Individual taxes can be extremely complicated at first. Otherwise, millions of American’s would not rely upon tax advisors, preparation services as H&R Block, and elaborate software packages such as Turbotax. To help understand individual taxes, consider the following:

Do I need to file?
In general, yes. However, there are some who are not required to file. In general, if you are filing single and make under $8450 annually, or married and joint filing making under $16,900 together, you do not need to file. Those who file married separately usually only need to file if either of the spouses had more than $3,300 in income last year, while head of households making under $10,850 do not need to file.

In general Social Security Income, referred to as SSI benefits, are federally tax-exempt. However, there are some instances in which SSI can be taxed. These instances are all related to having a substantial income exceeding set caps. However, in no circumstances are you responsible for paying taxes on all of your social security income.

In regards to cases where paying income tax on benefits, it’s important to assess a few personal things about yourself. Do you have supplemental income coming from investments? Are you employed? What about other forms of taxable income?