If I made money from freelance contract work under $600 in 2023, do I still have to file this income?

Young freelance composer commissioned for the original soundtrack of a film, and unsure about whether I should file income from my contract.

posted

see iRS filing instructions, but if that was your only income for 2023 a federal tax return is not required.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

Actually, because this is self-employment income, if you earned at least $400 for the year you do need to file a return because of the 15.3% self-employment tax you'd owe on it. If the income totaled less than $400, then you don't need to file. See page 10 of the publication the other reply gave a link to.