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How Much Money Do You Have to Make to File Taxes in 2009?

How much money do you have to make to file taxes? That seems to be a popular question these days, especially for people that made less money last year due to the economy.

2009 Income Requirements

For the 2009 tax year, you need to file taxes if your gross income meets the minimum income for your filing status and age:

 
Filing Status Minimum Gross Income (under 65) Minimum Gross Income (65+)
Single $9,350 $10,750
Head of Household $12,000 $13,400
Married Filing Jointly $18,700 $19,800 (one spouse)
$20,900 (both spouses)
Married Filing Separately $3,650 $3,650
Widow with Dependent Child $15,050 $16,150

This table doesn’t apply to dependents. See When Do Kids Need to File Taxes? [1] for income levels for children.

Social Security Income

Gross income doesn’t include social security benefits. The exception to this rule is if half of your social security benefits plus your other gross income is more than $25,000 ($32,000 if married filing jointly). Married filing separate also have different social security rules.

Other Income Sources

There are special rules for self employment earnings and church earnings. You must file taxes if your:

  • Self employment net earnings are greater than $400.
  • Church earnings are greater than $108.28 and are exempt from employer Social Security and Medicare.

If you earn enough money to file a tax return, you must file your tax return by the tax deadline [2].

Other Tax Filing Requirements

In addition to the income requirements, there are other circumstances when you must file a tax return. One example is if you sold your home. For all the requirements, see Publication 501 [3].

Optional Filing

Even if you are not required to file a tax return, you can choose to file one. You may want to do this if you had any federal withholding or are entitled to tax credits, like the earned income tax credit [4], and want to get a refund.

Once you file, you can see How Long Does it Take to Get Your Tax Refund Back? [5]

Tax Filing Online

Now that you know how much money you have to make to file taxes, you can go ahead and file your taxes online right now for free with TurboTax [6]!