I'm a student who's been making less than $1,000 a year from odd jobs for a few years now. I'm also applying for a state scholarship which requires declaring jobs you've done. If I declare my jobs, will I be in trouble because I didn't do the taxes properly on that small income? Will anyone care because even if I did owe taxes, which (considering how little I made most of the time) are probably less than $10?
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
The federal government doesn't care about the $1000 (quite literally; you owed no federal income tax). Depending on the state, they might theoretically care, but not really. And of course, given what I know of bureaucracy, I predict the amount of cross-checking is exactly zero.
Posted by the doctor (Member # 6789) on :
There's an 800 number at the end of that topic that you can call to get a complete answer. You might want to call from a pay-phone, use a voice scrambler, and give a false name...
According to the links from this topic, the answer depends on age, whether you were self-employed, and whether you were listed as a dependent on someone else's taxes.
If you were self-employed, then, yes, you should have filed if you made more than $400
If you were an "employee" of someone, you probably didn't need to file for anything like $1000/year. The minimum income for employees to report is a lot higher than that.
UNLESS...you were listed as a dependent on someone else's taxes. Then the income limit before filing is lower.
[ May 31, 2007, 08:25 AM: Message edited by: the doctor ]
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
In any case, completing the FAFSA correctly will not get you in trouble for tax fraud. While a Financial Aid Officer can recommend that someone file an revised tax return (and can refuse to certify you for aid if you won't), the conditions under which they would be required to report you to the IRS are quite rare, and involve deliberate fraud. (Definitely not the case here.) AFAIK, the same rules would apply with regard to state aid.
List the income, and if there is a question that asks if you were required to file a tax return, say no.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by fugu13: And of course, given what I know of bureaucracy, I predict the amount of cross-checking is exactly zero.
Not quite. There are some automated cross-checks between the FAFSA processor and certain government agencies (such as Social Security) -- but the IRS is not among them. There are also certain responsibilities that FAOs have to verify tax and other income information.
quote:Originally posted by the doctor: UNLESS...you were listed as a dependent on someone else's taxes. Then the income limit before filing is lower.
ONLY if the income was interest income. Not for wages, etc.