Do unemployed people have to file taxes?

In general, if you have income then you must file. That includes stock dividends, rent paid to you by your tenants, and pretty much any other form of income.

Whether you are actually employed or not is irrelevant. It’s income tax, not employment tax!

Jerv said it perfectly.

You MUST pay income taxes, but there is no law that states that you must FILE. Click here to see if you need to file or not.

Yes. If you are renting your house you will want to do the taxes right and take advantage of many write offs and deductions. Keep track of all your expenses. If you get an old copy of Turbotax and run through the Q&A sections for rental property you will learn a lot. Next year you will be ready to do your own taxes.

What Jerv said. Also, there are tax benefits (such as the Earned Income Tax Credit) available even if one didn’t make much income.

If you handle your rental property correctly, you might have a net loss from the activity. In other words, it may be more beneficial for you to file than not to file.