No, if that is only income you have. Not everyone is required to file federal taxes. Your tax filing status and gross income are the prime determiners of whether or not you need to file. Even if you don't need to file, you may want to, because you could be eligible for a tax refund.
The standard deduction, along with other available deductions, reduces your income to determine how much of your income is taxable. As long as you don't have a type of income that requires you to file a return for other reasons, like self-employment income, generally you don't need to file a return as long as your income is less than your standard deduction.
For example, in 2021, you don't need to file a tax return if all of the following are true for you:
- Under age 65
- Single
- Don't have any special circumstances that require you to file (like self-employment income)
- Earn less than $12,550 (which is the 2021 standard deduction for a single taxpayer)
