Form 1040 an IRS tax form used by personal federal income tax returns filed by United States residents. There were different income tax forms to cover simple to complex tax situations like 1040EZ, the 1040A, and 1040. Now everything is being covered in just Form 1040.
What exactly the IRS Form 1040 does?
The IRS Form 1040 is one of the official documents that U.S. taxpayers can use to file their annual income tax returns. The form is divided into sections where you can report your income and deductions to determine the amount of tax you owe or the refund you can expect.
Asks who you are?
Form 1040 gathers basic below information;
* Who You Are?
* What filing status you’re going to use?
* How many tax dependents you have?
Calculates taxable income
Form 1040 gathers all the information of your income for the entire year and conforming all the deductions you’d like to claim. The ultimate goal is to calculate your taxable income, which is the amount of your income subject to income tax.
Calculates your tax liability
There is a section at the bottom of Form 1040; you’ll mention here how much income tax you have to pay. At that point, you need to make sure to subtract any tax credits that you might eligible for, as well as any taxes you’ve already paid via withholding taxes on your paychecks during the year.
Make sure whether you have already paid some or all of your tax bill.
Form 1040 also helps you calculate if the tax credits and withholding taxes are being covered in the bill. If they do not, you may have to pay the remaining when you file your Form 1040. Assuming you have paid out excessively, you will receive a tax refund. There is a spot in Form 1040 where you can let the IRS know where to send money.
How To Get Form 1040?
* There is much software that can be used for filing your return, and if you do so, you will answer questions and provide details that are written into your Form 1040 entries. You should be able to submit your Form 1040 to the IRS online and print or make copies of your records.
* Click the link below if you wish to fill out your return by yourself.
* If you are looking for your tax returns from past years, you can request an IRS transcript.
Schedules for Form 1040
There are six schedules that you may or may not have to use apart from Form 1040. It completely depends upon your tax situation and If you want to claim any particular deductions and credits. There may be some individuals not required to file any of these schedules.
Schedule 1: Additional income and adjustments to income
File this if you had any of these
- Alimony income or payments
- Business income (you probably also need to file a Schedule C)
- Capital gains or losses (you may also need to file a Schedule D)
- Rental income (you may also need to file a Schedule E)
- Farm income
- Prize or gambling winnings
- Unemployment income
- Educator expenses
- Deductible moving expenses
- The health savings account deduction
- Deductible health insurance expenses
- Student loan interest
- Deductible retirement contributions
Schedule 2: Non-refundable credits
File this if you owe any of these:
- Alternative minimum tax
- Excess advance premium tax credit repayment
Schedule 3: Tax
File this if you want to claim any of these:
- Foreign tax credit
- Credit for child and dependent care expenses
- Education credits
- Retirement savings contributions credit (the Saver’s Credit)
- Residential energy credit
- General business credit
Schedule 4: Other taxes
File this if you owe any of these:
- Self-employment tax
- Additional taxes on IRAs, retirement plans, or other tax-favored accounts
- Household employment taxes
- Repayment of the first-time homebuyer credit
- Additional Medicare tax
- Net investment income tax
Schedule 5: Other payments and refundable credits
File this if you plan to:
- Claim a refundable tax credit other than the earned income tax credit, American Opportunity credit, or additional child tax credit.
- Make a tax payment associated with getting a tax extension or excess Social Security withheld.
Schedule 6: Foreign address and third party designee
File this if you:
- Have an address outside the United States
- Want to allow someone else to discuss your return with the IRS
