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

What Is Form 1040: U.S. Individual Tax Return?

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.

Who Can File Form 1040: U.S. Individual Tax Return?

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.

Children and dependents may not be required to file if they can be claimed as a dependent. In 2023, if the dependent's unearned income is greater than $1,250 ($1,300 in 2024) but under $12,500 ($13,000 in 2024), earned income is greater than $13,850 ($14,600 in 2024), or gross income meets certain thresholds, the dependent must file their own Form 1040. These rules are slightly different for single dependents as opposed to dependents who are married.

Finally, some specific situations require an individual to file Form 1040. Regardless of their income or dependency status, some of those situations include but are not limited to:

• You owe additional special taxes such as alternative minimum tax
• You receive HSA or other health account distributions
• You had net earnings from self-employment of at least $400
• You met the income threshold limits for wages earned from a church
  

How to File Form 1040: U.S. Individual Tax Return

Form 1040 is available on the IRS website and has two pages that must be filled out. Form 1040 can be mailed in or e-filed. Tax filers are asked for their filing status along with their personal information, such as their name, address, Social Security number (some information on one's spouse may also be needed), and the number of dependents.

The form also asks whether the taxpayer wishes to contribute $3 to presidential campaign funds.

The 1040 income section asks the filer to report wages, salary, taxable interest, capital gains, pensions, Social Security benefits, and other types of income. The new tax legislation eliminated many deductions, including unreimbursed employee expenses, tax-preparation fees, and the cost of moving for a job (except for military on active duty).

The form uses what the IRS terms a building block approach and allows taxpayers to add only the schedules they need to their tax returns. Some individuals may need to file one or more of six supplemental schedules with their 1040 in addition to long-standing schedules for items like business income or loss.

This depends on whether they're claiming tax credits or owe additional taxes. Many individual taxpayers, however, only need to file a 1040 and no schedules.

Types of Form 1040

Taxpayers in certain situations may need to file a different variant of the 1040 form instead of the standard version. Below are the options.

Form 1040-NR

Certain nonresident aliens or their representatives need to file this form, including:

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

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.

Form 1040-ES

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.

Form 1040-V

This is a statement accompanying a taxpayer's payment for any balance on the "Amount you owe" line of the 1040 or 1040-NR.

Form 1040-X

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.

Form 1040-SR

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.

Standard Deductions on Form 1040

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.

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.

• Aged or Blind: $1,500 in 2023 increased to $1,850 if the individual is also unmarried and not a surviving spouse. These amounts increase to $1,550 and $1,950, respectively, in 2024.
  
  

Additional Schedules

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

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:

• Other Income from Schedule 1: This is reported on Line 8 of Form 1040
• Adjustments to Income from Schedule 1: This is reported on Line 10 of Form 1040

Schedule 2

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

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 (Itemized Deductions)

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 (Interest and Ordinary Dividends)

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 (Net Profit From Business)

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.

Schedule D (Capital Gains and Losses)

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 (Supplemental Income and Loss)

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 (Earned Income Credit)

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.

Other Schedules

Other notable supplementary schedules to Form 1040 include:

• Schedule F is used to report profits or losses from farming operations
• Schedule H is used to report household employment taxes if you paid cash wages to household employees and those wages were subject to various Federal taxes
• Schedule J is used to report farming or fishing trade income by averaging taxable income over the previous three years
• Schedule R is used to report a credit for the elderly or disabled
• Schedule SE is used to report the tax due on net earnings from self-employment
• Schedule 8812 is used to report potentially refundable credits for qualifying children (or other dependents)

The Bottom Line

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.