The three forms used for filing individual federal income tax returns are Form 1040EZ (PDF), Form 1040A (PDF), and Form 1040 (PDF).
Form 1040EZ is the simplest form to fill out. You may use Form 1040EZ if you meet all the following conditions:
- Your filing status is single or married filing jointly
- You claim no dependents
- You, and your spouse if filing a joint return, were under age 65 on January 1, 2012, and not blind at the end of 2011
- You have only wages, salaries, tips, taxable scholarship and fellowship grants, unemployment compensation, qualified state tuition program earnings, or Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, and your taxable interest was not over $1,500
- Your taxable income is less than $100,000
- Your earned tips, if any, are included in boxes 5 and 7 of your Form W-2
- You do not owe any household employment taxes on wages you paid to a household employee
- You are not a debtor in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed after October 16, 2005
- You are not claiming the additional standard deduction for real estate taxes, net disaster losses, or qualified motor vehicle taxes
- You do not claim a student loan interest deduction, an educator expense deduction, or a tuition and fees deduction, and
- You do not claim an education credit, retirement savings contributions credit, or a health coverage tax credit
If you file Form 1040EZ, you cannot itemize deductions or claim any adjustments to income or tax credits (other than the earned income credit).
Form 1040EZ Links
References:
If you cannot use Form 1040EZ, you may be able to use Form 1040A if:
- Your income is only from wages, salaries, tips, taxable scholarships and fellowship grants, interest, or ordinary dividends, capital gain distributions, pensions, annuities, IRAs, unemployment compensation, taxable social security or railroad retirement benefits, and Alaska Permanent Fund dividends
- Your taxable income is less than $100,000
- You do not itemize deductions
- You did not have an alternative minimum tax adjustment on stock you acquired from the exercise of an incentive stock option
- You received advance earned income credit payments, dependent care benefits, or if you owe tax from the recapture of an education credit or the alternative minimum tax, and
- Your only adjustments to income are the IRA deduction, the student loan interest deduction, the educator expenses deduction, and the tuition and fees deduction.
If you file Form 1040A, the only credits you can claim are the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the earned income credit, the credit for the elderly or the disabled, education credits, the child tax credit, the additional child tax credit, and the retirement savings contribution credit.
Form 1040A Links
References:
Often used Schedules:
Form 1040, Schedule B (PDF) - Interest and Ordinary Dividends
Form 1040, Schedule R (PDF) - Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled
Form 1040, Schedule EIC (PDF) - Earned Income Credit
Often used Forms:
Form 8917 - Tuition and Fees Deduction
Form 2441 (PDF) - Child and Dependent Care Expenses
Form 8863 (PDF) - Education Credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Credits)
Form 8812 (PDF) - Additional Child Tax Credit
Form 8888 (PDF) - Allocation of Refund (Including Savings Bond Purchases)
Finally, you must use Form 1040 under certain circumstances, such as:
- Your taxable income is $100,000 or more
- You have certain types of income such as unreported tips, certain nontaxable distributions, self-employment earnings, or income received as a partner, a shareholder in an "S" Corporation, or a beneficiary of an estate or trust
- You itemize deductions or claim certain tax credits or adjustments to income, or
- You owe household employment taxes
A complete list of conditions outlining when Form 1040 must be used is in the Form 1040A Instructions.
Form 1040A Links
References:
Often used Schedules:
Form 1040, Schedule A - Itemized Deductions
Form 1040, Schedule B - Interest and Ordinary Dividends
Form 1040, Schedule C-EZ (PDF) - Net Profit From Business
Form 1040, Schedule D (PDF) - Capital Gains and Losses
Form 1040, Schedule E (PDF) - Supplemental Income and Loss
Form 1040, Schedule EIC (PDF) - Earned Income Credit
Form 1040, Schedule R (PDF) - Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled
Often used Forms:
Form 8917 - Tuition and Fees Deduction
Form 2441 (PDF) - Child and Dependent Care Expenses
Form 8863 (PDF) - Education Credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Credits)
Form 8812 (PDF) - Additional Child Tax Credit
Form 8888 (PDF) - Allocation of Refund (Including Savings Bond Purchases)
If you were a nonresident alien during the tax year and you were married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien, you may use any one of these three forms, based on your circumstances, only if you elect to file a joint return with your spouse. Other non-resident aliens may have to file Form 1040NR (PDF) or Form 1040NR-EZ (PDF). For more information on resident and nonresident aliens, refer to Topic 851 and Publication 519, U. S. Tax Guide for Aliens, Chapter 7.
Page Last Reviewed or Updated: August 11, 2012