how to file form 1040 u s individual tax return
form 1040 is available on the irs website and has two pages that must be filled out form 1040 can be mailed in or e filed tax filers are asked for their filing status along with their personal information such as their name address social security number some information on one s spouse may also be needed and the number of dependents 10the form also asks whether the taxpayer wishes to contribute 3 to presidential campaign funds 10the 1040 income section asks the filer to report wages salary taxable interest capital gains pensions social security benefits and other types of income the new tax legislation eliminated many deductions including unreimbursed employee expenses tax preparation fees and the cost of moving for a job except for military on active duty 1112the form uses what the irs terms a building block approach and allows taxpayers to add only the schedules they need to their tax returns some individuals may need to file one or more of six supplemental schedules with their 1040 in addition to long standing schedules for items like business income or loss 13this depends on whether they re claiming tax credits or owe additional taxes many individual taxpayers however only need to file a 1040 and no schedules types of form 1040taxpayers in certain situations may need to file a different variant of the 1040 form instead of the standard version below are the options certain nonresident aliens or their representatives need to file this form including 14the irs also produces the 1040 ss and 1040 pr the 1040 ss is for residents of american samoa the cnmi guam puerto rico or the u s virgin islands who have net self employment income and do not have to file form 1040 with the u s form 1040 pr is the spanish language equivalent of form 1040 ss 1516this form is used to determine and pay estimated quarterly taxes the estimated tax applies to income that isn t subject to withholding which includes earnings from self employment interest dividends and rents this may also include unemployment compensation pension income and the taxable portion of social security benefits 17this is a statement accompanying a taxpayer s payment for any balance on the amount you owe line of the 1040 or 1040 nr 18if a filer makes a mistake or forgets to include information on any 1040 form form 1040 x is used for making changes to previously filed 1040s 19the irs introduced a new 1040 form in 2019 form 1040 sr which is designed for taxpayers over the age of 65 changes include a larger font no shading shaded sections can be hard to read and a standard deduction chart that includes the extra standard deduction for taxpayers over 65 taxpayers in this age bracket who fill out their taxes online won t see a difference but those who do it on paper will 20standard deductions on form 1040the 1040 income section asks taxpayers for their filing status this filing determines the taxpayer s standard deduction the table below highlights the deductions for the 2023 and 2024 tax years keep in mind that you file 2023 taxes in 2024 and 2024 taxes in 2025 45an additional deduction may be taken by those who are age 65 or older or blind just like the standard deduction these figures are adjusted annually for inflation the standard deduction cannot be taken by an estate or trust an individual who is filing a short return due to a change in accounting periods an individual who was a nonresident alien part of the tax year or a married individual whose spouse is filing separately and itemizing 23additional schedulesas noted above form 1040 uses a variety of additional schedules to help taxpayers report their tax obligations the following schedules are used to compile financial information away from form 1040 to later use form 1040 as the primary source of reporting schedule 1 is used to report additional income or adjustments to income this may include alimony disposition proceeds from the sale of a business educator expenses health savings account hsa contributions or unemployment compensation 24it s important to note that 10schedule 2 is used to report additional taxes one part of schedule 2 reports alternative minimum tax and repayment of excess premium tax credits for insurance bought through health insurance marketplaces 25another part of schedule 2 is used to report self employment taxes medicare taxes taxes on individual retirement accounts iras household employment taxes and other taxes these two parts from schedule 2 are reported on line 17 and line 23 on form 1040 1025schedule 3 is used to report additional tax credits and payments these credits include dependent care expense credits residential energy credits excess social security taxes previously remitted and excess federal income taxes previously remitted 26nonrefundable credits from schedule 3 are reported on line 20 of form 1040 while refundable credits from schedule 3 are reported on line 31 of form 1040 1026schedule a is used to figure out a taxpayer s itemized deduction a taxpayer s federal income liability is most often minimized when choosing the larger of their standard deduction or itemized deduction 27the itemized deduction calculation includes medical expenses dental expenses certain taxes certain interest assessments theft losses and other expenses any input from schedule a is entered into line 12a on form 1040 1027schedule b is used for taxpayers who received greater than 1 500 of taxable interest or ordinary dividends it is also used to report interest from a seller financed mortgage accrued interest from a bond interest or ordinary dividends as a nominee and other similar types of interest input from schedule b is entered into line 2b and line 3b on form 1040 1028schedule c is used to report business income or loss an activity qualifies as a business if the taxpayer is engaged in the activity for the primary purpose of producing income or profit the activity is also considered a business as long as the taxpayer is involved in the activity with regularity and continuity profit from schedule c is entered on schedule 1 line 3 it is also used on schedule se 2924if your business was a sole proprietorship or qualified joint venture and you meet other criteria you can report your business operations using schedule c 30schedule d is used to report taxable income from the sale or exchange of a capital asset this gain may have arisen from an exchange or an involuntary conversion schedule d is also used to report capital gain distributions not otherwise reported on form 1040 as well as nonbusiness bad debts input from schedule d is entered on form 1040 line 7 1031schedule e is used to report various types of additional income or losses this supplemental financial activity ranges from real estate rental income royalties partnerships estates trusts and residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits supplemental income figures from schedule e are reported on form 1040 in the income section 1032schedule eic is quite different from other tax schedules the earned income credit is calculated separately from this schedule however schedule eic is used to substantiate the qualification of your qualifying children by remitting to the irs your child s name social security number birth year relationship to you and residency status information from schedule eic is not directly input into form 1040 3334the earned income credit is maximized if a taxpayer has at least three children therefore schedule eic only asks for information on three children additional forms for additional children beyond three are not required 35other notable supplementary schedules to form 1040 include 