Who Must File a 2015 US Federal Tax Return: Requirements for US Taxpayers for 2015

Summary: Filing requirements for US taxpayers for 2015, based primarily upon age, filing status and income, determine who must file a 2015 US federal tax return.

Taxes: Tax Credits, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

The annual ritual of filing a federal tax return through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is not a requirement for all citizens of the United States of America.

Who must file a US federal tax return? Filing requirements for US citizens and for resident aliens are the same, whereas filing requirements for nonresident aliens may be different. Filing requirements also differ for dependents who are required to file a tax return.

Filing requirements for most US taxpayers are determined primarily by three factors: age, filing status and income.

Age

The IRS distinguishes individual taxpayers by two age groups: under 65 and 65 or older.

An exception to the distinction concerning age 65 occurs in the Married Filing Separately status, which has no age criteria.

Filing status

The IRS recognizes five filing statuses: Single; Head of Household; Married Filing Jointly; Married Filing Separately; Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child.

The last year for which a widow or widower may be eligible for Married Filing Jointly status for a tax return concerning the deceased spouse is the year of death for the deceased spouse. For example, a surviving spouse who became and remained widowed in 2015 may be eligible for the Married Filing Jointly status for the couple's 2015 federal tax return.

After the year of spousal death, widows and widowers select from three filing statuses. Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child may be claimed for two years afterward. Head of Household may be claimed after the two-year limitation for Qualifying Widow(er) status, if they have eligible dependents. Single is the status if they do not have eligible dependents.

Surviving spouses who remarry in the same year in which they become widowed are only eligible for Married Filing Jointly status with their new spouse. If a final tax return is required for the deceased spouse, the filing status must be Married Filing Separately.

Income

The income factor concerns gross income, which the IRS defines as all income received in the form of goods, money, property and services that is not tax-exempt. For self-employed persons in a service-based business, gross receipts represent gross income for that business. For self-employed persons in manufacturing, merchandising, or mining, total sales minus cost of goods sold represent gross income for that business.

Social Security benefits are only included in gross income under two situations. The taxpayers who are filing as Married Filing Separately and they did live together at any time during 2015 must include Social Security benefits in gross income. Social Security benefits must be reported if one-half (50 percent) of the benefits plus other gross income plus any tax-exempt interest total more than $25,000 ($32,000 for Married Filing Jointly).

The thresholds for gross income as a filing requirement are linked to age and filing status.

Table: Filing Requirements for Most US Taxpayers (US Citizens and Resident Aliens)

Filing Status	Age	Gross Income
Single
	under 65	$10,300
	65 or older	$11,850
Head of Household
	under 65	$13,250
	65 or older	$14,800
Married Filing Jointly
	under 65 (both spouses)	$20,600
	65 or older (1 spouse)	$21,850
	65 or older (both)	$23,100
Married Filing Separately
	any age	$4,000
Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child
	under 65	$16,600
	65 or older	$17,850

As shown in the above table, the Married Filing Jointly status presents three different gross income thresholds according to spousal ages: both spouses are under age 65; one spouse is under age 65 and the other is 65 or older; both spouses are 65 or older.

What if requirements do not pertain and a refund is or is not due?

US citizens and resident aliens who do not meet the minimum gross income reporting requirement for their age and filing status for 2015 income do not need to file a 2015 tax return.

If they are not required to file but they are eligible for a refund, for example, of taxes withheld during 2015, then they may file a return in order to claim and receive the refund.

The beauty of a tax refund is that it is something extra and a way to save or spend or invest may always be found.

2015 filing requirements for most taxpayers, Form 1040 instructions 2015, p. 8: Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service via IRS

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Taxes: Tax Credits, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/76657755@N04/7027608495/

2015 filing requirements for most taxpayers, Form 1040 instructions 2015, p. 8: Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service via IRS @ https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf