In the coming months, millions of seniors will file their tax returns – and many other seniors will think there is no reason to file a return based on their low income. But not filing — even with low income — could potentially deprive you of a refund on taxes that might have been withheld from other payments you receive.

The IRS reports that every year more than $1 billion in unclaimed refunds gets left behind at the Treasury. This year, it’s more likely that refund belongs to you. A new $6,000 exemption for seniors may lead to no taxes on Social Security for many – but not all seniors.

Not everyone must file income taxes. Here are the basics.
• Everyone gets a “standard deduction”. For 2025, the standard deduction is $15,750 for single filers and married filing separately, $23,625 for heads of household, and $31,500 for married filing jointly and surviving spouses.
• Seniors, those over 65, get an additional deduction. Single filers and heads of household over 65 get an additional $2,000 deduction, plus an additional $1,600 for married filing jointly with both filers over age 65. (That deduction phases out starting at MAGI of $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for those married, filing jointly.)
• And new for 2025 is an additional $6,000 standard deduction <> 65 and over.

For a single senior filer, all that adds up to a total deduction of $23,750 from your income. Since the average Social Security check is just over $2,000 per month, your benefit becomes essentially tax free if that’s your total income. That’s not the case if you have other income, from a pension or a part-time job, for example.

Suppose you also receive a pension, and your former employer has been withholding income taxes so you don’ have to file quarterly. Or perhaps you have taxes withheld from your RMD. The new higher exemption levels may mean that too much was withheld in taxes. In that case, you MUST file to get a refund!

Taxes on Social Security
To make things even more confusing, there is a different definition of “income” regarding taxation of Social Security benefits. It’s called “Combined Income” and it includes your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) + Nontaxable Interest (from municipal bonds, for example) + ½ of Social Security benefits. Yes, only HALF of your Social Security benefit is used to determine whether your benefit itself is taxable!

For 2025, for single filers with combined income of $25,000 to $34,000, up to 50% of benefits may be taxable. For singles earning over $34,000 up to 85% of benefits may be taxable.

For married couples filing jointly with combined income of $32,000 to $44,000:, up to 50% of benefits may be taxable. For married couples with combined income over $44,000, up to 85% of benefits may be taxable.

Wait There’s More!
There may be other reasons for seniors to file a tax return, even if their taxable income is below the levels above. For example, says Lisa Green-Lewis of Intuit’s TurboTax, seniors might be eligible for lifetime learning credits, or a credit on tips they received if they drive for ride-sharing, or the earned income tax credit if they claim dependents such as grandchildren.

But by far, the biggest reason to file this year is to reclaim any withholding of taxes they paid in under the assumption of a lower standard deduction. In fact, because of this and other tax law changes, the IRS estimates that filers on average will see an increase of up to $1,000 in their refund. Again, you have to file to get it!

There is a new schedule 1-A required to claim these new deductions, including the $6,000 senior deduction, the tip deduction (up to $25,000) and the deduction for overtime (up to $12,500) as well as interest paid on purchases of cars manufactured in the United States (up to $10,000 of interest).

So even seniors who don’t normally itemize must file 1040A plus Schedule 1-A, in order to get their refunds.

Getting Help
And that is why you probably need help – even if you thought you earned too little to be required to file. You don’t want to miss out on your refund.

TurboTax offers a free edition for those with a simple form 1040, or 1040SR for seniors, (and that includes Schedule !-A filing). Just search online for TurboTax Free Edition. However, personalized help from TurboTax experts costs a bit more.

But if you want hands-on help filing this year’s tax return, there is no better place to turn than AARP.
At AARPFoundation.org, you can access a tax-aide locator on the home page. It will lead you to more than 3600 FREE tax help sites around the country. It is the nation’s largest free, volunteer-based tax assistance and preparation program. All 29,000 volunteers are annually certified by the IRS, so they are up-to-date on these latest forms and deductions.

You don’t have to be an AARP member to get this free help, which is available until April 15th. The mission of the AARP foundation is to help low and moderate income seniors get the credits and refunds that apply to them.

This year it is more important than ever to get good tax advice, just like wealthy people do. And that’s The Savage Truth.