Ask the Taxpert: Do I need to file my taxes?
Angela Hu
Tax help, anyone?
Welcome to “Ask the Taxpert,” the weekly series that appears Tuesdays on The Bottom Line: Answering all your questions about income taxes and breaking down complicated IRS policies into real English since 2009.
With W-2s snail-mailed en masse at the end of January, tax season is officially upon us – have you thought about your taxes?
For brevity, this post is applicable to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are eligible to file a form 1040A or 1040EZ, not the 1040 that most of our parents file. Different rules may apply if you are blind, married, age 65 or older, or an international student.
The first thing to consider when thinking about doing your taxes is to figure out if your parents will be “claiming” you on their tax return. This means that you are both named as a dependent on their return and your wages are included as part of their total household income, in which case you do not need to file a separate return. However, if your parents don’t actually list your wages as part of theirs but still claim you as a dependent, you’ll need a separate tax form for yourself. Parents been after you to call them? Good enough reason to call.
If your parents have spun you off like a division of an I-bank holding toxic assets, keep reading—but you should read on anyway for your future tax health.
According to the IRS, if you made more than $5,450 in calendar year 2008 through a part-time job or a paid internship, you must file a tax return, regardless of your age. Your W-2 shows you how much you made in the “wages, tips, and other compensation” box.
If you made less than $5,450, you’re not required by law to file a tax return, but you may want to consider doing so anyway to get back some of the tax withheld on your paychecks. I’ve never met a college student who wouldn’t appreciate a little extra money, and if the reason for that money happens to be the IRS, all the better!
This post is by no means a comprehensive summary of all IRS policies, but only the ones most relevant and applicable to the largest number of Penn students.
Got a tax question? Email bizexpert@dailypennsylvanian.com.
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