IRS tax forms are used by taxpayers and tax-exempt organizations to report financial information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States. They are used to report income and calculate taxes owed to the federal government of the United States.
Federal tax forms
990
The IRS Form 990 is titled "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax." It is submitted by tax-exempt organizations and non-profit organizations to provide the Internal Revenue Service with annual financial information. A short version, Form 990-EZ, may be used by organizations with gross receipts of less than $100,000 and total assets of less than $250,000. Another variant, Form 990-PF, is available for private foundation organizations.
The Form 990 provides the public with financial information about a given organization, and is often the only source of such information. It is also used by government agencies to prevent organizations from abusing their tax-exempt status. In June 2007, the IRS released a new Form 990 that requires significant disclosures on governance and boards of directors. These new disclosures are required for all nonprofit filers for the 2009 tax year, with more significant reporting requirements for nonprofits with over $1 million in revenues or $2.5 million in assets. In addition, certain nonprofits have more comprehensive reporting requirements, such as hospitals and other health care organizations (Schedule H).
The Form 990 disclosures do not require but strongly encourage nonprofit boards to adopt a variety of board policies regarding governance practices. These suggestions go beyond Sarbanes-Oxley requirements for nonprofits to adopt whistleblower and document retention policies. The IRS has indicated they will use the Form 990 as an enforcement tool, particularly regarding executive compensation. For example, nonprofits that adopt specific procedures regarding executive compensation are offered "safe harbor" from excessive compensation rules under section 4958 of the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulation section 53.4958-6.
Public Inspection IRC 6104(d) regulations state that an organization must provide copies of its three most recent Form 990s to anyone who requests them, whether in person, by mail, fax, or e-mail. Additionally, requests may be made via the IRS using Form 4506-A, and PDF copies can often be found online on sites such as Foundation Center's 990 Finder and Guidestar.org.
- New IRS Form 990
- Instructions for Form 990 and Form 990-EZ
- 990 Finder IRS Form 990 lookup tool; provides PDF copies of annual returns.
- Guidestar IRS Form 990's and other information for selection of nonprofits.
- Charity Navigator uses IRS Forms 990 to rate charities.
- BoardSource Governance requirements in 990.
1040 series
1040
The Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return , is the starting form for personal (individual) Federal income tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States. The first Form 1040 was published for use for the tax years 1913, 1914, and 1915. Beginning with the tax year 1916, Form 1040 was converted to an annual form (i.e., updated each tax year with the new year printed on the form).
Any full-time resident individual U.S. income taxpayer can use the standard Form 1040 (often referred to as the "long form" to distinguish it from the other 1040 variants). Those with uncomplicated tax situations (for example, no itemized deductions, no capital gain or loss, etc.) may be able to use the simplified Form 1040A (the "short form") or the even simpler Form 1040EZ (the "easy form") instead of Form 1040. Some versions of Form 1040 are colored blue (though not the case when tax return software packages are used).
Income tax returns for individual calendar year taxpayers are due by April 15 of the next year. Should April 15 fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the returns are due on the first succeeding day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. If Patriots Day (a state holiday in Massachusetts) falls on the Monday in question, then filers in southern New England and some parts of New York State have until Tuesday to file, since the IRS processing center for these areas is located in Andover, Massachusetts. Generally, income tax returns for fiscal year taxpayers (an individual taxpayer may choose a fiscal year other than the calendar year, though this is uncommon) are due on or before the 15th day of the fourth month following the close of the fiscal year (if the 15th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the return must be filed by the next business day).
Form 1040 consists of two full pages not counting attachments. The first page collects information about the taxpayer(s), dependents, income items, and adjustments to income. The second page calculates the allowable deductions and credits, tax due given the income figure, and applies funds already withheld from wages or estimated payments made towards the tax liability.
Form 1040 has 11 attachments, called "schedules" (Schedules A and B are printed on opposite sides of the same sheet), which may need to be filed depending on the taxpayer:
- Schedule A itemizes allowable deductions against income; instead of filling out Schedule A, taxpayers may choose to take a standard deduction of between $5,150 and $14,300, depending on age, filing status, and whether the taxpayer and/or spouse is blind.
- Schedule B enumerates interest or dividend income, and is required if either interest or dividends received during the tax year exceed $1,500 from all sources.
- Schedule C lists income and expenses related to self-employment, and is used by sole proprietors. (Schedule C has a smaller version, the C-EZ, which is used for very simple self-employment situations.)
- Schedule D is used to describe capital gains and losses incurred during the tax year, and to calculate the tax amount due given the special reduced tax rates applied to capital gains.
- Schedule E is used to report income and expenses arising from the rental of real property, royalties, or from pass-through entities (like trusts, estates, partnerships, or S corporations).
- Schedule EIC is used to document a taxpayer's eligibility for the Earned Income Credit.
- Schedule F is used to report income and expenses related to farming.
- Schedule H is used to report taxes owed due to the employment of household help.
- Schedule J is used when averaging farm income over a period of several years.
- Schedule R is used to calculate the Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled.
- Schedule SE is used to calculate the self-employment tax owed on income from self-employment (such as on a Schedule C or Schedule F, or in a partnership).
For Tax Year 2006, the 1040 went to press before legislation was final, and some lines are "missing". The "Tuition and Fees" deduction, Educators expenses <= $250 deduction, and State Sales Tax (on Schedule A) do still exist, but need a special notation to include them. The IRS will not be able to E-file such a return until Feb 2, 2007.
In most situations, other Internal Revenue Service or Social Security Administration forms such as Form W-2 must be attached to the Form 1040, in addition to the Form 1040 schedules. There are other, specialized forms which may need to be completed along with Schedules and the Form 1040.
- United States Internal Revenue Service - includes downloadable forms and publications
- The Form 1040 lines that lead to the most mistakes - MarketWatch
1040A
The 1040A ("short form") is a shorter version of the Form 1040 U.S. individual income tax return. Use of Form 1040A is limited to taxpayers with taxable income below $100,000 who take the standard deduction instead of itemizing deductions.
A taxpayer who uses the 1040A tax return can only have income from the following sources:
- Wages, salaries, and tips.
- Interest and ordinary dividends.
- Capital gains distributions.
- Taxable scholarships and fellowship grants.
- Pensions, annuities, and IRAs.
- Unemployment compensation.
- Taxable social security and railroad retirement benefits.
- Alaska Permanent Fund dividends.
1040EZ
The Form 1040EZ ("easy form"), Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers with No Dependents, is a simplified, six-section Federal income tax return, issued by the United States' Internal Revenue Service. Its use is limited to taxpayers with taxable income below $100,000 (as of tax year 2006) who take the standard deduction instead of itemizing deductions.
Other restrictions for 2005 include:
- Filing status must be single or married filing jointly.
- Filer must be under age 65 and not blind at the end of 2005.
- Filers must not claim any dependents (other than themselves).
- No adjustments to income can be claimed.
- The only credit that can be claimed is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
- The only income to report for the tax year consisted of wages, salaries, tips, taxable scholarship or fellowship grants, unemployment compensation, or Alaska
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