If I am married filing jointly and my income is less then $5000 but my spouse is about $25,000 do I need to actually claim mine?

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

You absolutely do have to include your income on that tax return.  Every W-2 that you received must be reported on your tax return, even if they are for small amounts.  Remember that each one of those W-2’s has your Social Security number on it, and that income was reported to the IRS by the employer.  You do not want to get in trouble with the IRS for under-reporting your income.

ALL of your W-2’s must be entered on the SAME tax return.  After you enter the first one, you click Add Another W-2.

[Tiff22adan]

So do you need to report wages less than 3500? 

[Tiff22adan]

If married filing jointly wife made less than 3500 do those wages need to go on tax return? 

[VictoriaD75]

Yes. All income must be reported on a joint return regardless of the amount.

[Mikeboynton19]

Why?

[RobertB4444]

The IRS requires you to report all of the income that you make every year.  That's just the law.  More to the point - if you file a tax return with both you and your spouse's social security numbers on it and then leave off income that has been reported to the IRS it can delay processing of your return and lead to fun letters from the IRS where they reduce your refund or require you to re-file.  Avoid the hassle and just include everything.

@Mikeboynton19