Filing Federal Income Taxes with no Income (Partnered Dependency Issue)
April 15, 2013 10:20 AM Subscribe
My partner has not worked at all in 2012. He did not work much in 2011. (He had some income in January.) We are not married or civilly unioned or anything “official.” However, for the last two years, he has qualified as my dependent and I have filed accordingly. Last year, this felt tricky because we were concerned about where the income cut-off was, and he filed as usual, but reporting himself as my dependent. This year did not feel tricky at all because he had no income at all (no employment, unemployment, no disability, nothing), so as soon as I got my W-2, I filed and got my refund and put it out of my mind.
Until this morning as we headed out the door to work/doctor's appointment, when he asked “wait, when you did your taxes while I was in the hospital, did you file mine?” Oops.
Cursory Google searching leads me to believe that nothing needs to be done -- and some sites even suggesting to definitely not file, but I am concerned that with him as my dependent, we need to have something on record (other than me putting his SSN on my form) that he had no income/qualified as my dependent.
I can print out a form and fill it in with a bunch of zeroes today if I should, but this seems silly. I am sure the real answer is somewhere online, but I’ve been able to find nothing I trust.
(I am hoping I have enough goodwill as a community member to not get too much grief about the timing of this question and am functioning on about 3 hours of sleep and swamped at work, so my defenses that would typically stop me from doing this here are down. You are not my accountant or my tax preparer, etc. We’re in Illinois if it matters. Thanks in advance.)
Cursory Google searching leads me to believe that nothing needs to be done -- and some sites even suggesting to definitely not file, but I am concerned that with him as my dependent, we need to have something on record (other than me putting his SSN on my form) that he had no income/qualified as my dependent.
I can print out a form and fill it in with a bunch of zeroes today if I should, but this seems silly. I am sure the real answer is somewhere online, but I’ve been able to find nothing I trust.
(I am hoping I have enough goodwill as a community member to not get too much grief about the timing of this question and am functioning on about 3 hours of sleep and swamped at work, so my defenses that would typically stop me from doing this here are down. You are not my accountant or my tax preparer, etc. We’re in Illinois if it matters. Thanks in advance.)
Best answer: If he had no income he doesn't have to file.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:27 AM on April 15, 2013
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:27 AM on April 15, 2013
Best answer: No filing necessary. You even have three years to file if the IRS owes you a refund without any penalty.
posted by readery at 10:29 AM on April 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by readery at 10:29 AM on April 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I agree that he probably doesn't need to file at all. Check this page to be sure. It might make sense to verify with a professional on what is the best way for you both to file in the years where he does have income.
posted by soelo at 11:24 AM on April 15, 2013
posted by soelo at 11:24 AM on April 15, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks everyone -- that's what I thought, but when asked "Are you sure?", I couldn't comfortably say "Yes." Now I am. I owe you all a beverage of your choice -- which will be easier for some of you to collect than others.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:37 PM on April 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:37 PM on April 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: IRS says pretty clearly that a single person who is not age 65 or older or blind and can be claimed as a dependent needs to file their own tax return if any of the following apply.
- Your unearned income was more than $950.
- Your earned income was more than $5,950.
- Your gross income was more than the larger of—
$950, or
Your earned income (up to $5,650) plus $300.
This is only the criteria for having to file a return. As you probably know, someone can be required to file and still qualify as a dependent.
posted by metahawk at 3:09 PM on April 15, 2013
- Your unearned income was more than $950.
- Your earned income was more than $5,950.
- Your gross income was more than the larger of—
$950, or
Your earned income (up to $5,650) plus $300.
This is only the criteria for having to file a return. As you probably know, someone can be required to file and still qualify as a dependent.
posted by metahawk at 3:09 PM on April 15, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Tanizaki at 10:23 AM on April 15, 2013