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Publication 554
Older Americans' Tax Guide

For use in preparing 2002 Returns

1. 2002 Filing Requirements

If income tax was withheld from your pay, or if you qualify for the earned income credit or the additional child tax credit (see your tax package), you should file a return to get a refund even if you are not required to do so.

General Requirements

You must file a return if your gross income for the year was at least the amount shown on the appropriate line in Table 1-1. For more information, see the instructions for Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ, and Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.

Table 1-1. 2002 Filing Requirements Chart for Most Taxpayers NOTE: You must file a return if your gross income was at least the amount shown in the last column.
IF your filing status is AND at the end of 2002 you were * THEN file a return if your gross income ** was at least
Single under 65 $ 7,700
65 or older $ 8,850
Head of household under 65 $ 9,900
65 or older $11,050
Married filing jointly *** under 65 (both spouses) $13,850
65 or older (one spouse) $14,750
65 or older (both spouses) $15,650
Married filing separately any age $ 3,000
Qualifying widow(er) with dependent child under 65 $10,850
65 or older $11,750
* If you turned age 65 on January 1, 2003, you are considered to be age 65 at the end of 2002.
** Gross income means all income you received in the form of money, goods, property, and services that is not exempt from tax, including any income from sources outside the United States (even if you may exclude part or all of it). Do not include social security benefits unless you are married filing a separate return and you lived with your spouse at any time in 2002.
*** If you did not live with your spouse at the end of 2002 (or on the date your spouse died) and your gross income was at least $3,000, you must file a return regardless of your age.

Gross income.   Gross income is all income you receive in the form of money, goods, property, and services that is not exempt from tax. If you are married and live with your spouse in a community property state, half of any income defined by state law as community income may be considered yours. The community property states are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. For more information about community property, see Publication 555, Community Property.

For more information on what to include in gross income, see chapter 2.

Self-employed persons.   If you are self-employed in a business that provides services (where products are not a factor), gross income is gross receipts from that business. If you are self-employed in a business involving manufacturing, merchandising, or mining, gross income is total sales from that business minus the cost of goods sold. To this figure, you add any income from investments, and from incidental or outside operations or sources.

Dependents.   If you could be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer, special filing requirements apply. See Publication 501.

Decedents

A personal representative of a decedent's estate can be an executor, administrator, or anyone who is in charge of the decedent's property.

If you are acting as the personal representative of a person who died during the year, you may have to file a final return for that decedent. You also have other duties, such as notifying the IRS that you are acting as the personal representative. Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship, is available for this purpose.

When you file a return for the decedent, either as the personal representative or as the surviving spouse, you should write DECEASED, the decedent's name, and the date of death, across the top of the tax return.

If no personal representative has been appointed by the due date for filing the return, the surviving spouse (on a joint return) should sign the return and write in the signature area Filing as surviving spouse.

For more information, see Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators.

Surviving spouse.   If you are the surviving spouse, the year your spouse died is the last year you may file a joint return with that spouse. After that, if you do not remarry, you must file as a qualifying widow(er) with dependent child, head of household, or single. For more information about each of these filing statuses, see Publication 501.

If you remarry before the end of the year in which your spouse died, a final joint return with the deceased spouse cannot be filed. You can, however, file a joint return with your new spouse. In that case, the filing status of your deceased spouse for his or her final return is married filing separately.

CAUTION: The level of income that requires you to file an income tax return changes when your filing status changes. Even if you and your deceased spouse were not required to file a return for several years, you may have to file a return for the year of death.

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