# Do I owe taxes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 9, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-owe-taxes/1016843 "2025-04-09T22:23:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-owe-taxes/1016843/1 "2025-04-09T22:23:42Z")
This could go in Factual Questions but I’m asking here because it seems less than urgent. My accountant, a perfectly respectable competent guy who has done my taxes for the past five years, tells me that I don’t need to file. I didn’t make enough money in 2024. I’m going to take his word for it and not file a return. But as happy as I am to hear this news, it strikes me as weird. I earned towards the max payout that Social Security issues, I am not a veteran, disabled or in any other way entitled to special consideration, and I fully expected to pay a pittance in taxes. Maybe a pittance and a half. This is the first year that I showed only SS money on my return. Can this country run if people like me pay no money in federal taxes? Not complaining, mind you–it just strikes me as a bit odd. I always thought that some SS money–10,000 or 15,000 or some figure–is tax-free but the rest gets taxed. Apparently not. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-owe-taxes/1016843/2 "2025-04-09T22:40:01Z")
The formula is: **Combined Income =** ☑ Adjusted Gross Income (AGI, not including Social Security) ➕ ☑ Nontaxable interest (like municipal bond interest) ➕ ☑ **½ of your Social Security benefits** Individual filer: ``` If combined income ≤ $25,000 → no tax on Social Security benefits $25,001 – $34,000 → up to 50% of benefits taxable Over $34,000 → up to 85% of benefits taxable ``` So if you have no other income and no interest income and you had $50,000 of Social Security income that would count as $25,000 since they only count half of it. Thus resulting in no tax since you are not above the $25,000 combined income level. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-owe-taxes/1016843/3 "2025-04-09T22:47:24Z")
Good info just above. But lets assume you have a few hundred in interest or dividends. If you still end up below 25K total you don’t owe tax on any of your SS. But you do on the interest & dividends. But … The next thing that happens is you subtract the standard deduction of 14,600 and also the over age 65 deduction of $1950. For a total of 16550. So if your AGI was a few hundred and you substract 16 grand, the result is (less than) zero. That’s your “taxable income”: zero. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-owe-taxes/1016843/4 "2025-04-10T00:09:50Z")
> [@GailForce](#): > > My accountant, a perfectly respectable competent guy who has done my taxes for the past five years, tells me that I don’t need to file. So did your accountant show you their calculations? ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-owe-taxes/1016843/5 "2025-04-10T20:39:57Z")
Finally, he did. I guess he figured that was the only way to shut me up when he’s swamped by clients demanding he sell off their entire equities holdings. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-owe-taxes/1016843/6 "2025-04-11T19:23:00Z")
Even if you don’t owe taxes, shouldn’t you file a return stating your income (not much) and what you owe (goose egg) ? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-owe-taxes/1016843/7 "2025-04-11T22:07:20Z")
> [@GailForce](#): > > when he’s swamped by clients demanding he sell off their entire equities holdings. Is your accountant also a money manager? ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-owe-taxes/1016843/8 "2025-04-11T22:12:19Z")
Primarily a money manager. He does my taxes for free as a side benefit of parking my equities with him. It’s a busy week for him, I imagine.