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I’m getting closer to filing our 2025 return, thanks to the tax statements our postal carrier stuffed into our curbside box today. Oh joy!
Some folks, however, don’t share my sarcastic filing enthusiasm. That’s because they don’t have to worry about filing. But they might want to send the Internal Revenue Service a tax return anyway.
Here are six reasons why it might be a good idea to file a Form 1040 even if you aren’t legally required to do so.
1. You are due a refund. Yes, this the obvious reason so many of us file taxes, and do so as early as possible, every year. And yes, most people know when they’re due a refund.
Sometimes though, individuals don’t realize they are due money from Uncle Sam. This could be the case, for example, for a worker who had a short-term job that didn’t pay enough to trigger the federal filing requirement.
The only way to get back over-withheld taxes is to file a return.
2. You overpaid estimated taxes. Some tax over payment could be due to estimated tax payments. These usually four extra tax amounts a year are made on earnings that aren’t subject to withholding, such as earnings from gig jobs or investments or gambling winnings.
Making the estimated payments is smart. If you don’t, the IRS will collect tax money along with penalty and interest charges. But if you paid more estimated tax than was required, the only way to get that money is, you got it, file a return.
3. You qualify for a tax credit: Another reason you might be due tax refund cash is that you’re eligible for certain tax breaks. This is particularly true of tax credits, which reduce any tax you owe dollar-for-dollar. A few of these tax credits are refundable, meaning that in addition to wiping out any tax you owe, the excess credit comes back to you as a refund.
The Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased the Child Tax Credit for the 2025 tax year to $2,500 per qualifying child. The refundable portion of this tax credit, known as the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), is $1,700 per eligible youngster.
Then there’s the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which typically is the most overlooked tax break. It also is a refundable tax credit. But many eligible taxpayers tend to ignore it because, like the refundable child tax credit component, the EITC is relatively complicated and can be confusing.
But both the ACTC and EITC could be worth the trouble to file if it means money. And if you qualify for either or both, you likely qualify to get no-cost help from your local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site to help you complete and submit a return claiming these (and other) tax breaks that could produce a refund.
4. You need tax documentation for other transactions. Many loans, from mortgages or other housing assistance to educational financial aid, rely on the information you provide the IRS when you file. If you are seeking any type of income-based fiscal help or benefit, you’ll need to have your federal tax data up to date to satisfy lender inquiries. Filing an annual tax return is the easiest way to do this.
5. You received 1099 forms. These tax documents show how much money you got during the year from contract jobs that didn’t require your employer to withhold taxes. There are differing levels of earnings that trigger the issuance of these forms.
Form 1099s are among the various tax statements that I mentioned at the start of this post. Most tend to arrive at the end of each January. The myriad 1099s also share one other feature. Their issuers send copies of the earnings statements to the IRS.
Those IRS duplicates are why, even if total amount on all your 1099s don’t add up to enough to require you to file, you might want to submit a 1040 anyway.
Without a return from you declaring the earnings, a curious IRS agent just might come asking about the income it learned of from the third-party forms. That inquiring agent also might suspect you’re not sharing information on other income that didn’t trigger 1099 issuance.
Don’t just take my word for it. The IRS itself notes on page 5 of its Publication 501, specifically in the “Who Should File” section discussing Form 1099-B, that “filing a return may keep you from getting a notice from the IRS.” That’s a convincing enough of a reason for me to file!
6. You want to thwart tax scammers. The IRS and its Security Summit partners in state tax departments and the tax industry have done a good job in short-circuiting tax filing fraud. But scammers never give up. They keep finding ways to get personal data they use to file false returns that claim fraudulent refunds.
You can help that tax fraud fighting effort by filing your own legitimate return. Once the IRS gets your real Form 1040, that will stymie any crook who tries to file a fake one in your name.
So, the bottom line is that sometimes, it is worth filling out and submitting a tax return, even if you aren’t legally required to do so.
And sometimes, doing so could get you some money.
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