The Various Flavors of IRS Form 1040

I thought IRS had only three 1040 forms for the filing of my taxes including the usual variants 1040A and 1040EZ.

But my online searches started bringing in lot of other forms bearing the same number but different letter identifiers. Most of them need not concern the regular resident taxpayer. Still I was curious.

Yes, most of the time we need not be bothered about the form numbers beyond the 1040, 1040-A and 1040- EZ . Usually filing is straightforward, following the step-by-step instructions and the worksheets that accompany the form booklets.

And with the advent of e-filing software, things have become easier as usually the software makes the decisions for us based on the answers we give to the built in questionnaire and selects the appropriate forms for us.

This article gives an outline of the various IRS forms that bear the number 1040.

A. THE USUAL FILING FORMS FOR RESIDENTS

These are the regular forms we are familiar with and use when we want to file during the annual tax season.

* Form 1040 = U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
Form 1040 are filed by individuals to report their income tax liability. This is the form where you want to claim too many credits and deductions. Usually you also will have more income too to declare in addition to your wages. This results in more attachments and schedules to substantiate your claims.

* Form 1040A = U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
Form 1040A is meant for single persons or married couples who have eligible children. This is more straightforward than 1040 as you are making lesser number of claims of credit and exemptions. So the required attachments and schedules are also less.
This is also the form that is usually needed to be filed for this years Economic Stimulus Package benefit by those who otherwise need not file a tax return for the tax year 2007.

* Form 1040 EZ = Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers with No Dependents
As the name implies this is the easiest of the three regulars. This simple form is meant for single or joint filers with no dependents. Usually what they have to report will be only the wages or other source of income like interests beyond the non-reportable level.

B. SOME SPECIAL FORMS

*Form 1040-V = Payment Voucher
This is an optional form for individual taxpayers who owe a balance due on their Form 1040. They include this form while sending such payment to IRS. This is to facilitate correct credit of the payment to the taxpayer's files without delay.

*Form 1040-ES = Estimated Tax for Individuals
Persons with income not subject to tax withholding need to use Form 1040-ES to pay estimated tax.

C. FORMS FOR ALIENS WHO ARE RESIDENT BUT WILL BE SOON DEPARTING USA IN THE CURRENT YEAR

*Form 1040-C = U.S. Departing Alien Income Tax Return
Aliens who intend to leave the U.S. use Form 1040C to report income received or expected to be received for the entire taxable year and to pay any expected tax on that income.

D. FORMS FOR NON-RESIDENT ALIENS WHO HAVE U.S. TAX LIABILITY

*Form 1040 NR = U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return
Non-resident alien individuals engaged in a business in U.S.A or with income from certain U.S. sources, or custodial persons who represent individuals, estates or trusts have to file Form 1040- NR .

*Form 1040 NR - EZ = U.S. Income Tax Return for Certain Nonresident Aliens With No Dependents
Nonresident aliens with no dependents can file the simpler Form 1040- NR - EZ subject to certain conditions.

*Form 1040-ES- NR = U.S. Estimated Tax for Nonresident Alien Individuals
Nonresident aliens use Form 1040-ES- NR to figure estimated tax on income not subject to tax withholding.

E. SPECIAL FORMS FOR RESIDENTS OF U.S. DEPENDENCIES AND PROTECTORATES

*Form 1040-SS = U.S. Self-Employment Tax Return (including the Additional Child Tax Credit for Bona Fide Residents of Puerto Rico)
Residents of the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, , Guam, American Samoa and Puerto Rico use Form 1040-SS to report self-employment taxes, household employment taxes, uncollected tax on tips or certain life insurance, and to claim excess social security tax and - for Puerto Rica only - to claim the additional child or health coverage tax credits.

*Form 1040-PR = SPANISH VERSION OF 1044SS
If you are a resident of Puerto Rico, you can file Form 1040-PR instead of Form 1040-SS
*Form 1040ES (SP) = Estimated Income Tax for Individuals (Spanish)

Persons in Puerto Rico use Form 1040ES (SP) to pay estimated self-employment tax. This form is in Spanish.

F. ONE-TIME FORM

*Form 1040 EZ -T
Form 1040 EZ -T was introduced to comply with Notice 2006-50. At that time federal government decided to refund federal telephone excise taxes paid after February 28, 2003 and before August 1, 2006. While it was easy make a refund to all taxpayers who filed a return, it was necessary to find away to refund non-filers. So naturally this was a one-time only form.

G. FORM TO REVISE AN ALREADY FILED TAX FORM

*Form 1040X = Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
Individual taxpayers who already filed Forms 1040, 1040A, 1040 EZ , 1040 NR , or 1040 NR - EZ but later want to make corrections can do so using 1040X.