Tax form: 1040A, 1040EZ

Everyone must file the basic tax form 1040 or 1040EZ or 1040A. You must include additional forms depending on the type and amount of income earned and deductions taken. Read the list below for a general overview of the forms you may need.

The 1040EZ and 1040A are the most popular income tax forms, covering about 70% of all individual U.S. federal income tax returns.

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1040EZ.

1. Your filing status is single or married filing jointly. If you were a nonresident alien at any time during the tax year, your filing status must be married filing jointly.
2. You (and your spouse if married filing a joint return) were under age 65 and not blind at the end of the tax year.
3. You do not claim any dependents.
4. Your taxable income was less than $100,000.
5. 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.
6. You did not receive any advance earned income credit (EIC) payments.
7. You do not claim any adjustment to income, such as a deduction for IRA contributions or student loan interest.
8. You do not claim any credits other than the earned income credit.
9. You do not owe any household employment taxes on wages you paid to a household employee.

You must meet all these requirements to file the 1040EZ tax form. If not, you must file a 1040A or 1040 tax form.

1040A. This is the "short form". You may be able to use this form if your taxable income is less than $100,000 and you do not itemize deductions.

1. Your income is only from wages, salaries, tips, IRA distributions, pensions and annuities, taxable social security and railroad retirement benefits, taxable scholarship and fellowship grants, interest, ordinary dividends, capital gain distributions and unemployment compensation.
2. Your taxable income is less than $100,000.
3. Your adjustments for income are only from: Educator expenses, IRA deduction, Student loan interest deduction, tuition and fees deduction.
4. You do not itemize your deductions.
5. Your taxes are only from the following items: Tax table, Alternative minimum tax, Advance earned income credit (EIC) payments (if you received any), Recapture of an education credit, Form 8615 (Tax for children under age 14 with investment income of more than $1,600), Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet.
6. You can claim only the following tax credits: The credit for child and dependent care expenses, the credit for the elderly or disabled, the child tax credit, the additional child tax credit, the education credits, the retirement savings contribution credit, the earned income credit, the adoption credit.
7. You do not have any alternative minimum tax adjustment on stock you acquired from the exercise of an incentive stock option.

You must meet all these requirements to file the 1040A tax form. If not, you must file a 1040 tax form.

1040.This is the "long form". Everyone can use this form to report all types of income. Generally, you must use this form if your taxable income is greater than $100,000. The 1040 is also the form used when you itemize your deductions instead of taking the standard deduction (which is generally the amount the government allows each person to claim instead of itemizing deductions). The amount of the standard deduction changes annually and is listed in the tax form booklets.

From: www.IRS.gov Pub 17