I received a reply in my email, I think from Turbo Tax, maybe you but I don't know. Here is what it says: You are not required to file.
Taxes are complicated. Saying you have no earned income is meaningless. Clarifying that you have only social security and veterans benefits is definite.
The previous answer is technically correct: Unearned income is still taxable. For married filing jointly, you must file if your taxable income is more than $20,600.
The answerer didn't pick up on your clarifiers. Veterans benefits are specifically excluded, from tax, by law. VA disability is not only not taxable. it does not even have to be reported.
Social security only becomes taxable when added to sufficient other income. If you are otherwise required to file a tax return, you do need to enter it in Turbotax (TT). TT will determine the taxable portion.
Social security (including SSDI) becomes taxable when your income, including 1/2 your social security, reaches:
Married Filing Jointly(MFJ): $32,000
Single or head of household: $25,000
Married Filing Separately and lived with your spouse at any time during the tax year: $0
After TurboTax (TT) calculates the taxable portion of SS, it puts the total amount of SS on line 20a of form 1040 and the taxable amount on line 20b (lines 14a&b of form 1040A). TT also produces a worksheet to show how the taxable amount is calculated. Although most people pay tax on 85% of their SS. it can be less for lower income taxpayers.
How much is "sufficient other income"? The simple answer is $20,600 (a married couple's filing requirement). But the answer varies dependent on filing status, age, the amount of your Social security, and whether you are claimed as a dependent by someone else.
So, is VA benefits and SS are your ONLY income, you do not need to file.
So, I just want to be sure that I don't have to file as I have filed for the last couple of years and had no unearned/taxable income and didn't understand why I had to. Both of us get Social Security and my husband gets 100 percent VA disability.
