1040EZ - Federal 1040EZ - Free Federal 1040EZ Forms

Form 1040EZ is the simplest form to fill out. You may use Form 1040EZ if you meet all the following conditions:

Your filing status is single or married filing jointly

You claim no dependents

You, and your spouse if filing a joint return, were under 65 on January 1, and not blind at the end of the year

You have only wages, salaries, tips, taxable scholarship and fellowship grants, unemployment compensation, qualified state tuition program earnings, or Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, and your taxable interest was not over $1,500

Your taxable income is less than $100,000

You did not receive any advance earned income credit payments

You do not owe any household employment taxes on wages you paid to a household employee

You do not claim a student loan interest deduction, an educator expense deduction, or a tuition and fees deduction

You do not claim an education credit, retirement savings contributions credit, or a health coverage tax credit.

If you file Form 1040EZ, you cannot itemize deductions or claim any adjustments to income or tax credits (other than the earned income credit.)

If you cannot use Form 1040EZ, you may be able to use Form 1040A if:

Your income is only from wages, salaries, tips, taxable scholarships and fellowships, interest, ordinary dividends, capital gain distributions, pensions, annuities, IRAs, unemployment compensation, and taxable social security or railroad retirement benefits and Alaska Permanent Fund dividends

Your taxable income is less than $100,000

You do not itemize deductions

Your only adjustments to income are the IRA deduction, the student loan interest deduction, educator expenses and the tuition and fees deduction.

If you file Form 1040A, the only credits you can claim are the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the earned income credit, the adoption credit, the credit for the elderly or the disabled, education credits, the child tax credit, the additional child tax credit, and retirement savings contribution credit.

Finally, you must use Form 1040 under certain circumstances, such as:

Your taxable income is $100,000 or more

You have certain types of income such as unreported tips, certain nontaxable distributions, self employment earnings, or income received as a partner, a shareholder in an "S" Corp., or a beneficiary of an estate or trust.

You itemize deductions or claim certain tax credits or adjustments to income

You owe household employment taxes.

A complete list of conditions outlining when Form 1040 must be used is in the instructions for Form 1040A.
Source : irs.gov

Labels: 1040A or 1040EZ?, Which Form 1040