Form 1040: U.S. Individual Tax Return Definition, Types, and Use

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Form 1040 is what individual taxpayers use to file their taxes with the IRS.

The form determines if additional taxes are due or if the filer will receive a tax refund.

Personal information, such as name, address, Social Security number, and the number of dependents, are asked for on Form 1040.

A filer also needs to report wages, salary, taxable interest, capital gains, pensions, Social Security benefits, and other types of income.

Taxpayers may need to file supplemental tax 1040 forms depending on their situation.

Those who are engaged in trade or business in the United States

Representatives of a deceased person who would have had to file a Form 1040NR

Those who represent an estate or trust that had to file a 1040NR

The 2022 CPA REG Exam requires a candidate to know the flow of a 1040 tax return. The AICPA asks questions about the forms and schedules and how they flow back to the first page of the 1040 individual tax return.

Filing out the IRS Form 1040 can be overwhelming, but this video will walk you through how to file the IRS Form 1040 for the 2021 tax year if you're single with no dependents. In conjunction with this video, we highly recommend using the 1040 Instructions pdf from the IRS website.

The instructions do a good job of walking you through the form in plain English as well as providing examples to understand what you're doing.



IRS Form https://www.irs.gov/formsinstructions
IRS Free Fillable Forms https://www.irs.gov/efileproviders/...
IRS Free File https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile