retirement/part time work

[Lessiemae]

I'm 77 and have a qualified pension plan monthly pymnt of less than $100. I will receive this amt til I die.

This year I also earned about $3000 from taking care of another senior, for which I received a w-2, but no federal taxes were withheld.  When I go thru the turbo tax questions,  I actually end up not owing any federal taxes at all.  When I do the State return I get a $200 refund.  Am I required to file federal even though I owe nothing?  Can I just file the state?  Or is it a good idea to go ahead and file both of the returns?

[BillM223]

I do not know which state you are referring to, but a number of states require parts of the federal return to be attached to your state return.

Of course, if you attached these forms, it should not matter if you actually file the federal return or not, but I do not know the extent to which states may double check that the federal form you attached was actually what you filed.

If there is no reason not to file the federal, I would go ahead and do it - at least until the IRS sends you a letter suggesting that you don't need to file any more (yes, after enough years of returns that didn't need to be filed, they do that).