Hi,
I'm thinking of filing taxes for the first time as 22 yr old full time student. My federal income tax withheld is $11.40 so I take it that's going to be my refund. And my state refund would be $0. With that in mind, do I need to file for taxes? And is it OK for me to file for the federal and not the state taxes? Would they know and hunt me down or something?
Thanks,
Mary

Even if you are a dependent, you must file your tax return if your income exceeds the filing requirements. Also even if you are not required to file and have a refund, you should file to get the refund.

If someone can claim you dependent, then you can not claim your own exemption. Read: Your U.S. Tax Return: Filing Requirement for a Dependent (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/02/filing-requirement-for-dependent.html)

Mary:

If your total income is LESS than $3,500, you have NO LEGAL REQUIREMENT to file a federal tax return.

It is also likely you have no requirement to file a state return, but I cannot say that for sure until you identify the state.

Now, even if you have income of less than $3,500, you CAN file the federal return to get the $11.40 back. I suspect you would file Form 1040EZ.

More than likely, your parents want to claim you as a dependent, and should allow this because you likely do NOT need the exemption to get your refund back.