Tax Day is quickly approaching. Here are some forms that you might need as you prepare for Form 1040, your individual federal income tax return. These forms will also be required if you have to file a state income taxes return.
Formulas W-2G and W-2G
Each employer that you worked for last year will send you a W-2. This document includes your wages and any taxable benefits received. It also shows the tax withheld from your wages. W-2 forms must be sent out by employers no later than January 31, each year. They are usually available online through a payroll provider.
You will receive a Form W-2G if you won any gambling money last year. This form will contain the number of your winnings and how much federal income tax they were subject to.
Forms 1099 – NEC and 1099 -MISC
This form is for earnings earned from gig work or freelance. It’s similar to a W-2 form for contract employees. You should get a 1099-NEC form from the payor if you have earned more than $600 from this source of income last year.
You can also use Form 1099-MISC to report other types of income, such as rent, prizes, awards, or prizes. If you were awarded cash or prizes in a television game show, this form would be issued to you.
Form 1099-INT
You will receive a 1099-INT if you have earned more than $10 in interest from a savings or moneymarket account or Certificate of Deposit (CD) and it reports the amount of taxable income you earned. This interest will be added to the appropriate line of Form 1040.
If you have earned more than $1500 in interest last fiscal year, Schedule B must be filed. It lists the names of all institutions that paid interest to you and how much.
Form 1099-G
Your state agency will send Form 1099-G to you if you received any unemployment benefits in the past year. This form will show how much you were sent and what taxes you withheld.
Formula 1098
This form comes in four versions. One will be issued to you if you have paid more than $600 on your mortgage (1098), student loan (1098E), or received college tuition assistance (1098T), or if you donated a car or boat to charity (1098C).
What forms should I use to file my taxes?
These are the forms that you or your tax professional will use to prepare your tax return and send it to the IRS.
Forms 1040-SR
Also known as the U.S. Income Tax Return. This is also known as the U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. It is the most basic form of tax used by Americans to prepare their federal tax returns.
- Form 1040: Individual tax filings use this form for reporting their income to IRS. If you use tax software, this form will not be filled out directly. Instead, you will go through a question and answer process that populates your form. After you have submitted your return, you can download a complete copy of it for your records.
- Form 1040 SR: This version is for seniors. This version is only for people 65 years and older. It uses larger fonts and has bigger boxes to report numbers.
You will need basic personal information to fill out Form 1040
- Name and address
- Social security number
- Status filing
- This will be based on the tax documents that you receive from banks, employers, and other entities that paid you during the year.
- Names and Social Security numbers for dependents
If your taxes were simple, you could file Form 1040A and Form 1040EZ in the past. These forms were eliminated starting in the 2018 tax year and replaced by a shorter Form 10040.
Because many lines from the previous form have been transferred onto additional schedules, there are now fewer boxes on Form 1040. While your Form 1040 is shorter, it may mean that you will have to file additional IRS forms.
Additional Forms You Might Need for Your 1040
Schedules are the supplemental forms that must be filed with Form 1040. Each corresponds to a specific type of income or deduction.
Here is a list of the most commonly used Schedules and their purpose.
- Schedule A To report itemized deductions such as mortgage interest and gifts to charity
- Schedule B For reporting interest or ordinary dividends.
- Schedule A: For reporting income and losses as a sole proprietor.
- ScheduleD: To report capital gains or losses that are not reported on any other form or schedule, nonbusiness good debts, and gains from involuntary transformations of non-business capital assets.
- schedule: To report income or losses from rental property, royalties and partnerships, S corporations estates, trusts, and residual interest in real estate mortgage investment conduits.
- Schedule EIC To report information on qualifying children to claim an Earned Income Credit
- Schedule F To report farm incomes and expenses.
- Schedule H To report taxes paid on cash wages to household employees.
- Schedule J To choose to calculate your income taxes for a fishing or farming business using a 3-year average.
- ScheduleR: To determine credit for the elderly or disabled.
- Schedule SE To calculate the tax on self-employment net earnings.
- Schedule 881: To calculate the various Child Tax Credits, report Child Tax Credit Advance Payments starting in 2021 and calculate any additional tax due to overpayment.
- Schedule 1 To report income not listed on Form 1040. This includes income from a business or unemployment compensation.
- Schedule 2 To report any additional taxes such as an alternative minimum tax, excess premium tax credit for insurance or self-employment taxes.
- Schedule 3 To report additional taxes payments and non-refundable tax credits.