How Much Money Do You Have to Make to File Taxes?

How much money do you have to make to file taxes? That seems to be a popular question these days, especially for people that made less money last year due to the economy.

Income Requirements

For the 2008 tax year, you need to file taxes if your gross income meets the minimum income for your filing status and age:

Filing Status	Minimum Gross Income (under 65)	Minimum Gross Income (65+)
Single	$8,950	$10,300
Head of Household	$11,500	$12,850
Married Filing Jointly	$17,900	$18,950 (one spouse) $20,000 (both spouses)
Married Filing Separately	$3,500	$3,500
Widow with Dependent Child	$14,400	$15,450

This table doesn’t apply to dependents. See When Do Kids Need to File Taxes? for income levels for children.

Social Security Income

Gross income doesn’t include social security benefits. The exception to this rule is if half of your social security benefits plus your other gross income is more than $25,000 ($32,000 if married filing jointly). Married filing separate also have different social security rules.

Other Income Sources

There are special rules for self employment earnings and church earnings. You must file taxes if your:

Self employment net earnings are greater than $400.
Church earnings are greater than $108.28 and are exempt from employer Social Security and Medicare.

Other Tax Filing Requirements

In addition to the income requirements, there are other circumstances when you must file a tax return. One example is if you sold your home. For all the requirements, see Publication 501.

Optional Filing

Even if you are not required to file a tax return, you can choose to file one. You may want to do this if you had any federal withholding or are entitled to tax credits, like the earned income tax credit, and want to get a refund.