It’s quite possible that despite all warnings from friends, family and TV news some of us hadn’t file our taxes for 2022. We often come across individual taxpayers who failed to file their taxes on time or even never filed for years on end. We wanted to offer some information for those who want to do the right thing and catch up with their tax filings.
First of all, not every US citizen who has earned income has to file a tax return. There are a number of factors that determines if you’re required to file such as your filing status, age and total income for the year. The IRS publishes minimum income limits that trigger the filing requirement every year. We included a table below for your reference to see if you have to file for 2022. Provided of course, you weren’t claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return.
| Filing Status | Age | Gross Income |
| Single | Under 65 | $14,700 |
| Single | 65 and older | $13,600 |
| Married Filing Jointly | Both spouses Under 65 | $25,900 |
| Married Filing Jointly | One spouse 65 or older | $27,300 |
| Married Filing Jointly | Both spouses 65 or older | $28,700 |
| Married Filing Separately | Any | $5 |
| Head of Household | Under 65 | $19,400 |
| Head of Household | 65 and older | $21,150 |
| Qualifying Widow(er) with dependent child | Under 65 | $25,900 |
| Qualifying Widow(er) with dependent child | 65 and older | $27,300 |
Income requirements for filing an individual tax return for previous years can be found on www.irs.gov.
What To Do If You Missed Tax Filing Deadline
If you should’ve filed a tax return and you’ve missed the April 15thdeadline without properly applying for an extension, you must file your 2022 taxes as soon as possible. Taxpayers who have no tax liability may get away without being penalized but if you owe taxes there are two types of additional payments to be made: failure-to-file penalty and failure-to-pay penalty.
Both of these payments are based on the tax amount. The failure-to-file penalty is usually the 5% of the total unpaid tax for each month passed the due date up to 25 percent of your tax liability. Failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% of your unpaid taxes for every month taxes aren’t paid. This penalty also cannot exceed 25% of your taxes. The IRS also will calculate interest on any taxes paid after April 15 and bill you for those. If you can show reasonable cause for not paying or filing on time, you will not have to pay these penalties.
If you are what tax professionals call a non-filer, one who haven’t filed in years, then you must start planning for catching up with your passed due tax filings. This requires digging up some documents and collecting required information. It is advisable to seek help from a tax expert for such cases to ensure proper filing of your returns.
