What is Form 1040 (U.S. Individual Income Tax Return) ?
Form 1040 U.S. It is one of the most commonly filled tax forms in the tax system. Individual taxpayers use the standard Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040 to file their annual income tax return. Since so many people need to fill it out on an annual basis, it's important to understand IRS Form 1040 instructions. You can report all types of credits, expenses and income with Form 1040. Tax Form 1040, U.S. The personal income tax return is a tax form of the United States Internal Revenue Service, used by American taxpayers to file annual income tax returns.
Form 1040 is an IRS tax form used for individual federal income tax returns filed by residents of the United States. This form requires taxpayers to disclose their taxable income, including sections that determine whether the filer will receive a tax refund and whether additional taxes are owed.
The US Individual Income Tax Return skill is a framework document skill that can extract key data points from 1040 tax forms for the tax year 2019. Clients can use this Framework Skills as a starting point to tailor further training to areas or business terms and skills based on subsequent documentation to suit their needs. Form 1040 consists of two pages, not counting attachments. The first page collects information about dependents and taxpayers. On this page the taxpayer specifies his filing status. The second page calculates the credits and allowable deductions.
Understanding U.S. Individual Tax Return Form 1040
Form 1040 has to be filed with the IRS by April 15 in most years. With the IRS, individuals who earn income above a certain threshold must file that income tax return. Form 1040 can be e-filed or mailed. There are two pages to fill out this form and it is available on the IRS website.
Form 1040 prompts tax filers for information about their filing status, such as the number of dependents, Social Security number, address and name. The form also asks for information about full-year health coverage and whether the taxpayer is willing to contribute $3 to the Presidential Campaign Fund. The Form 1040 Income section asks the filer to report taxable interest, salaries, wages, capital gains, Social Security benefits, pensions and other types of income. The form also allows tax filings and filers to claim the new higher standard deduction introduced with the Job Cuts Act.
Additional deductions may be made by blind people or by persons 65 years of age or older :
- $1,700 - Single and not widowed
- $1,350 - For each spouse who is blind or is 65 years of age or older.
For the tax year 2022 (which will be filed in 2023), the following are the deductions :
- $19,400 - Head of Household
- $25,900 - Married filing jointly or an eligible widow
- $12,950 - Single or married filing separately
2023 Gross Income Thresholds (Filed in 2024):
- $20,800 - Head of Household
- $27,700 - Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er)
- $13,850 - Single
The new tax law eliminated several deductions, including tax-preparation fees, moving for a job, and unreimbursed employee expenses. The new 1040 allows taxpayers to add the schedule they require to their tax returns.
Features of US Tax Form 1040
- Individual taxpayers use Form 1040 to file their taxes with the IRS.
- The form determines whether the filer will receive a tax refund or whether additional taxes are due.
- Form 1040 calculates a taxpayer's total taxable income to determine how much is to be returned or paid by the government.
- This form asks for personal information, such as name, address, number of dependents and Social Security number.
- This form also requires the filer to report other types of information, such as salaries, wages, capital gains, taxable interest, pensions, Social Security benefits and other types of income.
- Taxpayers may be required to file Supplemental Tax Form 1040, depending on the taxpayer's status.
Who Should File 1040 Tax Form ?
The main tax form is 1040 filed by individuals who are considered residents of the United States for tax purposes. A person is a resident alien of the United States of America if he passes the Green Card Test or the Substantial Attendance Test. Individuals who have taxable income in the US but fail the criteria to be resident aliens must file for tax purposes as non-resident aliens. United States residents file Form 1040 for tax purposes and non-resident aliens file Form 1040NR-EZ or 1040NR. There is also a "Dual Status Alien" for aliens whose status has changed over the course of the year.
If you receive the following loss or income, you may need to fill out Form 1040 :
- Self-Employed Income - $400 or more
- Insurance policy dividends that exceed the premiums you paid
- Interest paid or received to you on securities transferred between interest payment dates.
- You have suffered due to a federally declared disaster area.
- Report the original issue exemption (OID) amount that doesn't match the amount on Form 1099-OID.
- You had qualified Health Savings Account (HSA) funding distributions from your IRA.
- You are claiming adoption credit or have received adoption benefits provided by the employer.
- You pay excise tax on inside stock compensation you receive from an overseas corporation.
- Income you receive as a shareholder in an S corporation, a partner in a partnership, and a beneficiary of an asset or trust.
If you have any of the following, you must file Form 1040 :
- Domestic employment tax is due.
- Alternate Minimum Tax (AMT) is due.
- You have a foreign account.
- Tips not reported to your employer.
- are eligible for premium tax credit.
- The employer did not withhold Medicare taxes and Social Security from your pay.
- First time home-buyers are repaying the credit.
- Distribution has been received from a foreign trust.
- Foreign earned income qualifies for the exclusion.
- Income from sources in American Samoa or Puerto Rico qualify to be excluded because you were an actual resident of either.
Benefits of US Tax Form 1040
- Form 1040, the skill model is trained to automatically detect all the fields on the tax year 2019. You can refer to the skill document for a complete list of fields excluded.
- Business rules can be added as needed.
- Based on accuracy thresholds, missing or incorrect information can be augmented by human-in-the-loop review and verification.
- Further training is needed to ensure adequate accuracy levels on customer-specific documents. Training can be done before or during runtime as documents come and go through manual verification.
Form 1040 Filing Modalities
U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Form 1040 can be filed either on paper or online (Electronic).
Paper Filing :
Paper filing is the universally accepted filing method. Form 1040 can be downloaded as a PDF from the Internal Revenue Service website, along with the schedule, variants and instructions. Final versions of forms for the tax year are issued at the end of January of the following year. The Paper 1040 form can be filled out electronically, and then printed, using a compatible PDF reader. It is easy to keep electronic copies of one's completed forms, even if filed by paper. Paper forms can alternatively be filled out by hand and printed. As a general rule, it makes sense to fill out electronically where possible, but in some cases it may be necessary to fill out the form by hand. Part of the form signature lines cannot be filled out electronically.
Paper Form 1040, along with all additional forms and relevant schedules, must be sent in a packet by courier or mail to the specified IRS address, whether the taxpayer is filing and payment is attached. The IRS accepts returns that are paperclips or stapled together. Payments are processed separately so the payment voucher or check as well as Form 1040-V should not be paperclip or stapled with the rest of the return.
Electronic (Online) Filing :
The IRS allows for tax purposes to be filed electronically in three ways :
- Those earning $66,000 or less can file electronically using IRS Free File or a free e-filing tool. (There are some other conditions required to be eligible for free filing)
- It is possible to prepare one's tax return using IRS-approved tax compliance software.
- One that has been accepted by the IRS for electronic filing can use a tax professional.
Many electronically paid tax preparers are required to file individual tax returns. On behalf of the taxpayer, most tax compliance software files electronically.
Comparison :
If someone does not qualify for IRS Free File, paper filing costs no other than mailing and printing, while filing electronically can cost several dollars. The current electronic filing options available may not provide enough flexibility with regards to arranging one's tax return, entering written notes of explanation, and adding attachments. Filing electronically exposes the taxpayer to the risk of identity theft or accidental loss of data.
Types of US Tax Form 1040
Some situations may require taxpayers to file a different version of the 1040 form instead of the standard version, so the IRS offers a variety of 1040 forms :
1) Form 1040-NR :
Form 1040-NR is used, for tax purposes, by taxpayers who are considered non-resident aliens. Various types of non-resident aliens or their representatives are required to file this form :
- People who are engaged in business in the United States.
- Representatives of a deceased person who must file Form 1040-NR.
- People who represent an asset or trust.
2) Form 1040-ES :
Form 1040-ES is used to find and pay estimated quarterly taxes. Estimated tax applies to income that is not subject to withholding, including income from interest, self-employment, dividends and rent. It may also include the taxable portion of pension income, Social Security benefits and unemployment compensation.
3) Form 1040-V :
This is a statement with the taxpayer's payment for any balances on the "Amount owed to you" line of the 1040 or 1040-NR. The 1040-V is used as an alternative payment voucher, sent along with payment of any balance due on the "Amount owed to you" line of the 1040. This form is completely optional. Form 1040-V and any accompanying payments must be included in the same packet as the tax return, but must not be paper-clipped or stapled with the tax return.
4) Form 1040-X :
Form 1040-X is used to make changes to an already filed Form 1040. If the filer forgets to include information on Form 1040, he can use Form 1040-X.
5) Form 1040-SR :
Taxpayers who are 65 years of age or older can use Form 1040-SR. Seniors can continue to use the standard 1040 for tax filing if they wish. The IRS introduced this form for seniors in 2019. Changes include no shading, a larger font, and a standard deduction chart.
Note : Form 1040NR-EZ has been replaced by Form 1040-NR.
Additionally, the IRS also produces 1040-SS and 1040-PR. 1040-SS is for residents of American Samoa, Guam, CNMI, Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands. Those who have net self-employment income are not required to file Form 1040 along with Form 1040-PR.
1040 Tax Form Help
If you want more 1040 tax form guidance, check out H&R Block's tax filing options to fit your unique tax situation. You can count on H&R Block to help you complete Form 1040.