Tax Q&A;: File for Refund
This daily tax season column publishes questions from readers and answers from local members of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Q. I am a 68-year-old lady on Social Security. I’m told that my income last year was low enough that I do not have to file an income tax return. But I do work at times as a movie extra and taxes are withheld. Do I file or no?
A. If you want those taxes refunded to you, you should file a return. A single person over age 65 is not required to file a tax return for 1998 if gross income (not including Social Security) is less than $8,000. Under age 65, the limit is $6,950 for a single person. (The limits vary based on age, marital status and other factors.) The IRS typically discourages people who do not have to file from filing, because it creates more paperwork for the agency. But the only way to get a refund of withheld taxes is to file a return. Free tax preparation help is available for elderly and low-income people. Call the IRS help line at (800) 829-1040 for details and to make an appointment.
--LAURA KAULS, CPA, Redondo Beach
For more information on taxes and to see other questions and answers in this series, go to The Times’ Web site at https://www.latimes.com/taxes. To find a CPA, visit the California Society of CPAs at https://www.calcpa.org.
