File if you received income (earned or unearned):

Unearned income includes taxable interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. It also includes unemployment compensation, taxable social security benefits, pensions, annuities, and distributions of unearned income from a trust. Earned income includes salaries, wages, tips, professional fees, and taxable scholarship and fellowship grants. Gross income is the total of your unearned and earned income.

If your gross income was $4,200 or more, you usually can't be claimed as a dependent unless you're a qualifying child. For details, see page 10 of IRS Publication 501 Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.

File if you want your refund:

If either federal or state taxes were withheld from your paycheck, you must file a return in order to collect any refund amount(s) you may be entitled to.

Refer to IRS Instructions for Form 1040 and 1040-SR and IRS Publication 501 for additional information.

File even if you are a dependent on another return (and meet certain conditions):

If your parent (or someone else) can claim you as a dependent, use the information below to determine if you must file a tax return.

Single dependents--Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
    No. You must file a return if any of the following apply:

1. Your unearned income is more than $1,100.
2. Your earned income was over $12,400.
3. Your gross income was more than the larger of --
   a. $1,100, or
   b. Your earned income (up to $12,050) plus $350.

1. Your unearned income is more than $2,750 ($4,400 if 65 or older and blind).
2. Your earned income was more than $14,050 ($15,700 if 65 or older and blind).
3. Your gross income was more than the larger of --
   a. $2,750 ($4,400 if 65 or older and blind), or
   b. Your earned income (up to $12,050) plus $2,000 ($3,650 if 65 or older and blind).

Married Dependents--Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
    No. You must file a return if any of the following apply:

1. Your gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions.
2. Your unearned income was more than $1,100.
3. Your earned income was more than $12,400.
4. Your gross income was more than the larger of --
   a. $1,100, or
   b. Your earned income (up to $12,050), plus $350.

1. Your unearned income is at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions.
2. Your unearned income was more than $2,400 ($3,700 if 65 or older and blind).
3. Your earned income was more than $13,700 ($15,000 if 65 or older and blind).
4. Your gross income was more than the larger of --
   a. $2,400 ($3,700 if 65 or older and blind), or
   b. Your earned income (up to $12,050) plus $1,650 ($2,950 if 65 or older and blind).

Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the document at the time it is accessed.