The 2025 tax season will commence in January 2025, taxpayers will use Form 1040 to file their tax returns. The form has various types and schedules that meet different tax obligations based on your filing status, income, and other factors.
When you file your federal tax return or even if you seek tax professional assistance, it’s essential to understand the Form 1040 types, schedules, and instructions so that you can fulfill your tax responsibility and file your return accurately. The article covers everything you wish to learn about the 1040 tax form for the upcoming tax season.
What is a 1040 tax form?
IRS has various Forms for reviewing citizens’ taxes, and one of the most commonly filed tax forms is Form 1040. Form 1040 is an official document of the Standard IRS form, which is used for individual income tax returns.
Taxpayers report their income, filing status, digital assets, dependents, credits, refund amount, and other payments. In the US tax system, Form 1040 determines the taxes you owe to the agency. Taxpayers may come across various types of 1040 tax forms based on the type of income they wish to report, residency, etc.
The form has different Schedules as well that taxpayers use to report certain credits or tax obligations. Taxpayers need to file the tax returns via Form 1040 or its different variations with schedules (if applicable).
What are the types of Form 1040?
As we have mentioned, the 1040 tax form comes in different types depending on the various factors. Here, take a look at the Form 1040 types and know if you have to file the standard form or the variations one:
- Form 1040-SR: Form 1040-SR is for the elderly aged 65 or above, which was introduced in 2019 to make it convenient for seniors to pay taxes. The form has larger fonts, a standard deduction chart, no shading, additional deduction for seniors, etc.
- Form 1040-NR: The US non-resident aliens or their representatives use this form to file federal income taxes. The non-resident aliens engaged in business or trade or representing a deceased person who needs to file 1040-NR, or estate/ trust that had to file Form 1040-NR uses this form.
- Form 1040-ES: The form is used to pay estimated taxes ( income that isn’t withheld), for instance, interests, dividends, self-employment earnings, etc.
- Form 1040-X: Taxpayers who are filing amendment tax returns use the Form 1040-X to report their income to the agency.
Which Schedules do you need to use with Form 1040?
The 1040 tax form has additional forms or schedules that specify certain deductions, dividends, credits, etc. Taxpayers can learn about the following 1040 Schedules to understand if they have to include any of the following Schedule forms with their tax returns standard or variation form:
- Schedule 1: You should use Schedule 1 when you have additional income to report, such as prize money, unemployment compensation, alimony, business income, etc., And have any deductions, such as student loan interest deductions, educator expenses, and self-employment tax.
- Schedule 2: When you owe additional taxes to the IRS, such as household employment taxes, AMT, self-employment tax, tax on IRAs, or overpaid premium tax credit repayment.
- Schedule 3: You can use Schedule 3 when you have any credit that you haven’t mentioned in the 1040 or 1040-SR tax form, for instance, business credit, foreign tax credit, etc. or you have other payments to report.
- Schedule A: When you have itemized dedication to report with your federal income tax that results in reducing the taxes.
- Schedule B: when you have interest and ordinary dividends to report with your taxes, you should use Schedule B with Form 1040.
- Schedule C: When you wish to report income or loss in business, Schedule C is filed with a tax form. A sole proprietor who wishes to show their profit or loss uses this schedule.
- Schedule D: When you wish to report exchanges, conversions of capital assets, sales, nonbusiness bad debts, and capital gain distributions use Schedule D with a tax form.
- Schedule E: When you have supplemental income and loss to report with your taxes, such as income from royalties, S Corporations, trusts, rental properties, estates, partnerships, REMICs, etc. use Schedule E.
- Schedule EIC: When you qualify for the EITC (Earned Income tax Credit) and wish to claim, you need to file Schedule EIC with the tax form.
- Schedule F: It is used by farmers to show profit or loss in farming and farm expenses with their federal income taxes.
- Schedule H: When you are a household employer and wish to report your household employment taxes use Schedule H.
- Schedule J: The fishermen and farmers use the Schedule J form to report trade or business income.
- Schedule R: Seniors or disability tax credit claimants use this schedule to report their credit.
- Schedule SE: Self-employed people use Schedule SE to report their earnings and determine their self-employment taxes.
- Schedule 8812: People who qualify for additional Child tax credit or other dependent credit use Schedule 8812 to claim the credits.
Where can you find the IRS Form 1040?
Taxpayers can find the form 1040 online on the IRS official website or get the form from your nearest tax office to report their federal income taxes. The digital copy of Form 1040, that is, the Fillable form in IRS Free File options is available for taxpayers who are filing taxes electronically.
The paper copies of tax form 1040 are also available at your nearby courthouse or federal offices in your community, you can inquire about it in your locality or call the IRS to send the form to you.
Form 1040 Instructions
Taxpayers who fall in the tax bracket have to file the 1040 tax form or other type before 15 April 2025. People living in the disaster area that suffered due to the hurricane can file their taxes till 01 May 2025.
If you were serving in or in support of the US armed forces or designated to contingency operation or combat zone, you may get more time to file your taxes, so do check the guidelines for the 2024 tax year.
Apart from this, taxpayers should know the 1040 form has the following sections:
- Section where you fill in your name, SSN, spouse SSN, address, address, foreign country name, and info (if any).
- Filing status
- Digital assets you receive, purchase, and sell during the 2024 tax year
- Standard deduction
- Dependents
- Income to report
- Credits and tax
- Payment received
- Refund amount
- Third Party Designee for you to give authority to another person to discuss your return with the IRS
- Signature and other details.
The 1040 tax form is an essential document that every taxpayer should get familiar with to report their taxes accurately and determine their refund.
