--- title: Cannot Afford to Pay Taxes description: You want to file your taxes on time, but you anticipate that you will owe money you cannot afford to pay right now. What can you do? View the tips. image: https://media.insognacpa.com/hubfs/cannot%20afford%20to%20pay%20taxes.png --- [![Insogna logo small](https://media.insognacpa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Insogna%20logo%20small.png?width=300&height=73&name=Insogna%20logo%20small.png "Insogna logo small")](https://insognacpa.com/) [![Insogna logo small](https://media.insognacpa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Insogna%20logo%20small.png?width=300&height=73&name=Insogna%20logo%20small.png "Insogna logo small")](https://insognacpa.com/) [![Insogna logo small](https://media.insognacpa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Insogna%20logo%20small.png?width=300&height=73&name=Insogna%20logo%20small.png "Insogna logo small")](https://insognacpa.com/) [![Insogna logo small](https://media.insognacpa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Insogna%20logo%20small.png?width=300&height=73&name=Insogna%20logo%20small.png "Insogna logo small")](https://insognacpa.com/) Content Title Description < Previous page Next page > [Why Us](https://insognacpa.com/why-us) | [Business Accounting](https://insognacpa.com/business-accounting) | [Fractional CFO](https://insognacpa.com/fractional-cfo) | [Minimizing Taxes](https://insognacpa.com/tax-strategy/) [Building Wealth](https://insognacpa.com/building-wealth) | [Learning Center](https://insognacpa.com/learning-center)| [Contact Us](https://insognacpa-6129290.hs-sites.com/en-us/contact-us) [Tax](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/tag/tax) [Individual Tax](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/tag/individual-tax) # What if you cannot afford to pay your taxes? By [Chase Insogna, CPA](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/author/chase-insogna-cpa) Mar 6, 2023 2:00:01 PM 3 Minutes Read It’s a common conundrum: You want to file your taxes on time, but you anticipate or already know that you will owe money you can’t afford to pay right now. As a result, you put off filing your tax return under the assumption that the IRS can only bill you if they receive your latest outstanding tax return that’s due. If you want to file your taxes right now, you should!   ## Am I Required to File a Tax Return? ### The Gross Income Filing Requirement You may want to file a tax return, but you are not actually required to. Generally, the gross income filing requirement is based on the standard deduction plus personal exemption for your filing status. [The IRS has a tool](https://www.leereams.com/blog/what-if-you-want-to-file-your-taxes-but-cant-afford-to-pay-them/43920)to determine if you are required to file a tax return based on your income alone. Notably, taxpayers who are married and filing separately have a gross income filing requirement.   ### Other situations in which you must file a tax return Regardless of the total reported income on your tax return, there are other situations in which you must file a tax return. #### Self-employment If you owe self-employment tax on net self-employment income of $400 or more, you are obligated to file a tax return. It’s easy to go past this amount if you drive for Lyft or Uber, are giving freelance work a try, or have any other form of self-employment income that nets out to $400 or more after your deductible expenses. #### Affordable Care Act You also must file a tax return if you receive Affordable Care Act subsidies for your health insurance and if you have any recapture payments such as the [First-Time Homebuyer Credit](https://www.leereams.com/blog/what-if-you-want-to-file-your-taxes-but-cant-afford-to-pay-them/43920). Any early distributions taken against an IRA or 401(k) also require you to file a tax return even if you had no other income, and the same is true if you reach age 70 1/2 during the tax year and were required to make the required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your retirement plan, but did not actually start these payments yet. #### To get a tax refund Even if you are not mandated to file a tax return, you may still want to file one to get a tax refund. If you aren’t due a tax refund, it’s still a good idea to have a tax return on file with the IRS. Tax returns are commonly requested when applying for a lease or mortgage, or to show proof of income and demonstrate the ability (or inability) to pay for higher education and other important aspects of life that may arise.   ![did not file tax return](https://media.insognacpa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/did%20not%20file%20tax%20return.png?width=686&height=300&name=did%20not%20file%20tax%20return.png) ## Filing a Tax Return vs. Paying Your Actual Tax Bill A common misconception is that you need to pay all taxes due when you file your tax return. While it’s prudent to do so, you are not actually required to. Filing your actual tax return is still the very first thing you should do no matter how much you owe, even if you’re filing it late. Doing so will prevent steep penalties from being incurred if you were required to file a tax return. Additionally, suppose you put off filing your tax return for too long. In that case, the IRS can file a substitute return that won’t apply for any tax benefits and will make their assessment against you larger than it actually should be.   ### Even if you can't afford to pay you should still file Even if you can’t afford to put anything toward your tax bill right now, the very least you should do is file your tax return before the deadline every year. If you want to file your taxes despite being unable to pay your bill right now, you can still do so.   ## Receiving an Automated Tax Bill From the IRS If you cannot pay your taxes, you should still file a tax return without including payment. You can also include a partial payment of any size, even if it’s a small amount like $20. The IRS will not issue a judgment that quickly after you file your return, and even a small payment can help you save some money on interest. The IRS will send an [automated bill by mail](https://www.irs.gov/payments)if you do not pay your entire tax bill upon filing your return. You can pay your balance before the bill arrives if you have the money to do so, but getting the bill in the mail doesn’t mean you are facing a lien against your bank account. Interest will accrue on the unpaid balance as long as it goes unpaid, but owing money is a separate concept from filing your tax return on time, so you can and should file even if you can’t pay. ## Recommended For You [![Penalties For Not Filing A Tax Return](https://media.insognacpa.com/hubfs/tax%20return%20penalties.png)](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/penalties-for-not-filing-your-tax-return) [Individual Tax](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/tag/individual-tax) 3 Min Read ### [What Are The Penalties For Not Filing Your Tax Return?](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/penalties-for-not-filing-your-tax-return) [![Picture of Chase Insogna, CPA](https://media.insognacpa.com/hubfs/Chase-Insogna-1024x1024.png) Chase Insogna, CPA Mar 6, 2023 1:59:28 PM](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/author/chase-insogna-cpa) [![social security tax](https://media.insognacpa.com/hubfs/social%20security%20tax.png)](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/minimizing-tax-on-social-security-benefits) [Individual Tax](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/tag/individual-tax) 2 Min Read ### [Minimizing Tax on Social Security Benefits](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/minimizing-tax-on-social-security-benefits) [![Picture of Chase Insogna, CPA](https://media.insognacpa.com/hubfs/Chase-Insogna-1024x1024.png) Chase Insogna, CPA Mar 6, 2023 1:51:07 PM](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/author/chase-insogna-cpa) [![tax extension](https://media.insognacpa.com/hubfs/tax%20extension.png)](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/filing-a-tax-extension) [Tax](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/tag/tax) [Individual Tax](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/tag/individual-tax) [Business Tax](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/tag/business-tax) 1 Min Read ### [What You Need to Know About Filing a Tax Extension](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/filing-a-tax-extension) [![Picture of Chase Insogna, CPA](https://media.insognacpa.com/hubfs/Chase-Insogna-1024x1024.png) Chase Insogna, CPA Dec 29, 2022 2:25:38 PM](https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/author/chase-insogna-cpa) Insogna CPA 3355 Bee Cave Road, Suite 503 Austin TX 78746 (512) 891-8200 - [Contact Us](https://insognacpa.com/contact-us/) - [Customer Reviews](https://insognacpa.com/testimonials-and-reviews/) - [Careers at Insogna CPA](https://insognacpa.com/careers/) - [Privacy Policy](https://insognacpa.com/privacy-policy/) - [Texas Board of Accountancy License](https://www.tsbpa.texas.gov/php/fpl/frmlookup.php?x=T71ujVIEr%2Fg%3D) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/InsognaCPAs) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/insognacpa-com/) [Follow us on Twitter](https://twitter.com/InsognaCPA) [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/insognacpa/) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Chase Insogna, CPA", "url" : "https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/author/chase-insogna-cpa" }, "dateModified" : "2023-03-06T20:00:01.399Z", "datePublished" : "2023-03-06T20:00:01.000Z", "headline" : "Cannot Afford to Pay Taxes", "image" : [ "https://media.insognacpa.com/hubfs/cannot%20afford%20to%20pay%20taxes.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://media.insognacpa.com/blog/cannot-afford-to-pay-taxes", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://media.insognacpa.com/hubfs/InsognaLogoSite2020.png" }, "name" : "Insogna CPA" } } ```