Does a senior that is having their retirement saving distributed monthly and having taxes withheld still need to file a tax return?

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/who-needs-to-file-a-tax-return

It depends upon what her income level is, not whether taxes are being withheld.

Whether or not one needs to file is completely based on one's income.
The last thing you want to rely on is the multiple opinions of a Forum of caregivers from around the world.
This is a simple call to a CPA regarding your mom's yearly income. You will be told whether or not you should file. In my book, if it's a question, then do it. Not something you can afford to be wrong about.

I'm a tax aide volunteer for AARP and I would urge your MIL to file her income tax returns. I would urge all seniors to do so. In fact, we file returns for people who only have social security income and others who don't owe any taxes. There are several reasons for this. First, your MIL may be having taxes withheld but she might have overpaid and be due a refund. It's also possible they under deducted and she might owe (not likely). Second, believe it or not there's a lot of identity theft in income tax filing--I was a victim myself some years ago--so it's good to file even if you don't owe to cut down on the possibility of identity theft. Third, some states have extra benefits or credits for elders and lower-income taxpayers, but a person needs to file federal and state tax returns to get those benefits. Back during covid when the federal government distributed covid relief payments, they went to people on record as having filed taxes, but also to people getting social security or government pensions who were in federal gov't records, even if they hadn't filed taxes. I know here in Maine AARP was allowed to re-open our tax prep later in the year so people who hadn't filed could get their covid relief payments. The state had some covid relief payments too, so filing state returns allowed people to get those.

You aren't going to be able to help her if she isn't honest or isn't able to know/remember what's going on.

I would think that her immigration status would be the most important place to start since this is supposedly impacting her ability to collect SS. If I were in your shoes I'd consult with an immigration attorney, even if she refuses to go with you.

If your MIL just turned 65 she is now eligible for Medicare and needs to apply through the SSA website. If she doesn't have a SSN number, this could be a problem. Do you know if she has one?

Elburs,

You need to get Mom to a Social Security Office. If she has worked in the US for 40 qtrs she is entiltled to the SS she paid in and now Medicare. There is a timeline to file for Medicare A and B and she should have both. B has a premium that will be taken out of her SS payment.
Mom may be entitled to Medicaid health which includes, in my State, prescriptions, dental and vision. My Mom was on PADD which was State program for prescriptions.

If she is 65 she needs to sign up for Medicare now. If she doesn't there could be a big penalty later. Your and your husband's income has nothing to do with her being able to get Medicare or Medicaid. You also need to find out why immigration is taking so long. My MIL was from England and lived here almost 70 years. She hadvan English passport and a green card and she had no problem getting SS or Medicare here.

I suspect you're right. Call an accountant/CPA/H&R Block office to inquire.

My DH and I are retired. He has funds withheld from his retirement income each month too, and yes, we file our taxes yearly.

To clear a few things up we all live together in the same home with her as primary on the loan and husband and I as cosigners. So yes we do have an interest in whether she is handling her finances as we pay for 2/3s of all the bills and 1/2 the utilities and we take care of all maintenance and upkeep ourselves her mental health and overall health is not good, she is suffering from depression and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the last year also, she has been without health insurance for a third time now due to not getting paperwork filed in a timely mater when i asked her if she got her paperwork in she said said yes I saw her perscription bill after she got them filled and 1 of the 3 i saw she paid over 80$ for so either she didnt file the paperwork or she was denied for some reason, i have never seen a med cost that much on county insurance from my experience the copay wouldnt be that much. We are very concerned for her sake and ours and not sure what to even do for her at this point it feels like she is financially neglecting herself because she emotionally cannot handle her situation.

https://www.agingcare.com/questions/how-do-we-approach-our-concerns-about-some-decisions-that-my-husbands-mom-has-made-469328.htm?orderby=recent&page=1�

I don't think she is being honest about anything, sadly.

Yes IRS does send a letter. My Mom and MIL both received it. You don't pay taxes on SS unless its over the cap or you have other income coming in that puts u over the cap. And I think the cap is over 30k

Taxable Income is anything you get a 1099 on. Thats interest on bank accts, CDs, ect. After 72 1/2 you have to defer any IRAs you have. So, money is pulled from the IRA and you pay taxes on that. If Mom is pulling from an IRA or annuity, she pays taxes on the amt she pulls.
If she has a pension, yes that is income and will need to pay taxes on it.

So you need to get her 1099s and add them up to see what income she has brought in. Check to see if taxes have been taken out. If her income does not exceed the cap, no need to file taxes. I am sure a tax preparer can give you the info. But if her income has not changed from last year and she has a letter from the IRS, she does not need to file.

If your Mom has a green card and has 10 years (40 qtrs) of SS earnings I don't see why there is a problem getting SS. If she was married, and he worked in the US she is entitled to half of what he would be receiving. I can't imagine what paperwork is needed by SS if she has a greencard and has proof of earnings. I think 28 months is a long time to get records needed. There are mexicans that live near the border that work in the US and go home to Mexico every night. They are entitled to SS when they retire if they have paid in to it.

I guess she does not receive Medicare either?

Everyone has to file a return. She may get all of taxes back with low income.