@levontcampbell
Both statements are true. In general, a person is not required to file a tax return unless they have taxable income. Income from a prison job is taxable, but a tax return still does not need to be filed if the level of income is less than the standard deduction. The standard deduction starting in 2018 has been $12,000 and up. Prior to 2018, the standard deduction was between 3000 and $4000. If your son has other income, such as from investments, that may affect whether or not a tax return was required. You would have to know his taxable income for each year to determine whether a return is required for that year.
due to special rules during the Covid pandemic for 2020 and 2021, a taxpayer can receive stimulus money by filing a tax return, even if they don’t have any taxable income and are not required to pay tax. If I remember correctly, the amount was $1200 for 2020 and $1400 for 2021. however, if someone else filed in your son’s name to claim the stimulus, your son can’t claim it again. That might be a spouse, a significant personal relationship, or the parents. I believe it was well-known within the prison system that even prisoners with no income could file for the stimulus checks, so you will need to ask your son, whether or not he filed, or someone filed in his name. If not, he can file a 2020 and 2021 return for the stimulus checks, even if he did not have other taxable income.
to file a 2020 and 2021 return, someone would have to purchase TurboTax for those years from the link at the bottom of this page that says “products for prior tax years.“ You need to download and install the 2020 and 2021 versions of TurboTax on a PC or Mac and prepare the tax returns on the computer. (TurboTax online can only prepare the current 2022 season.) For years earlier than 2019, if a tax return is needed, it would have to be prepared by hand using the IRS forms and instructions, or you would have to see a tax professional, because TurboTax is no longer sold for years before 2019.
