647 / Who must file a return?

Editor’s Note: Taxpayers who are not ordinarily required to file a tax return might consider filing a 2020 and 2021 tax return if they did not receive the full amount of the first or second round economic stimulus payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. These taxpayers may be eligible for a recovery rebate credit if they were eligible for the economic impact payments but have not received the full amount of their payment. Those taxpayers must file a federal income tax return to claim the recovery rebate credit even if they are not typically required to file a tax return.

The 2017 tax reform law modified the rules governing who is required to file a tax return for tax years beginning in 2018 through 2025. Because of the suspension of the personal exemption, unmarried individuals whose gross income exceeds the applicable standard deduction (see Q 752) are now required to file a tax return for the year.

Married individuals are required to file a tax return if the individual’s gross income, when combined with his or her spouse’s gross income, is more than the standard deduction that applies to a joint return and (1) the individual and his or her spouse at the close of the tax year shared the same household, (2) the individual’s spouse does not file a separate return, and (3) neither the individual nor his or her spouse is a dependent of another taxpayer who has income (other than earned income) in excess of $500.¹

A return must be filed by every individual whose gross income equals or exceeds the following limits in 2025:²

(1)     Married persons filing jointly – $30,000 (if one spouse is 65 or older – $31,600; if both spouses are 65 or older – $33,200).