<prompt> Human: Im 26, just graduated from a graduate school and have been in school since 18. Ive never had a job longer than a summerwinter break and have likely never made over 1000-2000 in any given year since attending school. Ive never filed a return because I was told by the financial aid office in college that if you have under 5000 in earnings you were exempt from filing and have just kept at that ever since. Im sure thats likely wrong. Even if I have no income next year should I still file? Are there any penalties?  <response>: Was any federal tax withheld from paychecks? You would see an amount in W-2 box 2 for that. If so, you could get it refunded since you dont owe tax, for the most recent three years. There is no penalty for late filing when you are owed a refund. Prior year tax forms are available at irs.gov. 