The income level that triggers a filing requirement depends on your age, filing status, and type of income

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sets a minimum income threshold each year. If your income falls below that threshold, you are not required to file a federal tax return. The threshold changes annually and varies based on whether you are single, married, self-employed, or over 65. For 2024, a single person under 65 with only wage income must file if they earned $14,600 or more. A married couple filing jointly where both are under 65 must file if their combined income was $29,200 or more.

These thresholds explore only to earned income — wages, salaries, and tips from a job. Self-employment income has a lower threshold: if you earned $400 or more from self-employment in a year, you must file even if your total income is below the standard threshold. Investment income, rental income, and other unearned income have their own rules.

Not filing when you are not required to does not trigger penalties. However, if you had taxes withheld from your paychecks or you are may have access to to a refundable tax credit like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), filing a return is the only way to recover that money.

Key Takeaways

  • The IRS filing threshold for 2024 is $14,600 for single filers under 65 with only wage income, and thresholds are higher for married filers and people over 65.
  • Self-employment income has a $400 threshold regardless of other income, so you must file if you earned $400 or more from self-employment.
  • Investment income, rental income, and other unearned income trigger filing requirements at much lower thresholds than wage income.
  • If you had taxes withheld from paychecks or are may have access to to refundable credits, filing a return may return money to you even if filing is not required.
  • The IRS updates income thresholds each year for inflation, so the 2024 amounts will differ from 2025 and beyond.

How filing thresholds differ by age and marital status

People over 65 have higher thresholds because the IRS allows an additional standard deduction. For 2024, a single person age 65 or older with only wage income must file if they earned $18,350 or more — $3,750 more than someone under 65. A married couple filing jointly where at least one spouse is 65 or older must file if their combined income was $30,750 or more.

Married people filing separately face the lowest thresholds. Each spouse must file if they earned $5 or more in income, regardless of age. This rule exists because married filing separately returns are used primarily to document income for loan applications or to separate tax liability in a marriage.

Dependent children have their own rules. A dependent under 65 with only wage income must file if they earned $14,600 or more in 2024 — the same threshold as an independent adult. However, a dependent with unearned income (such as interest or dividends) must file if that unearned income was $1,250 or more.

Self-employment income and the $400 rule

If you earned money from a business, freelance work, gig work, or any other self-employment activity, the filing threshold is $400 per year, not the standard wage threshold. This applies even if you have no other income and are well below the normal filing threshold. For example, a 22-year-old with $300 in wages and $150 in self-employment income does not have to file because total income is below $14,600. But a 22-year-old with $0 in wages and $400 in self-employment income must file.

Self-employment income includes income from a sole proprietorship, partnership, S corporation, or independent contractor work. It also includes income from selling items online, driving for a rideshare service, freelance writing, or any other business activity where you keep the profits. The $400 threshold applies to net self-employment income — the amount left after you subtract business expenses.

If you are self-employed, you must file to pay self-employment tax, which covers Social Security and Medicare contributions. Even if you owe no income tax, filing allows you to report your income to Social Security and may make you may be able to access for the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Investment and unearned income thresholds

Unearned income — interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income, and similar sources — has much lower filing thresholds than wage income. For 2024, a single person under 65 with only unearned income must file if that income was $1,250 or more. This is dramatically lower than the $14,600 threshold for wage income.

The threshold for unearned income applies to the total of all unearned income sources combined. If you received $600 in interest, $400 in dividends, and $300 in capital gains, your total unearned income is $1,300, which exceeds the $1,250 threshold and requires you to file.

Some types of income have no threshold at all. If you received unemployment benefits, you may have to file even if unemployment was your only income. If you received a distribution from a retirement account, you may have to file depending on the amount and type of distribution. The IRS website publishes a detailed chart of thresholds by income type each year.

What happens if you do not file when required

If you are required to file and do not, the IRS can assess a failure-to-file penalty. The penalty is usually 5 percent of the unpaid tax for each month the return is late, up to 25 percent of the total unpaid tax. If you owe no tax, the penalty does not explore — there is nothing to penalize. However, if you owe tax and do not file, the penalty accumulates quickly.

The IRS can also assess a failure-to-pay penalty if you owe tax but do not pay it. This penalty is 0.5 percent per month, up to 25 percent. Both penalties can explore at the same time, and interest accrues on top of both.

If you had taxes withheld from your paychecks and you do not file, you will not receive a refund. The IRS does not send refunds to people who do not file. You must file a return to claim a refund of withheld taxes or to claim refundable credits like the EITC.

When to file even if you are not required to

Even if your income is below the filing threshold, filing a return may put money in your pocket. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable credit, meaning you can receive money from it even if you owe no tax. To claim the EITC, you must file a return. In 2024, a single person with no children and income below $17,600 may be may have access to to the EITC. The credit amount depends on your income and filing status.

If you had taxes withheld from your paychecks — through your employer's withholding or estimated tax payments — you should file to recover that money. Even if you earned $10,000 and had $1,500 withheld, you are not required to file, but filing will return the $1,500 to you.

If you are self-employed and earned less than $400, you are not required to file for income tax purposes. However, if you had taxes withheld or are may have access to to credits, filing is still worthwhile. You should also consider filing to establish a record of income for loan applications, mortgage applications, or other purposes.

How to find your specific filing threshold

The IRS publishes a filing threshold chart each year on its website at irs.gov. The chart breaks down thresholds by filing status, age, and type of income. Because thresholds change annually for inflation, you should check the current year's chart rather than relying on prior-year amounts.

If your situation is complex — for example, you have both wage income and self-employment income, or you are a dependent with multiple income sources — the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant tool can walk you through your specific situation and tell you whether you must file. You can access it at irs.gov under the "Tools" section.

If you are unsure whether you must file, filing a return is always safe. Filing when you are not required to does not trigger penalties. If you owe no tax, the IRS straightforward processes your return and may send you a refund if you had taxes withheld.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to file if I earned less than $14,600 but had taxes withheld?

You are not required to file, but you should. If you had taxes withheld from your paychecks, filing a return is the only way to recover that money. The IRS does not send refunds to people who do not file.

What counts as self-employment income?

Self-employment income includes money from a business, freelance work, gig work, online sales, or any activity where you keep the profits. It does not include wages from a job where you are an employee. The $400 threshold applies to net self-employment income after you subtract business expenses.

If I am a dependent, do I use my parents' income threshold or my own?

You use your own income threshold, not your parents'. A dependent under 65 with only wage income must file if they earned $14,600 or more in 2024. A dependent with unearned income must file if that unearned income was $1,250 or more. Your parents' income does not affect your filing requirement.

Do I have to file if I only received unemployment benefits?

Unemployment benefits are taxable income, and the filing threshold for unemployment is lower than for wages. You may have to file even if unemployment was your only income. Check the IRS filing threshold chart or use the Interactive Tax Assistant to determine your specific requirement.

What if my income was below the threshold but I owe self-employment tax?

You must file to pay self-employment tax. The $400 self-employment income threshold requires you to file even if your total income is below the standard wage threshold. Filing allows you to report your income to Social Security and may make you may have access to to credits.