<prompt> Human: Im new to reddit, so sorry if something similar to this has been posted before, but I was hoping to get a little help. My situation: Im a 19 year old college student and have a little over 8,000 saved up. Only about half of that is earned from work I worked as a cashier at a grocery store in the summer of 2013. Luckily, Im on the Mom Dad scholarship for college and will not have to contribute a penny to pay for school. Ive been reading various things online about how to start saving for retirement, and it appears that the Roth IRA is the way to go, especially in my situation when I dont currently have a 401k to contribute to. My Problem: From what Ive gathered online, I can only contribute money that Ive earned to my Roth IRA, opposed to money just given to me. The problem is Ive never filed a tax return with the IRS. Does that mean I couldnt contribute any money since to them I havent earned any? If so, what should my next step be? Should I file a tax return for 2013? This is all really new to be, but Im trying to start as early as possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated.  <response>: The problem is Ive never filed a tax return with the IRS. But you just said you work as a cashier. Should I file a tax return for 2013?You need to file your taxes every year, even if you make so little you wont pay taxes. 