what was form 1040ez income tax return for single and joint filers with no dependents 
irs form 1040ez income tax return for single and joint filers with no dependents was the shortened version of the internal revenue service irs form 1040 this form was for taxpayers with basic tax situations and offered a fast and easy way to file income taxes the form was discontinued as of the 2018 tax year in favor of the redesigned form 1040 1eligibility for form 1040ezto use the form a taxpayer had to have taxable income of less than 100 000 less than 1 500 of interest income and claim no dependents 2 other requirements for filing the form 1040ez included for most individuals the 1040ez was the first tax form they ever completed consider a typical high school student employed part time provided they met the income qualifications the 1040ez was likely to be the most straightforward and appropriate form to file anyone who hasn t filed a tax return using form 1040ez for tax years 2017 and earlier can still do so by going to the irs website limitations of form 1040ezform 1040ez was ultimately scrapped due to the limitations of the form the irs opted for the building block approach of allowing taxpayers to more easily add allowances or credits as applicable to their return in addition form 1040ez had several other drawbacks first the form could only be used by those below a certain amount of income and types of income anyone who had income from sources other than wages salaries tips taxable scholarships or fellowship grants could not use form 1040ez this precluded any taxpayer who received foreign income or filed using a foreign address from using the form in addition any taxpayer hoping to claim a dependent could also not use form 1040ez because of the simplistic nature of form 1040ez taxpayers were not allowed to itemize their deductions nor were they able to take other types of deductions such as the student loan interest deduction or deductions for ira contributions the form also failed to allow taxpayers to report their health coverage those who use form 1040ez were required to separately report their health coverage status form 1040ez vs form 1040form 1040ez had only a few credits or deductions available to taxpayers filers were able to include an earned income credit eic and elect nontaxable combat pay 2for most tax years form 1040 had 80 more lines than form 1040ez one significant difference was that form 1040 had fields to include information about dependents while 1040ez did not allow individuals to claim dependents similar to the standard form the ez version had sections to record wages salaries and tips and taxable interest under 1 500 the filer was also able to include unemployment compensation payments 34the first year that form 1040ez was introduced 5form 1040ez allowed filers to claim income from wages tips salaries taxable grants or scholarships the alaska permanent fund and unemployment compensation 4 form 1040 though had at least 16 income categories 3categories available on the standard form included dividend payments retirement account distributions and farm and rental income form 1040 also allowed the entry of social security benefits alimony and other forms of income this form also had a long list of deductions ranging from education costs to healthcare savings plan contributions 3transition away from form 1040ezin 2018 the irs replaced forms 1040a and 1040ez with a redesigned form 1040 this new form 1040 included six new numbered schedules in addition to the existing ones like schedule a many people now may only need to file the simplified form 1040 others can file form 1040 with additional forms for their specific needs 6the forms were changed in collaboration with several stakeholders according to the irs the irs worked closely with its partners in the tax return preparation and tax software industries to prepare for tax reform and tax form changes affecting tax year 2018 including the form 1040 this ongoing collaboration ensures taxpayers can continue to rely on the irs tax professionals and tax software programs when it s time to file their tax returns 6