Filing basics
Do you even need to file taxes this year?
There's a real income line below which filing is optional. But if anything was withheld from a paycheck, skipping means donating your refund. The 2025 numbers.
Updated September 2026 · 5 min read
Maybe you worked part of the year, or part-time, or you're a student with a summer job, and now everyone's talking about taxes and you're not sure the rules even mean you. This one has a real answer with real numbers, and for a lot of people the answer is: not required, but filing gets you money back.
The 2025 income lines
You're required to file a 2025 federal return if your gross income reaches your standard deduction. For most people under 65:
- Single: $15,750
- Married filing jointly: $31,500
- Head of household: $23,625
At 65 or older the lines sit higher: add $2,000 if you're single or head of household, or $1,600 per spouse 65-plus on a joint return, for 2025. Under the line, the IRS doesn't require a return from you. That's the whole rule for most W-2 income.
The exceptions that require filing anyway
- You made $400 or more of profit from self-employment: gig apps, freelancing, side work. This is the line that surprises people, and yes, it's really $400.
- You had marketplace health insurance (a Form 1095-A came). The premium credit has to be settled on a return, whatever your income.
- You took an early withdrawal from a retirement account, or owe another special tax.
- You're someone's dependent with more than $1,350 of interest or investment income for 2025.
Why filing anyway often pays
Here's the part the threshold tables never mention: not required to file almost always means too little income to owe, and too little income to owe plus any withholding means a refund. A student who made $8,000 at a campus job with $290 withheld owes zero tax. But that $290 comes back only on a filed return. Skip filing and it stays with the government.
It gets bigger with kids. The Earned Income Credit is refundable, meaning it's paid out even when you owe nothing: worth up to $8,046 for 2025 with three children, and it exists precisely for the incomes near these thresholds. People who skip filing because they're "under the line" are the ones leaving it unclaimed.
The three-year clock
A refund waits three years from the return's due date. File a missed year inside the window and the money still comes back; wait longer and it's gone for good. If you've skipped a few years, our guide on what actually happens when you haven't filed walks the way back.
How to settle it tonight
- 01Add up your income: jobs, gig apps, interest. Job income is on your final pay stub or W-2; gig income is in each app's earnings tab.
- 02Check the two big triggers: $400-plus of self-employment profit, or a 1095-A in the mail. Either one means file, full stop.
- 03Otherwise compare your total to your line above. Over it, file. Under it, filing is optional, so check the last question:
- 04Was anything withheld, or do you qualify for a refundable credit? Then file anyway. It's not a bill, it's a check.
The shortcut
This exact check is built into our start page. A few plain questions and it says the verdict out loud: no need to file, or file and here's roughly what comes back. If it's a refund, we take it from there.
Or get your answer in two minutes.
Answer a few plain questions and we tell you the verdict: whether you're required to file, and what filing would get back if you're not. If there's a refund, we file it with you. Free to start, no account.
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