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sideways2 Asked February 2014

Should Mom file taxes or not to file taxes?

If my Mother lives on her SS check & that is all the money she receives. Does she have to file taxes?

vegaslady Feb 2014
The answer to the question is no. There's nothing to get refunded and nothing owed as you describe her situation.

vstefans Feb 2014
Aha. I guess when it comes to taxes, we can have them either extremely complicated or completely unfair, maybe it is just as well to be complicated. Keeps a lot of tax people gainfully employed who might otherwise be tending bar somewhere. Hey, I used to do my own online, then with kids and college and them working too I couldn't figure out what I could and couldn't do. So I gave up amateur accouting and started going to H&R Block and darn if they didn't find me a few extra bucks. :-)

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pamstegma Feb 2014
Yes V, the pension income would change the picture. And bear in mind that if you have tax credits, you would WANT to file and claim them. If you knew what they were. Ugh!

vstefans Feb 2014
Oh?? I thought you still had to file, and you may end up with a refund if you had a lot of medical expenses. Maybe check with one of those free e-file groups about it. I even had to file one last time after the year my mom died..of course they also had pension income so that might have been different.

OK, looked it up and it is a little complicated if there is a spouse or over a certain amount apparently. See turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Taxes-101/When-Does-a-Senior-Citizen-on-Social-Security-Stop-Filing-Taxes-/INF14328.html and good luck interpreting all that.

pamstegma Feb 2014
NOPE.

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