Do I Have To Pay Federal Income Taxes?

If you are asking, ‘Do I have to pay federal income taxes’, lets look at some of the facts and find out.

I have heard that there are two certainties in life, which are death and taxes. However, this is not always true. Not all people have to worry about paying taxes and missing that all-important deadline.

If you are under 65, you have to file income taxes if you make at least $8,750 for single people, $11,250 for people that are filing head of household, and $17,500 for married couples filing jointly where both husband and wife are under 65,

If you are over 65 then you get a bit of a break you only have to file a return. These breaks come into play if you make at least $10,500 for singles, $12,500 for people that are filing head of household, 18,550 for married couples filing jointly if one spouse over 65, $19,600 for married couples filing jointly if both partners are 65 or older.

Did you know that in some cases even children have to file income taxes? The IRS has a different set of rules for children that need to file income taxes. For one it depends on what type of income it is. If it is earned, like from a job, or it is unearned, like from interest and dividends from stocks or things of that nature. If a child makes more earned income than $5,350, they have to file income taxes and if a child’s unearned income is more than $850, they have to file income taxes.

Here is a little bit of a twist. What do you do if your child has both earned and unearned income but neither one is enough to meet the above requirements. Then you must look at the total income in order to determine if the child needs to file a income tax return or not. It is a bit confusing but it is something you must take care of. No one wants to get a letter from the IRS wanting to know where their tax return is.

You also don’t have to file income taxes if you are on disability or if you are receiving social security benefits. These incomes are not taxable.

Some business owners choose to pay taxes more than once a year. They have the option of filing income taxes every 6 months or every quarter that can be either three or four times a year. By choosing to pay income taxes, this way you don’t have to worry about a huge lump sum at one time. For many it is much easier to come up with a smaller amount a few times a year.

If you are under 65 and are not disabled then you most likely will have to pay federal income taxes. If you are self-employed then you will have to pay more in income taxes than other people. So to answer the question ‘Do I have to pay income taxes’, the answer is most likely yes.