Which 1040 to fill out

You may contact us , only if you are using the Free File Fillable Forms program. After viewing, if the Form R Line-by-Line instructions do not answer your question s , you may contact us , only if you are using the Free File Fillable Forms program. This is the only form you'll need to transcribe into the program.

If you have another type of 's, read STEP 2 section 1 about entering federal withholding from those documents. Box 7 has two menus for selecting distribution code s and a checkbox. The entry area will allow you to enter no more than a two-character code.

The code you enter into box 7 must comply with the Form R instructions, beginning on page If your paper R has more than two characters in box 7 and you cannot determine what character s to enter, you may need to contact the payer for the code.

After viewing the Schedule 1 Line-by-Line instructions, if your question is not answered you may contact us , only if you are using the Free File Fillable Forms program. After viewing the Schedule 2 Line-by-Line instructions, if your question is not answered you may contact us , only if you are using the Free File Fillable Forms program. After viewing the Schedule 3 Line-by-Line instructions, if your question is not answered you may contact us , only if you are using the Free File Fillable Forms program.

After viewing, if Schedule B Line-by-Line instructions do not answer your question s , you may contact us , only if you are using the Free File Fillable Forms program. After viewing, if Schedule C Line-by-Line instructions do not answer your question s , you may contact us , only if you are using the Free File Fillable Forms program.

After viewing, if Schedule D Line-by-Line instructions do not answer your question s , you may contact us , only if you are using the Free File Fillable Forms program. After viewing, if Schedule E Line-by-Line instructions do not answer your question s , you may contact us , only if you are using the Free File Fillable Forms program.

Your AGI is the income figure that the federal government actually uses to determine how much you owe in income tax. Taking these deductions will require you to attach additional forms to your return. Previously, the included a line section that took filers through a number of the available above-the-line deductions. But since not all tax filers make adjustments, this section was removed from the and spread across Schedules 1 through 6.

So, for example, if you want to claim above-the-line deductions for the self-employment tax , you will need to attach two forms. Note that some deductions that existed in previous years were eliminated with the next tax law.

Examples of defunct deductions are those for moving expenses and college tuition and fees. First of all, you need to enter on Line 9 either your standard deduction or the amount of your itemized deductions. If you have a qualified business income deduction, you will enter that on Line Lines 11 through 14 allow you to enter the amounts of certain credits if you qualify for them.

For instance, you can enter the amount of your child tax credit on Line 13a. If you already had some federal tax withheld from your income, you can enter that amount on Line You will also need to attach Schedule 4 if you have paid other taxes.

The next section is all about your refund. If the number on Line 19 your total payments is greater than the number on Line 16 your total tax then you have overpaid the government and are due a refund. Subtract Line 16 from Line 19 to get the amount by which you overpaid and enter it on Line But even if your tax life is simple and straightforward, it might be worthwhile to investigate the other two forms.

Generally, the longer the form, the more opportunities for tax breaks. If you previously filed Form EZ, but bought health insurance through an Affordable Care Act state or federal exchange, known as the marketplace, you can no longer file this simplest form.

When individuals purchase a policy through an exchange, they have an option to receive advance payment of the premium tax credit. This tax credit helps cover some of the insurance costs. The advance credit amount, however, must be accounted for when the policy recipient files his or her tax return. If the advance premium amount was too small, the taxpayer will get the extra. However, if too large of an advance premium credit was paid, the taxpayer must make up the difference, either by paying any tax due or by having the amount taken from an expected refund.

Such calculations are made on Form , which only can be filed with Form A or If you received advance payments of the premium tax credit, you must file one of these longer forms instead of the EZ. Even if you did not get the premium credit in advance but got health care through an exchange and want to claim it when you file, you must complete A or Take the case of tax filer Joe P.

A perfect EZ filer, right? Joe has a student loan. Joe also would get the chance to reduce his actual bill if he files the longer A. The better tax news for Joe is that a credit allows you a dollar-for-dollar reduction of what you owe the IRS. But the only tax credit shown on the EZ is the earned income tax credit, available only to low-income taxpayers.

And there are even more tax-saving opportunities found on the long Form They might not apply to Joe, but they could cut your tax bill — if you take the time to look over each of the forms. Here are the basic guidelines for the three individual tax returns. And ever since the IRS doubled the earning limit on filers who use it, the EZ has been available to even more taxpayers. The ease of the one-page EZ is appealing, but it limits the number of ways to save on your tax bill.

You also need to look at those other two individual tax returns to take advantage of additional income adjustments and tax credits.

Compare rates at Bankrate. The A form is the next step up the tax-form ladder. As with Form EZ, the earning limit on filers wanting to use the A has increased, so more taxpayers should be able to use it. Individuals choosing the A can file using any of the five available filing status options: single, married filing jointly or separately, qualifying widow or widower, or head of household.

People who file the A also can claim, in addition to the EITC, several tax credits — the child, additional child, education, dependent care, elderly or disabled, and retirement savings credits — that are not available with the EZ. Form A also gives you the chance to claim several adjustments to income. These items are sometimes referred to as above-the-line deductions, because you claim them just before the bottom line of the form, the one where you enter your adjusted gross income.