return if your gross income was at least $5 and
your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions.
If you are a married dependent, and you were
either age over 65 or blind, you must file a return if your
gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and
itemizes deductions. You must also file if your unearned income was more
than $2,200 or your earned income was more than $7,300. If your gross income
was more than the larger of $2,200 or your earned income plus $1,550 then
you have an obligation to file. To determine whether you must file a return,
include in your gross income any income you earned or received
abroad and any income you can exclude under the foreign earned income
exclusion.
If you are a U.S. citizen and also a bona fide
resident of Puerto Rico, you generally must file a U.S. income
tax return for any year in which you meet the filing
requirements. Your income requirements include income from sources within
Puerto Rico. Your income also includes income you received for your services
as an employee of the United States or any U.S. agency. If you are a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico
for the whole year, your U.S. gross income does not include
income from sources within Puerto Rico. Your income does not include all
income and does not include income for your services as an employee of the
United States or any U.S. agency. If you had income from Guam, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, or the U.S. Virgin
Islands, you may have to file a U.S. federal income tax return.
Special rules may apply when determining whether you must file a U.S.
federal income tax return and you may also have to file a tax return with
the possession government.
A person who is a dependent may have to file a
return depending on his earned income, unearned income or his
gross income. If a dependent child must file an income tax
return but cannot file due to age or any other reason, a parent,
guardian, or other legally responsible person must file it for the child.
The child is obligated to file, only that this child must have a adult to
supervise the filing. Additionally, if a dependent child must file an income tax
return but cannot sign the return, the parent or guardian must
sign the child's name followed by the words "By (your signature), parent for
minor child".
If under local law the child's parent has the
right to the earnings and actually receives the earnings, then
the parent is liable for the tax and also the child.
Earned income for purposes of filing requirements
and the standard deduction includes salaries, wages and
professional fees. Earned income also includes amounts received as pay for
work you actually performed and any part of a scholarship that you must
include in your gross income.
You may be able to include your child's interest
and dividend income on your tax return if the interest and
dividend income was less than $10,000. Additionally, you may be able to
include your child's interest and dividend income on your tax return if your
child was under age 19 and not federal income tax was withheld under backup
withholding rules.
You may have to file a tax return even if your
gross income is less than the required amounts if you liable for
the Alternative minimum tax or have additional tax on a qualified retirement
plan such as an IRA. Even if you do not have to file a tax return, you
should file a tax return if you can get money back, you had
income tax withheld or want to avoid any possibility of the IRS contacting
you.
