i married but i made less than 14000 last year do i have to file

[tia.michelle]

Filing jointly

[xmasbaby0]

ALL of your combined income has to be entered on your joint return.  And if you file separately, there are a lot of disadvantages to filing that way.

If you were legally married at the end of 2024 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $29,200 (+ $1550 for each spouse 65 or older)  for 2024. You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit. 

If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use standard deduction. Your tax rate will be higher than on a joint return.

 Some of the special rules for filing separately include: you cannot get earned income credit, education credits, adoption credits, or deductions for student loan interest. A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. Your limit for SALT (state and local taxes and sales tax) will be only $5000 per spouse. In many cases you will not be able to take the child and dependent care credit. The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be affected. If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income. ( Community property states:  AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI)

 If  you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice since with online, you get one return per fee.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-married-filing-jointly-vs-married-filing-separately

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901162-married-filing-separately-in-community-property-states

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separ...

[DoninGA]

If the combined taxable income for both of you is $29, 200 or less you do not need to file a 2024 tax return.

[VolvoGirl · Accepted solution]

You don't have to file if you only have income under 29,200 (2024) but you can file to get back any W2 withholding taken out in boxes 2 or 17 or 1099R withholding.  If you get a 1099NEC you need to file for any amount and pay self employment tax.

You also need to file if you get a 1095A form for health insurance from the Marketplace ACA.

Do you need to file a return?
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/filing-and-paying-taxes/help/do-i-need-to-file-a-federal-return-th...