Charles Trautman, EA · Since 1969
Sometimes no. Often you should anyway.
Whether you have to file depends on your income, your filing status, your age, and whether someone else can claim you. A few situations require a return no matter how little you made. And plenty of people who aren’t required to file leave money on the table by skipping it.
For 2025 returns (filed in 2026) and 2026 returns (filed in 2027). Current as of October 11, 2026.
For most people, you must file if your gross income is at least the amount below. Gross income is everything you received that isn’t tax-exempt, before any deductions: wages, self-employment income, interest, dividends, capital gains, pensions, IRA withdrawals, rental income, gambling winnings. Social Security usually doesn’t count unless part of it is taxable.
| Filing status | Age at end of year | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | Under 65 65 or older | $15,750 $17,750 | $16,100 $18,150 |
| Head of household | Under 65 65 or older | $23,625 $25,625 | $24,150 $26,200 |
| Married filing jointly | Both under 65 One 65 or older Both 65 or older | $31,500 $33,100 $34,700 | $32,200 $33,850 $35,500 |
| Married filing separately | Any age | $5 | $5 |
| Qualifying surviving spouse | Under 65 65 or older | $31,500 $33,100 | $32,200 $33,850 |
These lines match the standard deduction plus the extra amount for age. The new $6,000 senior deduction doesn’t raise them. You count as 65 for 2025 if you were born before January 2, 1961. Married filing separately really is $5.
These require a return even when your income is below the line.
Net earnings of $400 or more from a side business, gig work, babysitting, lawn mowing or freelancing means self-employment tax, and a return. This catches a lot of teenagers.
If advance premium tax credit was paid for you, your spouse or a dependent through Connect for Health Colorado, you must file Form 8962 to reconcile it. Skip it and you lose the help next year. Starting with 2026 there’s no cap on paying back excess help.
The 10% penalty on an early IRA or 401(k) withdrawal, household employment taxes for a nanny, recapture taxes, or the alternative minimum tax all require a return.
Any distribution from a health savings account, Archer MSA or Medicare Advantage MSA needs Form 8889 or 8853, even when it was all spent on medical bills.
Wages of $108.28 or more from a church that has opted out of Social Security require a return.
Missing years don’t go away. (See Unfiled & Overdue Tax Returns.)
The IRS doesn’t send money to people who don’t file. Each year, refunds go unclaimed by people who weren’t required to file and assumed they had nothing coming. After three years, that money is gone for good.
A teenager with a summer job or a part-time worker often has federal and Colorado tax withheld and owes nothing. Filing is the only way to get it back.
Worth up to $8,231 for 2026 with three or more children, and $664 with none. It’s refundable: you get it even if you owe no tax.
Up to $1,700 per child of the Child Tax Credit is refundable, and Colorado’s child tax credit and other family credits are refundable too. A family can get thousands back while owing nothing.
The IRS generally has three years from the date you file to audit a return. If you never file, that clock never starts. A simple return closes the door.
If someone can claim you as a dependent, different lines apply, and they’re much lower for investment income. For 2026, a single dependent under 65 must file if any one of these is true:
| If the dependent had | File if more than |
|---|---|
| Unearned income (interest, dividends, capital gains) | $1,350 |
| Earned income (wages, tips) | $16,100 |
| Both | Gross income over the larger of $1,350, or earned income (up to $15,650) plus $450 |
| Self-employment | $400 of net earnings |
For 2025 the figures were $1,350, $15,750 and $15,300. They’re higher for dependents who are 65 or older or blind.
Maya, 17, earned $6,000 lifeguarding, had $300 withheld and $40 of bank interest. She isn’t required to file, but she should: she gets the $300 back.
Ethan, 15, made $2,200 mowing lawns and spent $300 on gas. His $1,900 profit is over $400, so he must file and pay self-employment tax, about $270. It also starts his Social Security record, and lets him put up to about $1,750 of it in a Roth IRA.
Ava, 12, had $3,000 of dividends in an account her grandparents set up. She must file, and part of it is taxed at her parents’ rate. (See the kiddie tax.)
A dependent who files must check that someone can claim them. If they don’t, the parents’ e-filed return can be rejected. Filing doesn’t stop the parents from claiming the child. (See Who Counts as Your Dependent.)
If Social Security is your only income, you generally don’t need to file. If you have other income too, the question is whether any of your Social Security becomes taxable.
The quick test. Add half your Social Security to all your other income, including tax-exempt interest. If that’s $25,000 or less ($32,000 or less married filing jointly), none of your Social Security is taxable and it doesn’t count toward the filing line. Above that, the taxable part counts.
Ruth is 72 and single, with $24,000 of Social Security and a $10,000 pension. Half her Social Security ($12,000) plus the pension is $22,000, under $25,000, so none of her Social Security is taxable. Her gross income is the $10,000 pension, below the $17,750 line for 2025. She doesn’t have to file. If tax was withheld from the pension, she should file to get it back.
IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, including required ones, are gross income. So are gains on selling a home above the $250,000 / $500,000 exclusion.
You can still file jointly for the year your spouse died, with the joint income line. For the next two years, a surviving spouse with a dependent child may qualify for surviving spouse status. (See When a loved one dies.)
A full-year Colorado resident generally must file a Colorado return if required to file a federal return, or if any Colorado income tax is owed. Part-year residents and nonresidents with Colorado income may need to file as well.
Colorado’s family credits and earned income credit match are refundable, so filing can pay even with no tax due. In surplus years, the TABOR refund goes only to people who file. There’s no TABOR refund for 2026. (See Colorado highlights.)
The PTC rebate for property tax, rent and heat, up to $1,178, is a separate application and doesn’t require an income tax return. (See Colorado for retirees.)
Probably not, unless it was self-employment income of $400 or more, you had marketplace insurance with premium help, or you owe another special tax. But if any tax was withheld, or you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, file to get the money.
Not if it was all W-2 wages and she has little investment income. The 2026 line for a dependent’s earned income is $16,100. If tax was withheld, she should file to get it back. If any of it was self-employment, she must file once her profit reaches $400.
Generally not, if Social Security is your only income. With other income, use the test above: if half your Social Security plus everything else is over $25,000 ($32,000 joint), part of it is taxable, and you may need to file.
File now. Penalties grow every month, and refunds can only be claimed for about three years. We prepare past-year returns all the time.
Not in tax. And it can get you withheld tax, refundable credits, and a closed audit window. We’ll tell you honestly if a return isn’t worth filing.
Call and ask. If you don’t need to, we’ll tell you. If you’re owed money, we’ll help you get it. Taxes can be tough, but the Tax Shop has your back.