How much do you have to make to file taxes? 2025 filing thresholds
Filing thresholds for tax year 2025 by filing status and age, when you must file at any income, and why filing can pay off. Includes dependents and Illinois.
Prepared by Prem Tax and Accounting Corp. Last checked against official sources on October 24, 2026.
Whether you must file for tax year 2025 depends on your filing status, your age and where the money came from. A single person under 65 generally needs a return once gross income reaches $15,750. Heads of household start at $23,625 and joint couples at $31,500. Being 65 or older lifts each figure a little.
- Compare your gross income, meaning everything taxable you received before any deduction, with the figure for your status.
- Profit of $400 or more from working for yourself, counted after expenses, means a return at any income level.
- Under the limit but had tax withheld? Filing is how you get it back, and it is the only way to receive refundable credits like the earned income credit, additional child tax credit, American opportunity credit or premium tax credit.
- Social Security benefits count only if half of them, together with your other income and any tax-exempt interest, goes past $25,000 ($32,000 joint). Someone who files separately from a spouse they lived with is also counted.
- The IRS's own threshold chart leaves out the new senior deduction, so the amounts here follow the chart as printed.
Gross income that triggers a return, tax year 2025
- Married filing separately: $5, at any age.
- Single: $15,750, or $17,750 once you are 65 or older.
- Head of household: $23,625, or $25,625 at 65 or older.
- Married filing jointly: $31,500. It rises to $33,100 if one spouse is 65 or older and to $34,700 if both are.
- Qualifying surviving spouse: $31,500, or $33,100 at 65 or older.
Other situations that require a return
- Owing one of the extra taxes listed on Schedule 2, or taking a distribution from an HSA or MSA.
- Being paid $108.28 or more as a church employee.
- Having transferred a clean-vehicle credit to the dealer.
Dependents and Illinois
Dependents follow their own test. For 2025, a dependent who is single, younger than 65 and not blind must file when any one of these is true: unearned income is above $1,350, earned income is above $15,750, or total gross income is above the greater of $1,350 and earned income (capped at $15,300) plus $450. In Illinois, anyone required to file a federal return files too. So does a person whose Illinois base income tops the $2,850 exemption allowance, and a person who paid in tax and wants it back.
An example (invented)
Lena is single, 34, and earned $14,200 in 2025, with $900 withheld. Her income sits under $15,750, so no return is required, yet filing is how she recovers the $900.
What to bring or do next
- Your W-2s and 1099s, and a note of any tax already paid.
- Last year's return, if you have one.
- If you also have income or accounts outside the U.S., see our NRI tax filing guide or ask us.
Common questions
I only get Social Security. Do I need a return?
Usually no. Your benefits enter the picture only when half of them, plus your other income and any tax-exempt interest, goes over $25,000 for a single filer or $32,000 for joint filers. The exception is a person filing separately who lived with a spouse during the year: those benefits count.
Is it worth filing below the limit?
Often. A return is the only way to get back tax that was withheld or estimated payments you made, and the earned income credit, additional child tax credit, American opportunity credit and premium tax credit all require one.
Why is the separate-filing figure only $5?
The IRS sets the bar for that status at $5 of gross income, so nearly any income triggers a return.
Do these figures carry over to 2026?
No. They apply to tax year 2025, filed in 2026. As of October 2026 the IRS had not yet released its filing thresholds for tax year 2026.
Official sources
- IRS: Publication 501, dependents, standard deduction, and filing information (2025)
- IRS: Instructions for Form 1040 (2025)
- Illinois Department of Revenue: Filing requirements
- Illinois Department of Revenue: 2025 IL-1040 instructions
Keep reading
- How do I calculate adjusted gross income (AGI)?
- Should I itemize or take the standard deduction?
- Individual tax preparation
Let's talk about your taxes, your business, your plans.
Tell us what you need and we will get back to you quickly. There is no pressure: just a friendly conversation and a clear next step.
4260 Westbrook Dr, Suite 107
Aurora, IL 60504
Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, by appointment. Saturday and Sunday by appointment when needed.