I have a question related to self employed tax filing when there is no income to report. I started a business, but it didn’t make money. I only lived off of savings, child support, credit cards, and some stock I sold. When I file taxes, how do I report that?
When filing, you’re required to file only if your income is a certain amount or more. The filing requirement only applies if your taxable gross income was at least:
- Income requirement, Single — $10,300 if under age 65, or $13,600 if age 65 or older
- Married filing return jointly:
- $24,000 if both spouses filing taxes are under age 65
- $25,300 if one spouse is under age 65 and one is age 65 or older
- $26,600 if both spouses are age 65 or older
- Married filing separately — $5 for all ages
- Head of household — $18,000 if under age 65, or $19,600 if age 65 or older
- Qualifying widow(er) with dependent child filing return — $24,000 if under age 65, or $25,300 if age 65 or older
These are the general file return guidelines. There could be other reasons you must file besides income. For instance, your net earnings from self-employment might be more than $400. If so, you’re required to file a return to properly account for your self-employment taxes.
If you received an advanced premium credit for marketplace health insurance bought for you, your spouse or a dependent, you must file a return to verify that the correct amount was received based on your actual income for 2018.
Also, you might need to file because you received Forms 1099-MISC or 1099-B showing income that led the IRS to believe that you might owe taxes. You should file a return to show that the taxes aren’t due or that they’re due in a lesser amount.
Even if you aren’t required to file, you might want to file to:
- Request a refund of any tax withheld
- Report a net operating loss that you can carry back to previous years — and perhaps generate a refund
- Report a net capital loss you can carry over to future years
