Hi there all. I have a question on my 2013 taxes. For much of the year, I was officially unemployed, but did online freelancing as an independent contractor. From these efforts, I earned around $5000 through a few different clients. I did not pay any estimated/quarterly taxes throughout the year.

Then, in November, I got a real job. However, I only earned around two paychecks, bringing my total annual income up to about $6000. Woo!

This is clearly below the poverty level, and I'm pretty sure I qualify to not pay taxes. However, when my dad did my taxes for me, it showed me owing $300-something for the self-employment tax. My question is, do I really have to pay this? I understand that independent contracting taxes are different as the employer does not withhold anything for you. However, I was under the impression that if you made under a certain amount, you did not have to pay taxes. Obviously I will get the taxes I already paid refunded, but it seems silly to have to pay more.

I am filing as independent. Oh, and one more thing - my total deductions on the year were actually more than my total income... Can anyone help guide me here? My dad used TurboTax to help prepare my taxes, so I'm thinking the program just doesn't know what to do about my situation.