is there an income cap for which you do not need to file a tax return?

Question

im a college student and i make roughly $2000 a year from workstudy. i have never filed a tax return before. do i still need to file taxes? what would be the consequences if i didnt?

Answer 1

you do not have to file because you are under the 2006 taxable income basis which is
$5150(standard deduction) + $3300(personal) = $8,450
if you are single and have income of 8450 don't need to file

Answer 2

Do you have any other incomes that will add to your assessable income, eg Centerlink payments? All your assessable income is aggregated, deductions are made to find your assessable income. If you don't file a return you may be missing out of rebates such as the low-income rebate of $250 per year. You may also be denying yourself a return on withholdings because of different deductions that are allowed. There are financial penalties if you owe the ATO and do not lodge a return, however if $2000 is your only assessable income, you are below the $6000 tax free threshold and should be ok. I would do the return anyway to get the rebates - there's the time-value of NOT doing that. A dollar in the hand today is better than a dollar tomorrow because you could have invested it and made more money.

Answer 3

If you earned less than the exemption amount ($3300) and you are a student, you are a dependent of your parents (most likely). You do not HAVE to file, but if you had any Federal Tax Withholdings (NOT OASDI or Medicare), you'll have to file return to get it back. If you had phone service in your name (including cell phone) between 2003 and 2005, you should also file to get back your $30 telephone tax refund.

The WealthBuilder
Tax Specialist

Answer 4

You are under the income level for tax filing and are not required to file. Nothing will happen if you don't file.

However, if you file a federal income tax return (1040EZ) you can get the federal taxes that have been withheld from your pay returned to you.

If your state has income tax, by filing a state income tax return, you can get the state taxes that have been withheld returned to you.

Answer 5

Ninasgram is right for federal taxes.

For state, it depends on where you live. PA, for example, has a flat rate tax, and it starts from the first dollar, so your state withholding would not be refunded.

Answer 6

in case you have all your suggestions jointly which you realize is right with out the 1099, document you come back well timed in case you could for sure, you in many situations have the alternative of submitting a return and then amending later, yet that style of has a tendency to alert IRS and open to greater threat of audit

Answer 7

The standard deduction + personal exemption for singles totals roughly $8,000. If you don't make more than that, you don't have to file.