Who Does Not Have to File Taxes? Details of 2025 Tax Returns

As tax season approaches, millions of Americans gather their financial forms and sit down to complete the dreaded annual task.

Not everyone, however, is required to file an income tax return.

Whether you can skip filing for the 2025 tax year — taxes you’ll file in the spring of 2026 — depends on your income, filing status and age. Generally, if your income is less than the standard deduction for your tax filing status, you’re not legally required to file, says Rob Burnette, who leads a team of financial planners and accountants at Ohio-based Outlook Financial Center.

Tax filers subtract standard deductions from their income to determine how much is subject to federal income tax. If your total income is less than the standard deduction, your taxable income can be zero.

But just because you don’t be filing doesn’t always mean you should notand there are exceptions to the law where you will need to file even if your income is less than the standard deduction, Burnette said. Also, filing can be useful to provide you with official documentation of your income, which may be needed to rent an apartment, apply for a loan or fill out financial aid forms.

Here’s how the rules apply to three groups of taxpayers who can skip filing a 1040 this year.

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Teenagers and college students

Many teenagers and full-time students working summer jobs or part-time gigs have little income that doesn’t need to be included. For the 2025 tax year, the standard deduction for a single filer is $15,750.

That said, even if your income is below that level, you’ll want to file a claim if you withheld taxes to get a refund, says Scot A. Dobbs, president of Summit CPA Group, PC based in Rockford, Illinois. You can check your W-2 to see if you had any money withheld from your paycheck.

There are a few caveats. Income from investments is treated differently and may require a tax return even if you did not earn the income from the job. If you are under 19 and own investment accounts, you may be subject to what is called the “child tax.” If so, you’re required to file a tax return if your “unearned income” — any interest or dividends — reached more than $1,350 in 2025.

Similarly, self-employment income has a much lower filing threshold than income earned at work and reported on a W-2 form. In general, if you have an income-based job like babysitting, teaching or mowing lawns, earnings over $400 must be reported, and you’ll owe self-employment taxes on the amount.

Finally, if you’re a college student paying tuition and can’t be claimed as a dependent on another person’s return, you’ll want to file regardless of your earnings so you can claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

The AOTC costs up to $2,500 per student and is partially refundable, meaning if you don’t owe any taxes, you can get up to $1,000 in tax refunds. If you’re a student who can be claimed as a dependent on a parent’s tax form, however, it’s often more important for the parent to claim and receive the tax credit since their income is high, Burnette said.

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They are retired

If you turn 65, you are eligible for a higher standard deduction. By 2025, older adults need to file a return if their total income exceeds the following limits, according to the IRS:

• Individual filesPrice: $17,550
• The head of the householdPrice: $25,625
• Spouses file jointly: $33,100 if one spouse is under 65; $34,700 if both spouses are 65 or older.

These enhanced deduction amounts are separate from the “high bonus” that was part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or OBBBA, that was passed last July. That new deduction costs up to $6,000 per taxpayer age 65 and older. (The new deduction amount kicks in for single filers with incomes over $75,000 and joint filers with incomes over $150,000.)

Withdrawals from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s, pension payments and part-time wages all count toward your net income. Keep in mind that if you live somewhere with state income tax, the state income limit required to file it may be different than the state’s.

There are also cases where you may need to file even if your “run-of-the-mill” income is below the federal limit, such as if you’ve sold an investment and owe capital gains tax, Dobbs said.

It is also wise for retirees to review how Social Security benefits are taxed. If Social Security was your only income in 2025, you generally won’t pay income tax (and you probably don’t need to file a federal tax return).

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But if you had multiple sources of income in 2025, such as interest or dividends from investment accounts or payments from a pension, some of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. To find out if you’ll be affected, you need to add up your adjusted gross income, tax-free interest income and a portion of your annual Social Security benefits. This amount the IRS and Social Security Administration call “gross income.”

If your combined income is between $25,000 and $34,000 for individual filers (or between $32,000 and $44,000 for married couples filing jointly), up to 50% of your earnings can be taxed. For single filers with a combined income of more than $34,000 ($44,000 for joint filers), you must pay taxes on up to 85% of your Social Security benefits.

Like teenagers, it may make sense for retirees to file a return even if their benefits don’t require it if they qualify for a refundable tax credit or if they have taxes withheld from their Social Security benefits and think they might be eligible for a refund of some of that amount.

Temporary gig workers

Most people who earn money through freelance or app-based gig work must file a tax return — even if you consider the work to be trivial.

Self-employment tax rules apply here, meaning if you have gross income of $400 or more, you must file a federal tax return. This applies even if your gross income is less than the deduction limit for your filing status.

That’s because unlike traditional workers, gig workers often receive 1099 forms instead of W-2s, and taxes aren’t automatically withheld.

“T“The IRS will check that you paid taxes on Social Security and Medicare,” Dobbs said.

If you’re still not sure if you need to file taxes, some CPAs can give you a free introductory call where they’ll go over your finances and decide if it makes sense to work with you. You can also use the IRS’s Interactive Tax Assistant tool, which includes a series of questions to help determine whether a filing is necessary for your financial situation.

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