Ben Franklin once famously espoused “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” While this may be true, it’s a little less so for certain individuals. Did you know that there are demographics who are exempt from paying a federal income tax? While they will usually pay taxes in other ways, such as sales tax and federal taxes on products such as gasoline and cigarettes, this does provide financial relief for people who are struggling, and also reduced administrative costs that are incurred by the IRS. Here are certain people who don’t have to pay income taxes…
Filers under a certain amount
The largest group of people who don’t have to pay any income taxes are those who simply don’t make enough to make it worth it for the IRS to collect from them. If you work for an employer and are single with an income that is less than $9,350, then you do not need to even file your taxes, much less pay income taxes. If you are married, then this amount jumps up to $18,700 for your household. However, this is entirely different if you have self-employed income. In this case, you don’t need to pay any income tax, or even file, if the amount is less than $400.
An important thing to note is that these numbers are only applicable if you are under 65. If you are over 65, then there is another set of numbers that must be abided by. For those who fall into this category, then a single filer who makes less than $10,750 does not need to file or pay income taxes, while a married couple can make up to $20,900 before paying income taxes. The minimum amount for self-employed individuals over 65 remains $400, however.
The primary reason for these minimums is to provide some relief to individuals who are struggling, financially. However, another important factor is that it saves the IRS a reasonable deal of money in administrative costs, as the amounts required to work through the substantial percentage of returns that would be added would be unlikely to justify the cost. For this same reason, dependents (those who are younger than 19 or are full-time students up to the age of 245) are also not required to pay income taxes.