We are married, the only income we have received this year was non taxable disability and education benefits from the VA. We have 2 children, so do we need to file?

[binabillie123]

I the wife have no income, only my husband received the benefits. We have 2 children and not sure if we need to file.

[Coleen3]

No. If the disability is non-taxable then you do not file a return because there is no income. Payments you receive for education, training, or subsistence under any law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are tax free. Do not include these payments as income on your federal tax return.

https://gibill.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/172/~/are-va-education-benefits-taxable%3F

[binabillie123]

That's what I thought because we don't have any other income to claim. Someone told me we still need to file because if we don't it will mess up future years. Is this true?

[Coleen3]

No. It is an income tax form. There is no income. If you tried through any tax preparation software, it would be blank. The IRS gets copies of income reporting documents.  The worst that can happen is you may get a letter and you just reply that you were not required to file. It is unlikely that you will even get the letter. This happens all the time.

[binabillie123]

That's exactly what I thought. Thanks so much!