How to efile federal tax return if no income

[Mikewithaquestion]

Hi - My son had no income (earned or unearned) in the year 2023. TurboTax won't let us efile his return. Is there a way to do that? I saw online that some people put $1 of interest income in the return to enable e-filing but that seems risky since it's not the truth and there would be no supporting documentation if audited.

Any advice on how to efil in this situation?

Thanks,

Mike

[JulieS]

Yes, if you report $1 in interest income that will allow you to e-file the tax return. It's not risky because it's such a small amount, that it's not required to be reported at all.

If your son has no income at all, why are you trying to file a return for him? It's not required, and there won't be any refund. 

[Mikewithaquestion]

Thanks, good point and good question. The reason is audit timelines. According to another TurboTax Help article:

"Filing a tax return typically starts the clock running for the amount of time the IRS can audit your return for a given year. If you don't file, the IRS can come back and perform an audit for that year."

So it seems a "no file" year can trigger an audit any time in the future, while filing a no-income return limits the audit timeframe.

If we're going to file his return, it'd be less hassle to efile than using paper forms.

[Mikewithaquestion]

I just looked through old bank statements from 2023, and see there actually was $0.07 interest on one account. So we can enter that and TurboTax will allow us to do e-filing.

However, there is no 1099-INT, so where would I record that interest income in TurboTax? It only has a screen to enter 1099-INT interest.

@JulieS 

[PaulaM]

No, $.07 interest would be rounded down to zero. Enter as JuliesS suggested and you will be able to efile. 

[beyondthebox]

Would the IRS even care if you skipped filing since they will have no reported income. That .07 cents will not be reported to the IRS and I'll bet you did not receive a 1099 for it. If you made and owe nothing, I am not sure you are required to file. Might want to call the IRS hotline.

[Cynthiad66]

Not everyone needs to file an income tax return each year. If your total income for the year doesn't hit certain IRS thresholds, then you may not need to file a federal tax return. But you may want to file a return anyway - there may be benefits to doing so. So, how much do you have to make to file taxes? Several factors can impact whether you should file a tax return, and we'll go through each one here.  

How Much Do You Have to Make to File Taxes?

@Mikewithaquestion 

@beyondthebox