do i need to file taxes?

Question

i went to irs.gov and i am still confused, PLEASE HELP ME! i worked at a crappy fast food place in high school for three years (02-05) and made about 3k each year. my own parents said do NOT file, i wouldn't get much back. they claimed me each year including this year. i'm i going to go to jail for not filing? why would my parents say no if it was required? please help. every damn week on tv , and even in my local area, some dipstick is getting arrested for tax evasion or failing to file income or some other crap........

Answer 1

You are not required to file with such a low amount of income. But if you had any withholding tax taken out of your check, you have to file to get it back. It's up to you, but I would want my money back if I was entitled to it.

Answer 2

Dependents have a different filing requirement. For 2006 if your unearned income (interest etc) was more than $850. you would have to file or if your earned income (wages salaries tips etc) was more than 5150 you would have to file. While you probably do not have a filing requirement, you should file to get the amount of your federal withholding back. The easiest way for you to do this is a 1040ez, the forms are year specific and you could file your 2006, 2005, and 2004 returns to receive the refund of your federal withholding. Unfortunately you can't go back any further than 2004 unless your were financially disabled (reason for not filing). We don't put you in jail when you have earned so little money as a w-2 employee, if you were self employed (meaning that your employer does not withhold taxes) you would have to file when your net income is more than $400/year but this does not appear to be your situation. Check out Publication 501 at irs.gov and it should help you. Remember when filing the 1040ez line 5 (standard deduction) there is a small worksheet on the back of the form to help you fill this part out, most people fill this out wrong which is why I pointed out the worksheet (its only 5 lines long). Go claim your refund.

Answer 3

Overall, as a family, with the income you're bring in, it is better for your parents to claim you and still maybe continue to do so if you go to college.

Definitely go back and do your taxes for the past years that you can, the years that other people have stated. Your employer almost definitely took out money that is YOURS and you are entitled to it! The main thing is that since your parents are claiming you, you are going to be filing as a single person and claim 0 as your exemptions (this is where your parents claiming you comes into play).
The 1040 ez will take you less than an hour to do the first one to get your feet wet and probably about 20 max for the others. DO IT! You will have to mail in the forms at this time rather than email.
Just for advice at no charge- you can also take your forms to an H&R block and have them look it over(there is usually a regional one open year round) - you do want to make sure you have someone double checking the amounts you think you are making and they can maybe steer you to have more or less taxes taken out of each paycheck depending on your current circumstances. Going to college full or part-time will could also affect what you should do.
Now go do the paperwork!

Answer 4

If you were working as an employee and only made a few thousand dollars a year, then you were not required to file. But if you had anything withheld for federal income tax, you could have gotten it back if you filed, and still can if you file for 2004 thru 2006 - it's too late for years before that. There won't be any penalty for filing late if you don't owe anything, and with that income, you won't. If you didn't file, you are not in any trouble.

Janet P is incorrect that your parents were supposed to add it to the household income - that only applies to certain types of investment income of a minor, NOT to money earned from a job. They were correct to claim you as a dependent, but do not show your income on their tax return.

The people getting arrested for not filing obviously had more income than you did, and owed taxes. Quit worrying, you're OK.

Answer 5

Quit worrying; you are not in drastic trouble and are not going to jail; relax and breath deep now. Here is the straight skinny for you. If you only made 3K each year you would not have any federal tax due in any case. Yes, your parents were correct in claiming you. If you can get copies from the employer of the W-2 forms for the years you worked look in "Box 2" and see if any federal income tax was withheld. If it was go to IRS.GOV and download the for 1040EZ for the year in question and fill it out; it is the simplest of the simple. There is a three year limit beyond which you will not get your refund, but should get a refund for 03, 04, 05. If you need any specific help with the forms message me with the questions and I will answer them for you. I have worked on the IRS VITA (volunteer income tax assistance) program since its inception in 1971; each year I do in excess of 500 returns; so I should be able to answer any questions about taxes. Good luck and holler if you need help.

Answer 6

If your parents claimed you as a deduction each year, then it depends on if your income was more than the standard deduction:
2002 - $4700
2003 - $4750
2004 - $4850
2005 - $5000

If you made more than that each year, then yes, you are required to file.

If you made less, then you are not required to file, but you may want to so that you can get any money that was withheld back. There is a 3 year limit for filing for refunds, so you are out of luck for 2002 and 2003 if you only need to file for a refund.

If you made more than the standard deduction, then you do need to file, and you should do so as soon as possible, before the IRS contacts you. You can get historical tax forms and instructions from www.irs.gov

Answer 7

There is no penalty for not filing or filing late if you do not owe money. The instructions state that you do not need to file if you made less than $8450 each year. You should file just to get the withheld money back. You have up to three years to do it. Even if your parents claim you as a dependent it will not affect your tax at $3000. Apply for a refund it taxes were withheld.

There is no such thing as family income. The only thing that can be added to parents income is interest earned by a minor.

Answer 8

If it was 02 - 05 then don't worry about it. If you were a full time student, living with your parents and only made around $3k then you probably would have gotten back what you had paid in. If you file now, you might have to pay penalties and you wouldn't get your money anyway. I really don't think the IRS would arrest a teenager for not filing, especially when your income was so low. They are looking at 06 taxes now, so don't worry about it. People that get arrested for tax evasion are usually people who have made a lot of money and not filed or people who have made a lot of money and tried to claim fraudulent expenses. If the IRS was going to contact you, they probably would have done it by now.

Answer 9

Actually they were supposed to add it to the household income if you were living with them and a minor.

BTW, you HAVE to file your report even if you owe nothing and expect no refund. Taxes are not optional in the US.

They are not going to go after you now, it isn't worth it. So, go ahead and file for those years. Claim ZERO (not even yourself) for dependants, or your parents will end up red flagged for an audit.

You aren't going to owe anything, so you are just getting them the paperwork so you don't have trouble years down the road.