Knowing if you need to file a return can be confusing. Please see the charts from the IRS below to see if you need to file a return.
2022 Tax Returns ONLY
Chart A -For Most People
| If your filing status is... | and at the end of 2022 you were*... | THEN file a return if your gross income** was at least... |
|
Single |
under 65 65 or older |
$12,950 $14,700 |
| Married Filing Jointly*** |
under 65 (both spouses) 65 or older (one spouse) 65 or older (both spouses) |
$25,900 $27,300 $28,700 |
| Married Filing Separately | any age | $5.00 |
| Head of Household |
under 65 65 or older |
$19,400 $21,150 |
| Qualifying Surviving Spouse |
under 65 65 or older |
$25,900 $27,300 |
*If you were born on January 1, 1958, you are considered to be age 65 at the end of 2022. (If your spouse died in 2022 or if you are preparing a return for someone who died in 2022, see Pub. 501.)
**Gross income means all income you received in the form of money, goods, property, and services that isn't 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). Don’t include any social security benefits unless (a) you are married filing a separate return and you lived with your spouse at any time in 2022, 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 lines 6a and 6b 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 didn't live with your spouse at the end of 2022 (or on the date your spouse died) and your gross income was at least $5, you must file a return regardless of your age.
Chart B - For Children and Other Dependents
| If your parent (or someone else) can claim you as a dependent, use this chart to see if you must file a return. In this chart, 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. Gross income is the total of your unearned and earned income. |
|
Single dependents. Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
|
Chart C - Other Situations When You Must File
| You must file a return if any of the conditions below apply for 2022. |
| 1. You owe any special taxes, including any of the following (see the instructions for Schedule 2). a. Alternative minimum tax. b. Additional tax on a qualified plan, including an individual retirement arrangement (IRA), or other tax-favored account. c. Household employment taxes. d. Social security and 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. e. 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. f. 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. |
If you (and your spouse if filing a joint return) or your dependent(s) enrolled in healthcare coverage through the Marketplace for the 2022 tax year and made advance payments for the premium tax credit were made for the coverage, you must file a 2022 return with the Form 8962 attached. Any taxpayers that are enrolled in coverage from the Marketplace should receive a Form 1095-A from them with information regarding any advance payment along with your coverage.
Exception for children under 19 or full-time students who meet certain requirements
According to the IRS instruction, if certain criteria is met, you may elect to include income from a child under the age of 19 at the end of 2022 or if the child is a full time student under the age of 24 at the end of 2022. Should you elect to do this, you will need to include Form 8814. Should you choose to include the child's income on your return, the child will not need to file a return for this tax year.