Publication 17
taxmap/pub17/p17-003.htm#en_us_publink1000170444 | See the discussion under Form 1040 for when you must use that
form. |
taxmap/pub17/p17-003.htm#en_us_publink1000170447Form 1040EZ is the simplest form to use.
taxmap/pub17/p17-003.htm#en_us_publink1000170448- Your filing status is single or married filing jointly. If you were a nonresident alien at any time in 2012, your filing status must be married filing
jointly.
- You (and your spouse if married filing a joint return) were under age 65 and not blind at the end of 2012. If you were born on January 1, 1948, you are considered to be age 65 at the end of
2012.
- You do not claim any dependents.
- Your taxable income is less than $100,000.
- Your income is only from wages, salaries, tips, unemployment compensation, Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, taxable scholarship and fellowship grants, and taxable interest of $1,500 or
less.
- You do not claim any adjustments to income, such as a deduction for IRA contributions or student loan
interest.
- You do not claim any credits other than the earned income
credit.
- You do not owe any household employment taxes on wages you paid to a household
employee.
- If you earned tips, they are included in boxes 5 and 7 of your Form
W-2.
- You are not a debtor in a chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed after October 16,
2005.
You must meet all of these requirements to use Form 1040EZ. If you do not, you must use Form 1040A or Form 1040.
taxmap/pub17/p17-003.htm#en_us_publink1000170449On Form 1040EZ, you can use only the tax table to figure your income tax. You cannot use Form 1040EZ to report any other
tax.
taxmap/pub17/p17-003.htm#en_us_publink1000170450If you do not qualify to use Form 1040EZ, you may be able to use Form
1040A.
taxmap/pub17/p17-003.htm#en_us_publink1000170451- Your income is only from:
- Wages, salaries, and tips,
- Interest,
- Ordinary dividends (including Alaska Permanent Fund dividends),
- Capital gain distributions,
- IRA distributions,
- Pensions and annuities,
- Unemployment compensation,
- Taxable social security and railroad retirement benefits,
and
- Taxable scholarship and fellowship grants.
If you receive a capital gain distribution that includes unrecaptured section 1250 gain, section 1202 gain, or collectibles (28%) gain, you cannot use Form 1040A. You must use Form
1040.
- Your taxable income is less than $100,000.
- Your adjustments to income are for only the following items.
- Educator expenses.
- IRA deduction.
- Student loan interest deduction.
- Tuition and fees.
- You do not itemize your deductions.
- You claim only the following tax credits.
- The credit for child and dependent care expenses. (See
chapter 31.)
- The credit for the elderly or the disabled. (See
chapter 32.)
- The education credits. (See
chapter 34.)
- The retirement savings contribution credit. (See
chapter 36.)
- The child tax credit. (See
chapter 33.)
- The earned income credit. (See
chapter 35.)
- The additional child tax credit. (See
chapter 33.)
- You did not have an alternative minimum tax adjustment on stock you acquired from the exercise of an incentive stock option. (See Publication
525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income.)
You can also use Form 1040A if you received employer-provided dependent care benefits or if you owe tax from the recapture of an education credit or the alternative minimum
tax.
You must meet all of the above requirements to use Form 1040A. If you do not, you must use Form 1040.
taxmap/pub17/p17-003.htm#en_us_publink1000170463If you cannot use Form 1040EZ or Form 1040A, you must use Form 1040. You can use Form 1040 to report all types of income, deductions, and
credits.
You may pay less tax by filing Form 1040 because you can take itemized deductions, some adjustments to income, and credits you cannot take on Form 1040A or Form
1040EZ.
taxmap/pub17/p17-003.htm#en_us_publink1000170464- Your taxable income is $100,000 or more.
- You itemize your deductions on Schedule A.
- You had income that cannot be reported on Form 1040EZ or Form 1040A, including tax-exempt interest from private activity bonds issued after August 7,
1986.
- You claim any adjustments to gross income other than the adjustments listed earlier under
Form 1040A.
- Your Form W-2, box 12, shows uncollected employee tax (social security and Medicare tax) on tips (see
chapter 6) or group-term life insurance (see
chapter 5).
- You received $20 or more in tips in any 1 month and did not report all of them to your employer. (See
chapter 6.)
- You were a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico and exclude income from sources in Puerto
Rico.
- You claim any credits other than the credits listed earlier under
Form 1040A.
- You owe the excise tax on insider stock compensation from an expatriated
corporation.
- Your Form W-2 shows an amount in box 12 with a code Z.
- You had a qualified health savings account funding distribution from your
IRA.
- You are an employee and your employer did not withhold social security and Medicare
tax.
- You have to file other forms with your return to report certain exclusions, taxes, or transactions.
- You are a debtor in a bankruptcy case filed after October 16,
2005.
- You must repay the first-time homebuyer credit.