Which of the Income Tax Return Forms is Right for You?

For many average people who are not tax field or accounting professionals, tax season can come more than its fair share of confusion. There is definitely a lot that you need to know in order to make sure that you get your taxes filled out the right way and one of the most basic things you are going to need to know is which one of the income tax return forms will work best for your situation this year. Each year, all of us have an opportunity to choose the form that suits us best and you may find that this year you choose a different form than you have in the past because your situation is different than it was before. That's fine and you should not worry because the real trick here is using the simplest tax form that meets your needs if you want to be able to process the return quickly and get your refund direct deposit or check back just as fast. Of course, speed is not the only thing that matters, so be sure you know which of the forms you are eligible for first since you don't want to run into any hassles with the IRS if you can possibly avoid it.

The most commonly utilized of all the forms for most Americans are always going to be those in the 1040 series. These are the income tax return forms you have probably heard of: 1040 EZ, 1040A and 1040, the longest of the bunch. The 1040 EZ is, as its name suggests, the easiest form out there to fill out, but 1040A is also fairly simple, being known as 'the short form'. Form 1040 is, of course, the longest and most complex of the forms available from the federal Internal Revenue Service, but it is also the most comprehensive so it will work for any income tax situation, no matter how complicated that case might be. With the 1040 EZ you need to make sure that you are okay with only filing for the Standard Deduction and the Earned Income Tax Credit because you do not get many other benefits, but it is very fast to complete. With the 1040A you have more options, but you still can not earn over $100,000 this year and still use it, but at the same time since it does offer a few deductions it can be a decent solution. The basic rule of thumb is, when in doubt - use Form 1040.