From the Archives: Do I Have to File a Tax Return After I Turn 72?

One last greatest hits post before new posts resume on Monday the 5th.

This post from January 2012 remains popular 3 years later. There’s apparently something going around where people think they can stop filing taxes once they reach age 72. As this post points out, this is simply not true

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Originally published January 14, 2012

Twice in the last month Google has led people searching for “Do I have to file a tax return after I turn 72?” to this site. The search engine is linking folks to a story I ran in November about a Tax Court case where the Court ruled against a man who stopped filing tax returns when he turned 72 years old.

To answer the question: YES, you have to file a tax return no matter how young or old you are … if your income exceeds certain levels.

As I wrote in my November story:

(A) single person over age 65 does not have to file a tax return unless their income exceeds $10,950 (in 2011). Social Security benefits are generally NOT included in the income calculation unless your other income exceeds $25,000 if single or $32,000 if married. Refer to Table 1-1 on Page 6 of IRS Publication 17 for more information.