My mother-in-law is 94 years old and receives income from pensions, CDs, and money market accounts as well as Social Security benefits. Does she need to still file a return at her age?

My mother-in-law is 94 years old and receives income from pensions, CDs, and money market accounts as well as Social Security benefits. Does she need to still file a return at her age?

There's no age limit on filing. As long as someone's income is higher than the filing threshold, a return must be filed. But age does have its benefits — there's an additional standard deduction amount ($1,050 for married persons and $1,300 for single filers in 2008). This means that the filing threshold is higher for older people. For instance, in 2008, someone who's single and at least 65 years old is not required to file a return unless gross income is over $10,250 (only the taxable portion of Social Security benefits, if any, are not taken into account in determining gross income).