Do I need to pay taxes?

Whether you need to file a return has nothing to do with your age. It depends entirely on the amount of income you earned. If you earned over $5700, the law says you MUST file a return. You'll have a slight tax obligation, depending on how much you earned and how much you had withheld. If you earned less than $5700, you'll get back all your federal withholding as a refund. You'll probably get back all your state withholding as well. You don't get Social Security or Medicare back until you reach retirement age.

Make sure when you're filling out your return that you answer "yes" to the question that asks if you can be claimed as a dependent on anyone else's return.

You are incorrect in your belief that 17 year olds are not taxed. If your total income for the year was less than $5,700 you will have all of your federal income tax withholding refunded to you when you file your federal income tax return. If you earned $5,700 or more, you will only have a portion of that withholding refunded to you. Social security and medicare taxes are never refunded. State income tax withheld may or may not be refunded, depending on how much you earned and the state in which you live.

Where did you ever get the idea that 17-year-olds are not taxed?? Not true! I've done tax returns for infants, including one whose tax bill was larger then her parents' incomes!

If you earned more than $5,700 in 2010, you will NOT get a refund of all of the federal income tax that was withheld from your pay. You might get a partial refund, but you could even OWE when you file. No way to say without all of the numbers.

The FICA taxes are not refundable under any circumstances.

You thought wrong. A baby would be taxed if they had enough income - it doesn't depend on age.

If you made under $5700 for the year, you'll get back anything taken for federal income tax. You will not get back social security or medicare deductions. Whether you get any state tax back depends on where you live.