8 Amazing Financial Nerds | 200+ Articles | Strive for FIRE | Corresponding Your Finance since 2022

Should I File My Taxes Zero Income? Best Guideline 2023

Budgeting / By Humbled Budget
Taxes Zero Income
Picture of Humbled Budget Team

Humbled Budget Team

With over 55 years of combine experience in the Finance/Tax Industries based in the United States, Our Team of Humbled Individuals' shares their wisdom gained through experience or technical knowledge acquired through Additional Education.

Introduction

You’re probably thinking, “I didn’t make much money this year. Can I not file my taxes Zero Income?” The answer is a resounding “no.”

Even if you don’t make any money or get paid in the form of cryptocurrency, it’s important to file your taxes each year.

If you’re owed a refund and don’t file, that money goes back into taxpayers’ pockets! Let’s look at some ways to report no income on your tax return.

Just because you don’t have an income

If you meet the filing requirements, you must still file taxes zero income. What steps are to be taken?

Suppose the only thing standing between your checking account and some cash is a credit that is refundable, such as the earned income tax credit (EITC) or additional child tax credit (ACTC). In that case, it’s worth it to figure out how much they’re worth before deciding whether or not to file.

You may be able to file even if you have no income

The IRS will allow it if your spouse files a tax return and claims you as a dependent. You can also be eligible for a waiver from filing if you’re eligible for one of several government benefits that require recipients to certify their non-filing status.

The most common forms of non-income taxation are:

Form 4868 (Application for Automatic Extension) – If this form is not received by the IRS by April 15 and approved, penalties must be paid along with taxes owed at the regular due date (April 15).

The extension gives taxpayers until October 17 (October 15) without paying interest on unpaid balances or failure-to-file penalties. Form 4868EZ (Application for Automatic Extension) –

This form allows taxpayers with simple returns, only those who earn less than $150k annually and owe less than $50k in taxes, to extend their filing deadline until October 17 without having to pay interest on unpaid balances or failure-to-file penalties.

You can’t earn refundable credits on a return that has no income

If you file a return with no income, the credits won’t be available to you.

In this situation, there’s nothing wrong with filing a return to see if any of your information has changed since last year and whether or not we can help with any changes (for example, if your marital status changed).

If an adjusted gross income of less than $6650 is reported on the return and no tax is due, there won’t be any refund to apply for those credits.

It might seem like a waste of paper and postage to send in something that won’t result in getting anything back from the government. Still, knowing what options are open to you is important before deciding what course of action makes sense for your situation is important.

If you’re missing some documents, it’s not the world’s end

You can always file your taxes zero income without all the documents you need. If you don’t have a copy of your W-2 or 1099 form, you may still be able to file for an extension.

You’ll need to complete Form 4868 Complete Form 8865 (Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File Individual Income Tax Return for the United States) and mail it by April 18 (the day before taxday).

You may also not have all the other documents required by the IRS (like proof of identity), but it’s still possible to get them in time for filing.

You’ll need to follow up with whatever agency issued the document and ask them when they can send it over and then make sure they do so by April 15.

Taxes Zero Income

 

No matter how little money you make, you should file Taxes Zero Income

You might be qualified for some tax credits., such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. You can use this credit to help pay for necessities like food and shelter.

Even if you don’t think you’ll get a refund from filing your taxes zero income, having an accurate picture of your salary from the previous year will be useful when applying for loans or jobs.

If you fail to report any income on your taxes—even if it’s just a small amount—the IRS could charge penalties that increase with time.

These penalties include interest charges, late fees and other charges that can quickly add up to thousands of dollars over time (or worse).

Consider hiring a tax professional if filing is confusing for you.

If you’re wondering how to file taxes zero income, it’s worth considering hiring a professional tax preparer. You can hire a professional to help you understand the rules and regulations for filing your taxes zero income.

For example, if your employer didn’t withhold enough money from your paycheck for taxes zero income or if you received too much of a refund last year, it could affect how much tax is withheld from this year’s paycheck. A professional can also help ensure that everything is filed correctly and on time.

If you hire someone to file your taxes zero income for you, be sure they are qualified. It would be beneficial if you asked them about their general experience preparing returns and preparing returns taxes zero income (or very little).

Even though the rules on filing taxes zero income are a bit unusual,

You can still stay compliant with the IRS by knowing them ahead of time. Observe the following advice:

You can’t use refundable credits. For example, if you have no earned income but your child is eligible for the Child Tax Credit ($2,000 per child), neither of you can claim this credit because there is no earned income from which it could be refunded.

If your children are both older than 17 years old and each earns less than $6,500 during the year (2019 maximum), they cannot claim themselves either (2019 maximum).

You still need to file! Even though having an adjusted gross income of zero might make it seem like there is nothing left over after filing taxes with no income and receiving refunds on other types of credits (such as those related only to children)

Taxes Zero Income

This isn’t true. You still need to file a tax return so that any money owed can be paid back into government coffers without penalty or interest charges accumulating against them while waiting for payment deadlines to pass.

Even if the debt isn’t owed now doesn’t mean that paying off debts won’t become necessary later downstream; it is best just be ahead on paying them off now because often interest rates aren’t always affordable later downstream when compared with what rates were available earlier downstream.”

Conclusion

If you’re in a situation where you’re trying to make ends meet or just starting your career, filing taxes zero income can be a scary thing.

It’s important to remember that options are available if you don’t have much income and need help filing your return.

If you’re worried about missing out on refundable credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), hiring an accountant might be the best move until things get better financially.

Must Reads

Scroll to Top