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Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia.
Updated March 06, 2024 Reviewed by Reviewed by Lea D. UraduLea Uradu, J.D. is a Maryland State Registered Tax Preparer, State Certified Notary Public, Certified VITA Tax Preparer, IRS Annual Filing Season Program Participant, and Tax Writer.
Fact checked by Fact checked by Yarilet PerezYarilet Perez is an experienced multimedia journalist and fact-checker with a Master of Science in Journalism. She has worked in multiple cities covering breaking news, politics, education, and more. Her expertise is in personal finance and investing, and real estate.
Part of the Series Federal Tax Forms1099 Forms INT–OID
1099 Forms PATR–SA
Form 1040 is the standard Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form that individual taxpayers use to file their annual income tax returns. The form contains sections that require taxpayers to disclose their taxable income for the year to determine whether additional taxes are owed or whether the filer will receive a tax refund.
Form 1040 needs to be filed with the IRS by April 15 in most years. Everyone who earns income over a certain threshold must file an income tax return with the IRS. Keep in mind that businesses have different forms to report their profits.
If a United States citizen wants to or needs to file a Federal income tax return, they need to file Form 1040 or a variation of Form 1040 mentioned above. There are three general conditions to consider regarding whether an individual needs to file.
First, the IRS requires individuals with certain levels of gross income to file taxes. This threshold varies based on the individual's filing status and age. The table below lists the income limits for individuals under 65 years old. Keep in mind that older taxpayers tend to have higher thresholds, and the threshold changes if neither, one, or both individuals in a marriage are 65 or older.
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Taxpayers in certain situations may need to file a different variant of the 1040 form instead of the standard version. Below are the options.
Certain nonresident aliens or their representatives need to file this form, including:
The IRS also produces the 1040-SS and 1040-PR. The 1040-SS is for residents of American Samoa, the CNMI, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands who have net self-employment income and do not have to file Form 1040 with the U.S. Form 1040-PR is the Spanish-language equivalent of Form 1040-SS.
This form is used to determine and pay estimated quarterly taxes. The estimated tax applies to income that isn’t subject to withholding, which includes earnings from self-employment, interest, dividends, and rents. This may also include unemployment compensation, pension income, and the taxable portion of Social Security benefits.
This is a statement accompanying a taxpayer's payment for any balance on the "Amount you owe" line of the 1040 or 1040-NR.
If a filer makes a mistake or forgets to include information on any 1040 form, Form 1040-X is used for making changes to previously filed 1040s.
The IRS introduced a new 1040 form in 2019, Form 1040-SR, which is designed for taxpayers over the age of 65. Changes include a larger font, no shading (shaded sections can be hard to read), and a standard deduction chart that includes the extra standard deduction for taxpayers over 65. Taxpayers in this age bracket who fill out their taxes online won't see a difference, but those who do it on paper will.
The 1040 income section asks taxpayers for their filing status. This filing determines the taxpayer's standard deduction. The table below highlights the deductions for the 2023 and 2024 tax years. Keep in mind that you file 2023 taxes in 2024 and 2024 taxes in 2025.
| Standard Deductions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Filing Status | 2023 | 2024 |
| Single or Married Filing Separately | $13,850 | $14,600 |
| Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er) | $27,700 | $29,200 |
| Head of Household | $20,800 | $21,900 |
An additional deduction may be taken by those who are age 65 or older or blind. Just like the standard deduction, these figures are adjusted annually for inflation.
The standard deduction cannot be taken by an estate or trust, an individual who is filing a short return due to a change in accounting periods, an individual who was a nonresident alien part of the tax year, or a married individual whose spouse is filing separately and itemizing.
As noted above, Form 1040 uses a variety of additional schedules to help taxpayers report their tax obligations. The following schedules are used to compile financial information away from Form 1040 to later use Form 1040 as the primary source of reporting.
Schedule 1 is used to report additional income or adjustments to income. This may include alimony, disposition proceeds from the sale of a business, educator expenses, health savings account (HSA) contributions, or unemployment compensation.
It's important to note that:
Schedule 2 is used to report additional taxes. One part of Schedule 2 reports alternative minimum tax and repayment of excess premium tax credits for insurance bought through health insurance marketplaces.
Another part of Schedule 2 is used to report self-employment taxes, Medicare taxes, taxes on individual retirement accounts (IRAs), household employment taxes, and other taxes. These two parts from Schedule 2 are reported on Line 17 and Line 23 on Form 1040.
Schedule 3 is used to report additional tax credits and payments. These credits include dependent care expense credits, residential energy credits, excess social security taxes previously remitted, and excess Federal income taxes previously remitted.
Nonrefundable credits from Schedule 3 are reported on Line 20 of Form 1040, while refundable credits from Schedule 3 are reported on Line 31 of Form 1040.
Schedule A is used to figure out a taxpayer's itemized deduction. A taxpayer's federal income liability is most often minimized when choosing the larger of their standard deduction or itemized deduction.
The itemized deduction calculation includes medical expenses, dental expenses, certain taxes, certain interest assessments, theft losses, and other expenses. Any input from Schedule A is entered into Line 12a on Form 1040.
Schedule B is used for taxpayers who received greater than $1,500 of taxable interest or ordinary dividends. It is also used to report interest from a seller-financed mortgage, accrued interest from a bond, interest or ordinary dividends as a nominee, and other similar types of interest. Input from Schedule B is entered into Line 2b and Line 3b on Form 1040.
Schedule C is used to report business income or loss. An activity qualifies as a business if the taxpayer is engaged in the activity for the primary purpose of producing income or profit. The activity is also considered a business as long as the taxpayer is involved in the activity with regularity and continuity. Profit from Schedule C is entered on Schedule 1, Line 3. It is also used on Schedule SE.
If your business was a sole proprietorship or qualified joint venture and you meet other criteria, you can report your business operations using Schedule C.
Schedule D is used to report taxable income from the sale or exchange of a capital asset. This gain may have arisen from an exchange or an involuntary conversion. Schedule D is also used to report capital gain distributions not otherwise reported on Form 1040 as well as nonbusiness bad debts. Input from Schedule D is entered on Form 1040, Line 7.
Schedule E is used to report various types of additional income or losses. This supplemental financial activity ranges from real estate rental income, royalties, partnerships, estates, trusts, and residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits. Supplemental income figures from Schedule E are reported on Form 1040 in the "Income" section.
Schedule EIC is quite different from other tax schedules. The earned income credit is calculated separately from this schedule. However, Schedule EIC is used to substantiate the qualification of your qualifying children by remitting to the IRS your child's name, Social Security number, birth year, relationship to you, and residency status. Information from Schedule EIC is not directly input into Form 1040.
The Earned Income Credit is maximized if a taxpayer has at least three children. Therefore, Schedule EIC only asks for information on three children; additional forms for additional children beyond three are not required.
Other notable supplementary schedules to Form 1040 include:
Form 1040 is the primary tax form used by U.S. taxpayers to file their annual income tax returns. Taxpayers input their personal information and tax information onto the form, then submit the form to the IRS for review.
Form 1040 is different from a W-2. A W-2 is a wage and tax statement an employee receives from a company they worked for during the tax year. The information listed on the W-2 is used to fill out Form 1040.
Form 1040 is not a tax statement or form that gets distributed to taxpayers. Unlike a W-2 or 1099 statement that is mailed by an employer or party you've contracted with, Form 1040 is available for download on the IRS website. In addition, free IRS filing platforms such as Free File Fillable Forms will provide digital copies. Last, some public courthouses or Federal buildings in your community may offer paper copies available for pickup.
Form 1040 and Form 1099 are different components of an individual's tax return. There are many different types of Form 1099, but Form 1099 is most commonly given to independent contractors to remit tax information relating to payments they received during the tax year. This information is used to complete Form 1040, as the financial records listed on Form 1099 are input into Form 1040.
Form 1040 is the central part of tax filing for United States citizens. It is the tax form that all taxpayer financial statements eventually feed into and support tax schedules branch out of. Regardless of an individual's filing status or income, taxpayers who file taxes will complete some version of Form 1040.
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Description Part of the Series Federal Tax Forms1099 Forms INT–OID
1099 Forms PATR–SA
A filing extension is an exemption made for taxpayers who are unable to file their federal tax return by the regular due date.
A widow(er)'s exemption is one of several forms of state or federal tax relief available to a surviving spouse in the period following their spouse's death.
A flow-through entity is a legal business entity that passes income to the owners and/or investors of the business. It's sometimes referred to as a disregarded entity.
A qualified higher education expense is a tax credit for the parents of students attending a college or other post-secondary institution.
Form 1041 is an IRS tax return used by trustees or personal representatives to report income over $600 generated by assets held in an estate or trust.
Form 1099-LTC is used by individual taxpayers to report long-term care benefits to the IRS, including accelerated death benefits.
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