Hi. This is a pretty basic question, sorry. But I’m 18 and it’s the first time I’ve had to worry about tax returns/extensions. I am not claimed as a dependent by anyone. I know that a deduction doesn’t function the same way as a credit. But does a deduction reduce the amount of my income that is taxable, or is it only used to determine which tax bracket you fall into? I am a full time college student, and I received 00 in 2006 from a small trust fund. Given that the standard deduction is 50, and the personal exemption is like 00, I owe nothing, right? Is this true for the California state taxes also? Also, if I don’t owe, then I don’t need to file, do I? I assume I’m not getting a refund if I never actually paid anything. Could someone let me know if I’m right about all this? I thought I didn’t need to file, but then someone told me otherwise, so I’m kind of panicking. I need to do an extension really quick if I was wrong. Thanks!

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