Do I Need to File a Tax Return? (For Tax Year 2025)

Short answer is “Yes”. It is better for you.

Determining whether you must file a federal income tax return depends on your gross income, filing status, age, and whether someone can claim you as a dependent. The rules come directly from current IRS guidance, primarily Publication 501 (2025) and the official IRS filing requirements checker.

Filing is required even if you owe no tax.

This article covers individuals (U.S. citizens and resident aliens) and briefly addresses corporations. Always verify your specific situation on IRS.gov, as rules can have exceptions (e.g., for taxpayers abroad or in U.S. territories).

Gross Income Defined

Gross income includes all income received in the form of money, goods, property, or services that is not tax-exempt. Examples:

Wages, salaries, tips
Taxable interest and dividends
Taxable pensions, annuities, and Social Security benefits (in certain cases)
Unemployment compensation
Capital gains (gains, not losses)
Net earnings from self-employment or business (gross receipts for service businesses; sales minus cost of goods sold for others)
Rental income, alimony (if applicable), and other sources

Do not reduce gross income by losses when checking filing thresholds. Tax-exempt income (e.g., certain scholarships or municipal bond interest) is generally excluded.

Filing Requirements for Most Taxpayers (Not Claimed as a Dependent)

Use Table 1 from IRS Publication 501 (2025). You must file if your gross income meets or exceeds the amount shown for your filing status and age at the end of 2025.

Table 1. 2025 Filing Requirements for Most Taxpayers

Filing Status	Age at End of 2025	File If Gross Income ≥
Single	Under 65	$15,750
	65 or older	$17,750
Head of Household	Under 65	$23,625
	65 or older	$25,625
Married Filing Jointly	Both under 65	$31,500
	One 65 or older	$33,100
	Both 65 or older	$34,700
Married Filing Separately	Any age	$5
Qualifying Surviving Spouse	Under 65	$31,500
	65 or older	$33,100

Notes:

You are 65 or older if born before January 2, 1961.
Special rule for married filing separately: If you did not live with your spouse at year-end (or on the date of death), file if gross income is at least $5 regardless of age.
If your spouse died in 2025, treat them as 65 or older only if they were 65 at the time of death.

Self-Employed Individuals

You must file a return (and pay self-employment tax) if you have net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more, even if your total gross income is below the thresholds above. Report on Schedule C (or C-EZ) and Schedule SE. This applies to sole proprietors, independent contractors, gig workers, etc.

Church employees with $108.28 or more in wages from a qualifying organization also have special filing rules.

Filing Requirements if You Are a Dependent

If a parent or someone else can claim you as a dependent, use the stricter rules in Table 2. A dependent may still need to file their own return.

Key Definitions for Table 2:

Earned income — Wages, salaries, tips, taxable scholarships, etc.
Unearned income — Taxable interest, dividends, capital gains, unemployment compensation, taxable Social Security, pensions, annuities, trust distributions of unearned income.
Gross income — Earned + unearned.

Table 2. 2025 Filing Requirements for Dependents (from Pub. 501)

Single Dependents

Not 65 or older and not blind: File if unearned income > $1,350, or earned income > $15,750, or gross income > the larger of ($1,350 or earned income up to $15,300 + $450).
65 or older or blind (adjustments apply for both): Higher thresholds (unearned > $3,350 or $5,350 if both; earned > $17,750 or $19,750; gross income formula adjusted upward).

Married Dependents

Additional rule: File if gross income ≥ $5 and your spouse files separately and itemizes deductions.
Unearned/earned thresholds are similar to single but with adjustments for age/blindness (e.g., unearned > $2,950 or $4,550 if both conditions).

Caution: If your gross income is $5,200 or more, you usually cannot be claimed as a dependent unless you are a qualifying child.

If the Dependent Has Income

The dependent’s filing requirement is independent of whether they are claimed. Their income (earned or unearned) is tested against Table 2.
A child’s earnings belong to the child, not the parent.
If the dependent files a joint return (except solely to claim a refund of withheld tax or estimated payments), they generally cannot be claimed as a dependent by anyone else.
Parents/guardians must file on behalf of a dependent child who is required to file but cannot do so themselves.

Election for Child’s Unearned Income: Parents may elect to report a child’s interest and dividends on their own return (Form 8814) if the child is under 19 (or under 24 and a full-time student) and meets other conditions. This can avoid the child needing to file.

Other Situations That Require Filing (Even With Low or No Income)

From Table 3 in Publication 501, you must file if any of these apply (regardless of gross income thresholds):

You owe special taxes (alternative minimum tax, additional tax on IRAs or other accounts, unreported tip taxes, household employment taxes, recapture taxes, etc.).
You received distributions from an Archer MSA, Medicare Advantage MSA, or health savings account.
Net earnings from self-employment ≥ $400.
Church employee wages ≥ $108.28 from a qualifying organization.
Advance payments of the premium tax credit were made for you, your spouse, or a dependent (you should have received Form 1095-A). You must file to reconcile the advance payments with the actual credit—even if you had no other income or are otherwise below filing thresholds.
You have net tax liability or inclusions under section 965 (certain foreign income rules).
You transferred a clean vehicle credit at purchase (new/used qualifying vehicle).

Premium Tax Credit Note: If you (or someone on your behalf) received advance payments through the Health Insurance Marketplace, filing is mandatory to reconcile—even with zero income. Failure to file can result in repayment issues or loss of future credits.

Different Types of Income and Filing Impact

Wages/Salaries/Tips — Count toward gross income and earned income (for dependents).
Self-Employment/Gig Income — Triggers filing at $400 net earnings; also subject to self-employment tax.
Investments (Interest, Dividends, Capital Gains) — Included in gross income. For dependents, these are unearned income (lower threshold of $1,350). Report sales on Form 8949/Schedule D; gains (not losses) count in the filing test.
Pensions, Annuities, Social Security — Taxable portions are gross income (and unearned income for dependents). Taxable Social Security is included only in specific cases (e.g., married filing separately and lived with spouse, or combined income exceeds thresholds).
Unemployment Compensation — Fully taxable and treated as unearned income for dependents.
Rental or Business Income — Included; gross income from business is not reduced by losses for the filing test.
Other — Alimony (post-2018 divorces generally nontaxable), tax-exempt interest (excluded), etc.

Corporations and Business Entities

C Corporations (domestic, including those in bankruptcy and LLCs electing corporate status via Form 8832): Must file Form 1120 whether or not they have taxable income (unless exempt under section 501). This applies even with zero income or expenses.
S Corporations (those with a valid Form 2553 election in effect): Must file Form 1120-S for any tax year the election is in effect, regardless of income level. The return reports pass-through items to shareholders via Schedule K-1.
Partnerships (including multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships) file an information return (Form 1065) even with no income, but this is not a corporation.

Should You File Even If Not Required?

Yes, in many cases it is beneficial:

To claim a refund of withheld taxes or estimated payments.
To claim refundable credits (e.g., Earned Income Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit).
To start the statute of limitations on refunds or credits.(What is that???)