At What Age Can You Stop Filing Taxes? Taxes aren't determined by age, so you will never age out of paying taxes. People who are 65 or older at the end of 2024 have to file a return for tax year 2024 (which is due in 2025) if their gross income is $16,550 or higher.
Starting with the month you reach full retirement age, there is no limit on how much you can earn and still receive your benefits. You work and earn $32,320 ($8,920 more than the $23,400 limit) during the year.
Current tax law does not allow you to take a capital gains tax break based on your age. In the past, the IRS granted people over the age of 55 a tax exemption for home sales, though this exclusion was eliminated in 1997 in favor of the expanded exemption for all homeowners.
Unfortunately, there's no age limit to paying capital gains tax. However, you can manage and even reduce your tax burden with the right strategies and information. Here are the basics about capital gains tax rules and rates as well as some tax-saving tactics.
Qualifying seniors receive deductions off their tax bills because they are senior citizens. The senior citizen exemption reduces the tax bill by a sum certain each year. The actual deduction is $5,000 times the local tax rate.
Substantial income includes wages, earnings from self-employment, interest, dividends, and other taxable income that must be reported on your tax return. Between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50% of your benefits. More than $34,000, up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable.
Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.
Working past age 70 (or any time past your full retirement age, in fact) won't affect your benefits.
Generally, if Social Security benefits were your only income, your benefits are not taxable and you probably do not need to file a federal income tax return.
You have to be 25 or older but under 65 to qualify for the EIC. You also have to have lived in the United States for more than half of the year and can't be a dependent of another person.
In-person IRS help for seniors and low-income taxpayers
Eligible taxpayers can also have their taxes prepared in person for free, through these two programs: Tax Counseling for the Elderly – The TCE program prioritizes taxpayers aged 60 and older.
While most federal income tax laws apply equally to all taxpayers, regardless of age, there are some provisions that give special treatment to older taxpayers. The following are some examples. Higher gross income threshold for filing. You must be age 65 or older at the end of the year to get this benefit.
You report the taxable portion of your Social Security benefits on line 6b of Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. Your benefits may be taxable if the total of (1) one-half of your benefits, plus (2) all of your other income, including tax-exempt interest, is greater than the base amount for your filing status.
Taxpayers 65 and older qualify for an additional standard deduction, reducing their taxable income. The extra deduction amount differs based on filing status and whether the taxpayer or spouse is blind. The IRS updates the deduction amounts annually for inflation, impacting tax filings.
Exactly how much in earnings do you need to get a $3,000 benefit? Well, you just need to have averaged about 70% of the taxable maximum. In our example case, that means that your earnings in 1983 were about $22,000 and increased every year to where they ended at about $100,000 at age 62.
If your spouse dies, do you get both Social Security benefits? You cannot claim your deceased spouse's benefits in addition to your own retirement benefits. Social Security only will pay one—survivor or retirement. If you qualify for both survivor and retirement benefits, you will receive whichever amount is higher.
While you may have heard at some point that Social Security is no longer taxable after 70 or some other age, this isn't the case. In reality, Social Security is taxed at any age if your income exceeds a certain level.
You can receive benefits even if you still work. Waiting beyond age 70 will not increase your benefits. You can claim your retirement benefits now. Because you are age 70 or older, you will receive no additional benefit increases if you continue to delay claiming them.
If you earn less than the Standard Deduction for your filing status, you likely don't need to file a tax return. Even if you don't meet the filing threshold, you may still have to file taxes if you have other types of income.
Standard Deductions for Retirees
The standard deductions for 2024 are $14,600 for single taxpayers and married taxpayers filing separately, $29,200 for married taxpayers filing jointly, and $21,900 for heads of household. You won't owe any taxes if your taxable total income falls below these amounts.
You would not be required to file a tax return. But you might want to file a return, because even though you are not required to pay taxes on your Social Security, you may be able to get a refund of any money withheld from your paycheck for taxes.
For instance, while most states set the bar at 65, states like Washington allow exemptions starting at 61. Alabama is the only state that offers total property tax exemption to seniors 65 and up.