Is it worth filing taxes?
This past summer I interned at a company and just got my W-2 Form. I am a 17 year old high school student which qualified for 2 Federal exemptions, 0 State exemptions, and 0 Local exemptions. I made $5,040 in "Wages, tips, and other compensation". For taxes, I had $414.28 in Federal income tax withheld, $312.48 of Social security tax withheld, and $73.08 of Medicare tax withheld.
Is it worth it to file a tax return?
united-states taxes income-tax
add a comment |
This past summer I interned at a company and just got my W-2 Form. I am a 17 year old high school student which qualified for 2 Federal exemptions, 0 State exemptions, and 0 Local exemptions. I made $5,040 in "Wages, tips, and other compensation". For taxes, I had $414.28 in Federal income tax withheld, $312.48 of Social security tax withheld, and $73.08 of Medicare tax withheld.
Is it worth it to file a tax return?
united-states taxes income-tax
add a comment |
This past summer I interned at a company and just got my W-2 Form. I am a 17 year old high school student which qualified for 2 Federal exemptions, 0 State exemptions, and 0 Local exemptions. I made $5,040 in "Wages, tips, and other compensation". For taxes, I had $414.28 in Federal income tax withheld, $312.48 of Social security tax withheld, and $73.08 of Medicare tax withheld.
Is it worth it to file a tax return?
united-states taxes income-tax
This past summer I interned at a company and just got my W-2 Form. I am a 17 year old high school student which qualified for 2 Federal exemptions, 0 State exemptions, and 0 Local exemptions. I made $5,040 in "Wages, tips, and other compensation". For taxes, I had $414.28 in Federal income tax withheld, $312.48 of Social security tax withheld, and $73.08 of Medicare tax withheld.
Is it worth it to file a tax return?
united-states taxes income-tax
united-states taxes income-tax
edited 29 mins ago
Chris W. Rea
26.5k1586174
26.5k1586174
asked 55 mins ago
Rob GatesRob Gates
483
483
add a comment |
add a comment |
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
I mean, with $5k income, you'd probably get all $400 federal tax back since the standard deduction would reduce your taxable income to $0. You might qualify for refundable tax credits too, which is basically free money if you file and take the standard deduction. It's up to you whether $400+ is worth it to you to file; this is about 55+ hours of minimum-wage work or one day of $100k+/yr work. This answer ignores the question of whether you are required to file; for that, see the instructions.
add a comment |
For most people, the minimum amount of earned income to require filing a return is $12,000. There are, however, different rules for a dependent which you almost certainly are (of your parents). In this case (see same link), the question is whether your total income is more than $350 above the W-2 income you mentioned in your question. (That $350 might come from bank accounts or investments in your name.)
add a comment |
Is it worth it? Well, that depends on what you think is worthwhile. You are most likely claimed as a dependent on your parents' income-tax return, which will affect how much tax you have to pay as opposed to how much tax your employer withheld from your salary/wages and sent to the government on your behalf. Most likely, too much will have been withheld from your salary and you will get a refund of the excess but only if you file a tax return and request that the excess be refunded to you. If you choose to not file a tax return, you won't get the refund. So, it is up to you to decide whether you want to request a refund or not. Note, by the way, that Social Security and Medicare taxes are not refundable; only the income tax.
add a comment |
You are officially NOT required to file taxes for 2018, in other words the government doesn't care if you file a tax return or not. That being said, it would be foolish of you not to file- because you've paid $414 into the system which WILL be returned to you if ask for it back. With the elimination of the personal exemption in 2018, the standard deduction applies to all of your income (see the 2018 form 1040 Instructions, page 38: "Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents"), so your taxable income is $0 with $0 tax owed. With the simplification of the filing process, a $414 refund is the obvious choice. Most online tax preparers will do your taxes for free, so you don't even need to worry about the paperwork or making a mistake (online tax filers act as an intermediary, and they will "handle problems with the IRS" for you).
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "93"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmoney.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f104394%2fis-it-worth-filing-taxes%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
I mean, with $5k income, you'd probably get all $400 federal tax back since the standard deduction would reduce your taxable income to $0. You might qualify for refundable tax credits too, which is basically free money if you file and take the standard deduction. It's up to you whether $400+ is worth it to you to file; this is about 55+ hours of minimum-wage work or one day of $100k+/yr work. This answer ignores the question of whether you are required to file; for that, see the instructions.
add a comment |
I mean, with $5k income, you'd probably get all $400 federal tax back since the standard deduction would reduce your taxable income to $0. You might qualify for refundable tax credits too, which is basically free money if you file and take the standard deduction. It's up to you whether $400+ is worth it to you to file; this is about 55+ hours of minimum-wage work or one day of $100k+/yr work. This answer ignores the question of whether you are required to file; for that, see the instructions.
add a comment |
I mean, with $5k income, you'd probably get all $400 federal tax back since the standard deduction would reduce your taxable income to $0. You might qualify for refundable tax credits too, which is basically free money if you file and take the standard deduction. It's up to you whether $400+ is worth it to you to file; this is about 55+ hours of minimum-wage work or one day of $100k+/yr work. This answer ignores the question of whether you are required to file; for that, see the instructions.
I mean, with $5k income, you'd probably get all $400 federal tax back since the standard deduction would reduce your taxable income to $0. You might qualify for refundable tax credits too, which is basically free money if you file and take the standard deduction. It's up to you whether $400+ is worth it to you to file; this is about 55+ hours of minimum-wage work or one day of $100k+/yr work. This answer ignores the question of whether you are required to file; for that, see the instructions.
answered 40 mins ago
Patrick87Patrick87
678411
678411
add a comment |
add a comment |
For most people, the minimum amount of earned income to require filing a return is $12,000. There are, however, different rules for a dependent which you almost certainly are (of your parents). In this case (see same link), the question is whether your total income is more than $350 above the W-2 income you mentioned in your question. (That $350 might come from bank accounts or investments in your name.)
add a comment |
For most people, the minimum amount of earned income to require filing a return is $12,000. There are, however, different rules for a dependent which you almost certainly are (of your parents). In this case (see same link), the question is whether your total income is more than $350 above the W-2 income you mentioned in your question. (That $350 might come from bank accounts or investments in your name.)
add a comment |
For most people, the minimum amount of earned income to require filing a return is $12,000. There are, however, different rules for a dependent which you almost certainly are (of your parents). In this case (see same link), the question is whether your total income is more than $350 above the W-2 income you mentioned in your question. (That $350 might come from bank accounts or investments in your name.)
For most people, the minimum amount of earned income to require filing a return is $12,000. There are, however, different rules for a dependent which you almost certainly are (of your parents). In this case (see same link), the question is whether your total income is more than $350 above the W-2 income you mentioned in your question. (That $350 might come from bank accounts or investments in your name.)
answered 42 mins ago
Andrew LazarusAndrew Lazarus
43328
43328
add a comment |
add a comment |
Is it worth it? Well, that depends on what you think is worthwhile. You are most likely claimed as a dependent on your parents' income-tax return, which will affect how much tax you have to pay as opposed to how much tax your employer withheld from your salary/wages and sent to the government on your behalf. Most likely, too much will have been withheld from your salary and you will get a refund of the excess but only if you file a tax return and request that the excess be refunded to you. If you choose to not file a tax return, you won't get the refund. So, it is up to you to decide whether you want to request a refund or not. Note, by the way, that Social Security and Medicare taxes are not refundable; only the income tax.
add a comment |
Is it worth it? Well, that depends on what you think is worthwhile. You are most likely claimed as a dependent on your parents' income-tax return, which will affect how much tax you have to pay as opposed to how much tax your employer withheld from your salary/wages and sent to the government on your behalf. Most likely, too much will have been withheld from your salary and you will get a refund of the excess but only if you file a tax return and request that the excess be refunded to you. If you choose to not file a tax return, you won't get the refund. So, it is up to you to decide whether you want to request a refund or not. Note, by the way, that Social Security and Medicare taxes are not refundable; only the income tax.
add a comment |
Is it worth it? Well, that depends on what you think is worthwhile. You are most likely claimed as a dependent on your parents' income-tax return, which will affect how much tax you have to pay as opposed to how much tax your employer withheld from your salary/wages and sent to the government on your behalf. Most likely, too much will have been withheld from your salary and you will get a refund of the excess but only if you file a tax return and request that the excess be refunded to you. If you choose to not file a tax return, you won't get the refund. So, it is up to you to decide whether you want to request a refund or not. Note, by the way, that Social Security and Medicare taxes are not refundable; only the income tax.
Is it worth it? Well, that depends on what you think is worthwhile. You are most likely claimed as a dependent on your parents' income-tax return, which will affect how much tax you have to pay as opposed to how much tax your employer withheld from your salary/wages and sent to the government on your behalf. Most likely, too much will have been withheld from your salary and you will get a refund of the excess but only if you file a tax return and request that the excess be refunded to you. If you choose to not file a tax return, you won't get the refund. So, it is up to you to decide whether you want to request a refund or not. Note, by the way, that Social Security and Medicare taxes are not refundable; only the income tax.
answered 38 mins ago
Dilip SarwateDilip Sarwate
24.2k33393
24.2k33393
add a comment |
add a comment |
You are officially NOT required to file taxes for 2018, in other words the government doesn't care if you file a tax return or not. That being said, it would be foolish of you not to file- because you've paid $414 into the system which WILL be returned to you if ask for it back. With the elimination of the personal exemption in 2018, the standard deduction applies to all of your income (see the 2018 form 1040 Instructions, page 38: "Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents"), so your taxable income is $0 with $0 tax owed. With the simplification of the filing process, a $414 refund is the obvious choice. Most online tax preparers will do your taxes for free, so you don't even need to worry about the paperwork or making a mistake (online tax filers act as an intermediary, and they will "handle problems with the IRS" for you).
add a comment |
You are officially NOT required to file taxes for 2018, in other words the government doesn't care if you file a tax return or not. That being said, it would be foolish of you not to file- because you've paid $414 into the system which WILL be returned to you if ask for it back. With the elimination of the personal exemption in 2018, the standard deduction applies to all of your income (see the 2018 form 1040 Instructions, page 38: "Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents"), so your taxable income is $0 with $0 tax owed. With the simplification of the filing process, a $414 refund is the obvious choice. Most online tax preparers will do your taxes for free, so you don't even need to worry about the paperwork or making a mistake (online tax filers act as an intermediary, and they will "handle problems with the IRS" for you).
add a comment |
You are officially NOT required to file taxes for 2018, in other words the government doesn't care if you file a tax return or not. That being said, it would be foolish of you not to file- because you've paid $414 into the system which WILL be returned to you if ask for it back. With the elimination of the personal exemption in 2018, the standard deduction applies to all of your income (see the 2018 form 1040 Instructions, page 38: "Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents"), so your taxable income is $0 with $0 tax owed. With the simplification of the filing process, a $414 refund is the obvious choice. Most online tax preparers will do your taxes for free, so you don't even need to worry about the paperwork or making a mistake (online tax filers act as an intermediary, and they will "handle problems with the IRS" for you).
You are officially NOT required to file taxes for 2018, in other words the government doesn't care if you file a tax return or not. That being said, it would be foolish of you not to file- because you've paid $414 into the system which WILL be returned to you if ask for it back. With the elimination of the personal exemption in 2018, the standard deduction applies to all of your income (see the 2018 form 1040 Instructions, page 38: "Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents"), so your taxable income is $0 with $0 tax owed. With the simplification of the filing process, a $414 refund is the obvious choice. Most online tax preparers will do your taxes for free, so you don't even need to worry about the paperwork or making a mistake (online tax filers act as an intermediary, and they will "handle problems with the IRS" for you).
answered 12 mins ago
Derek_6424246Derek_6424246
3,127620
3,127620
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Personal Finance & Money Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmoney.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f104394%2fis-it-worth-filing-taxes%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown