compensation, taxable social security benefits, pensions, annuities, and distributions of unearned income from a trust. Earned income includes salaries, wages, tips, professional fees, and taxable scholarship and fellowship grants. (See Scholarships and fellowships in chapter 8.) Gross income is the total of your earned and unearned income.
Single dependents — Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
	No.	You must file a return if any of the following apply.
		•	Your unearned income was more than $1,350.
		•	Your earned income was more than $15,750.
		•	Your gross income was more than the larger of:
			•	$1,350 or
			•	Your earned income (up to $15,300) plus $450.
	Yes.	You must file a return if any of the following apply.
		•	Your unearned income was more than $3,350 ($5,350 if 65 or older and blind).
		•	Your earned income was more than $17,750 ($19,750 if 65 or older and blind).
		•	Your gross income was more than the larger of:
			•	$3,350 ($5,350 if 65 or older and blind), or
			•	Your earned income (up to $15,300) plus $2,450 ($4,450 if 65 or older and blind).
Married dependents — Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
	No.	You must file a return if any of the following apply.
		•	Your unearned income was more than $1,350.
		•	Your earned income was more than $15,750.
		•	Your gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions.:
		•	Your gross income was more than the larger of:
			•	$1,350 or
			•	Your earned income (up to $15,300) plus $450.
	Yes.	You must file a return if any of the following apply.
		•	Your unearned income was more than $2,950 ($4,550 if 65 or older and blind).
		•	Your earned income was more than $17,350 ($18,950 if 65 or older and blind).
		•	Your gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions.
		•	Your gross income was more than the larger of:
			•	$2,950 ($4,550 if 65 or older and blind), or
			•	Your earned income (up to $15,300) plus $2,050 ($3,650 if 65 or older and blind).





Table 1-3. Other Situations When You Must File a 2025 Tax Return

You must file a return if any of the following apply for 2025.
1	You owe any special taxes, including any of the following (see the instructions for Schedule 2 (Form 1040)).
1a	Alternative minimum tax.
1b	Additional tax on a qualified plan, including an individual retirement arrangement (IRA), or other tax-favored account.
1c	Household employment taxes.
1d	Social security and Medicare tax on tips you did not report to your employer or on wages you received from an employer who did not withhold these taxes.
1e	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.
1f	Recapture taxes.
2	You (or your spouse, if filing jointly) received health savings account, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA distributions.
3	You had net earnings from self-employment of at least $400.
4	You had wages of $108.28 or more from a church or qualified church-controlled organization that is exempt from employer social security and Medicare taxes.
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.
6	You are required to include amounts in income under section 965 or you have a net tax liability under section 965 that you are paying in installments under section 965(h) or deferred by making an election under section 965(i).
7	You purchased a new or used clean vehicle from a registered dealer and reduced the amount you paid at the time of sale by transferring the credit to the dealer. See Form 8936 and Schedule A (Form 8936).





Worksheets

Created 5/30/2025 by administrator.
Last reviewed or updated 6:32 PM 8/31/2026 by administrator.