[sundrop]

Such a diverse crowd I thought I would ask here. Respond by PM or post is fine. My parents are both on Social Security with no other income except a small savings account that pays very little interest. They spend thousands a year on meds medicare does not or only partially covers. They pay interest on a home loan but they have been told not to file taxes as all they have is the SS retirement income. How do they get any credit for their interest or medical costs if they cant file taxes???

 

[NCTribute]

Hard to say without knowing more, believe that they are not required to file if below a certain income, but you may want to inorder to get a refund. They are not required to file below a certain income because they do not owe anything, but they might want to see of they are due a refund.

The best, and free, way to find out if your benefits are taxable is to use IRS Free File to prepare and e-file your tax return. If you made $58,000 or less, you can use Free File tax software. The software will figure the taxable benefits for you. If your income was more than $58,000 and you feel comfortable doing your own taxes, use Free File Fillable Forms. Free File is available only at IRS.gov/freefile.

 

[Crummy]

Have they applied for a Homestead exemption for their property taxes?

 

[TarheelFishing88]

Tribute is right. They may not be required to file, but it's good to check and see if they would qualify for a refund. IRS Free File is a good option. I work for the State Employees' Credit Union, and if your parents are members they would likely qualify to have their return done for free if they aren't comfortable doing it themselves. You can PM me if you have questions about it.

 

[sundrop]

never heard of it.

Have they applied for a Homestead exemption for their property taxes?

 

[Crummy]

never heard of it.

Property owners 65 or older with a combined income of $28,600 or less can qualify for an exemption of $25,000 of value or 50% of the value of the home and home site, whichever one is more. Applies to all 100 NC Counties. Same for Permanently Disabled.

Disabled Vets(or surviving spouse) can get an exemption of $45,000 of value.(no income requirements)

 

[heelwithnoname]

Sundrop what is above is all good advice although I have never dealt with the homestead exemption. If your parents have not paid anything in (tax withholding or estimated payments; and it sounds like there is no need for them to), then assuming they have no filing requirement (since all their income is SS), then there is no tax benefit to filing a tax return. They are not eligible for any sort of refundable credit based on what you posted. They don't get any benefit from paying interest or medical expenses but if they aren't paying taxes, there is no benefit to be had. If you want me to look at specifics I will (if you hurry); just PM me.

 

[NCTribute]

The Homestead exemption is for a reduction in property taxes, this is seperate from income tax and filing.

 

[Crummy]

The Homestead exemption is for a reduction in property taxes, this is seperate from income tax and filing.

Yes, I know. Sorry for the confusion but I thought that it is also good information to have for those who can qualify and most likely could use the help.

 

[sundrop]

they get to much from SS to qualify for the Homestead property tax break. Seems a shame to pay all that interest on a home loan and $4500 or more a year out of pocket on meds and not be able to get any help/relief refunds of any kind. Thanks everyone..