Filing a Tax Return for a 17 year old in WA state - Required or Optional?

The filing requirements depend on both income and filing status. For a dependent (which I'm assuming your brother is since you're asking), the threshold is different than for independent filers. If your brother is claimed as a dependent on someone else's return (like your parents), he would need to file if his earned income is more than $12,950 (for 2025). Since his income is $8,700, he's under this threshold and isn't required to file. As for benefits of filing even when not required - there are several! If your brother had ANY federal tax withheld, he would get that back as a refund. Even though you mentioned no federal taxes were withheld, filing establishes his income history which can be helpful for financial aid applications, apartment rentals, or loan applications in the future. It's also good practice for understanding how taxes work. Washington state doesn't have state income tax, so he wouldn't need to worry about a state return.

Just wanted to share that I was in a similar situation with my daughter last year and found https://taxr.ai super helpful! She made about $9,200 at her lifeguard job and we weren't sure whether to file or not. I uploaded her W-2 to the site and it analyzed everything and confirmed she didn't need to file, but also explained she could get the small amount of federal tax that was withheld back if she did file. What was really cool is that it explained how the tax brackets work for dependents vs. independent filers in simple language. The site walked us through the whole process and we ended up filing anyway to get her $67 refund. It was actually a good learning experience for her about taxes.

I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai since I was skeptical at first. I decided to try it with my son's W-2 and was honestly surprised by how straightforward it was. The site immediately identified that he doesn't legally need to file since he made around $7,500, but it showed that filing would help establish his work history. It also explained something I didn't know - that he could contribute to a Roth IRA based on his earned income, even as a minor. That was actually really valuable information for us since we're now setting up a small Roth for him to get a head start on retirement savings. Definitely more helpful than the hours I spent trying to decipher the IRS publications!

If you're struggling to get clear answers about your brother's tax situation, I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to speak directly with an IRS agent. I was confused about my teenager's filing requirements last year and spent DAYS trying to call the IRS myself with no luck. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS representative in about 15 minutes when I had been trying for weeks! The agent confirmed that my son didn't need to file but explained the benefits of doing so anyway. They have a demo video of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The peace of mind from getting an official answer directly from the IRS was totally worth it, especially since tax rules for dependents can be confusing.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway since I've been trying to reach the IRS about my daughter's first W-2 job for weeks. Not only did it work, but I got connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I'd wasted hours before. The agent explained that even though my daughter made only $7,900 last year and doesn't have to file, she should consider filing anyway because she had about $320 in federal taxes withheld that she'd get back as a refund. They also explained how to file for free using the IRS Free File program since her income is below the threshold. The information was exactly what I needed and came directly from an official source. Definitely using this again next time I need to talk to the IRS!

Something nobody's mentioned yet - if your brother had any self-employment income (like mowing lawns, babysitting, etc.) in addition to his W-2 job, the filing requirements are different. Self-employment income over $400 requires filing regardless of age or total income. Also, for future reference, your brother should check box "Exempt" on his W-4 if he expects to have no tax liability for the year. This is probably why no federal taxes were withheld - either he or his employer already did this.

One benefit of filing that no one mentioned - it starts the statute of limitations clock with the IRS. Without filing, the IRS theoretically has forever to come after you if they think you should have filed. I learned this the hard way when my son didn't file for his first job and got a notice 3 years later. It was a headache to resolve even though he didn't actually owe anything.