Residents of the United States need to file their income tax every year. Form 1040 is a two-page form. It contains the total taxable income of the taxpayer along with the amount they owe or is owed to them by the government. Furthermore, you need to attach schedules to the form to prove your income and deductions. 

You need to file every year before April 15, except when it is on a Saturday, Sunday, or a federal holiday. This article will be your guide to Form 1040 and provide you with your state’s 1040 mailing address.

Who Needs to File Form 1040?

Most people in the US need to file this form and send it to the IRS address to file their income tax. It doesn’t matter if you are an independent contractor, employee, freelancer, or live-off investments.

You need to file 1040 if you come under any of the following conditions: 

Marital Status  Age  Income 
Single  Under 65

Over 65 (Form 1040-SR)

$12,550

$14,150

Married (Jointly filed)  Under 65 (both spouses)

Over 65 (one spouse)

Over 65 (both spouses)

$25,100

$26,400

$27,700

Head of Family Under 65

Over 65

$18,800

$20,450

Widow Under 65 $25,100

The Different Versions of 1040

Here are a few variations of 1040:

Form 1040

This is the standard form that most taxpayers need to use to determine the taxes they need to pay. 

Form 1040 SR

Taxpayers that are 65 and above need to file this form. This form is printed with a larger font and gives importance to senior-specific tax incentives. 

Form 1040 NR

Non-Residents who are engaged in trade or business need to use this variation of the form 1040. Other than that, representatives of deceased persons or an estate or trust need to use this form as well. 

Form 1040-X

People that need to make amendments to the form 1040 they already submitted can use Form 1040-X to do so. 

Form 1040-V

You can use this form to send the payment for the tax you owe. However, this form is optional, and you can choose to send the payment without it as well. The IRS has this option because it allows them to process payments efficiently. You do not need to staple Form 1040-V with 1040 as it is processed separately. However, you do need to include it in the same packet as 1040. 

Schedules of Form 1040

Form 1040 has twenty attachments in total. However, taxpayers do not need to file all of these attachments. It depends on their income, deductions, tax credits, and other factors. Schedule M was introduced in 2010 because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. After the 2008 recession, a stimulus was announced by the Federal Govt. to make the economy more stable and provide financial security to the people.

In 2018, Form 1040 was made simpler by creating new schedules to make some parts optional. The line numbers on the new schedule were similar to the old ones to make the transition easier. Schedules help you in calculating various figures that are needed to fill 1040. 

Here are the details of the various schedules: 

Schedule 1

You can use this form to report common sources of income and various adjustments to them. For example, you can use it to calculate alimony, profit from the sale of tangible property, education expenses, among other things. 

Schedule 2

You can use this form to report additional taxes. It is a two-part form.

  • The first one is to report alternative minimum tax.
  • The second one will help you to report Medicare tax, self-employment taxes, additional taxes on IRAs, and household employment taxes; to name a few. 

Schedule 3

You can use this form to report payments and additional credits. This form is also a two-part form.

  • The first one can be used to report refundable credit
  • The second one to report non-refundable credit

Schedule A

You can use this form to enter itemized deductions. You can use this to report medical expenses, mortgage interest, local taxes, theft losses, and other line items. 

Schedule B

You can use this form to report income from interest and dividend that is more than $1500. You can use Form 1040 itself for interest and dividend income less than $1500. 

Schedule C

You can use this form to report profits or losses from your business. If you are an independent contractor, freelancer, sole proprietor, or owner of a single-member LLC, you can use this form.

Schedule D

You can use this form to report the capital gains or losses from your investments. In fact, income generated from cryptocurrency trading must also be reported in Schedule D. Depending on if the income is ordinary or a capital gain, it should be reported under the current column. 

Schedule E

You can use this form to report income from real estate, estates, partnerships, royalties, REMICs, trusts, or any other pass-through entity. 

Schedule F

Farmers can use this form to report farming-related income and expenses. 

Schedule H

Taxpayers with household workers can use this form for expenses related to nannies, gardeners, house help, and caretakers. 

Schedule J

Farmers and fishers who want to figure out their tax by averaging the past three years’ taxes can use this schedule to do so. 

Schedule R

You can use this form to claim disability or senior tax credits. 

Schedule SE

Business owners and independent contractors with profits of more than $400 can use this form to calculate self-employment taxes. 

Schedule 8812

You can use this form to claim the tax credit on children. Additionally, you can use this form to calculate your tax refund if your child tax credit is more than the tax you owe. 

How to Fill Form 1040

Form 1040 is a two-page document. On the first page, you have to fill out basic details like name, address, filing status, and social security number. People filing jointly need to add the name and social security number of their spouse. 

Taxpayers that have dependents need to add their names, social security numbers, and relationships with the dependents. You need to check the box beside each dependent in case you are claiming tax credit because of them. Additionally, you need to certify that you, your spouse, and your dependents had health care coverage or a coverage exemption for the year. 

At the end of the first page, you need to write your occupation and sign. Individuals that are working with a preparer or a professional need to write their information and have them sign the document as well. 

Tax Refund

You can claim a tax refund for a particular year within a three-year window. However, you will have to pay taxes immediately when they are due. Additionally, you can apply for a refund for next year in advance. 

  • Line 19 represents the total payments you have made towards taxes.
  • Line 16 represents the total amount you need to pay as income tax.
  • You are entitled to a refund if your total payments exceed the amount you owe to the Federal Government. You need to enter the excess amount on Line 20. 

Next, fill out the refund section with your account details and routing number. You can enter a savings account as well as a checking account for this purpose. However, in case you need your refund in the form of a cheque, you need to file Form 8888.

If you have already claimed a refund but have not received it, you can file Form 3911 to trace your tax refund.

Penalties

You can get an extension on filing your Form 1040 by filing Form 4868. The penalty for not filing within the due date is 25% of unpaid taxes. However, that depends on whether the individual managed to obtain an extension. Individuals will not be subjected to a penalty if they do not have any unpaid taxes.  

State Tax Returns

Form 1040 is used for federal income tax only. State taxes need to be filed separately. Some states do not have an income tax. State tax returns often have items from Form 1040. Tax software like TurboTax automatically files state taxes with the help of the information obtained from Form 1040. 

New Changes

For the years 2020 and 2021 American citizens were receiving stimulus cheques to secure them against financial uncertainty during the pandemic. For this reason, they have added Line 30. Taxpayers that did not receive stimulus checks can use this to claim refundable credit. 

The “Amount You Owe” section has been changed. The line “Schedule H and Schedule SE filers, line 37 may not represent all of the taxes you owe for 2020” has been added. The change has been made because employers could defer social security tax due to the CARES Act. The payment section of Form 1040 can be used to report the deferred amount as “Deferral for certain Schedule H or SE filers.”  

Form 1040 now includes 3 additional lines to report withholdings:  

  • 25a: W-2 withholdings
  • 25b: 1099 withholdings
  • 25c: Other withholdings

Individuals can use Line 10b of Schedule A to claim a deduction for charitable contributions of up to $300 made in cash. Additionally, self-employed individuals can use Form 7202 to claim the tax credit for sick and family leave. 

E-filing

Individuals can file Form 1040 online as well. 

  • IRS Free File helps people with an income of $66,000 or less to file their taxes. There are some other conditions as well. Free file does not handle some forms of income and deductions. 
  • Individuals can use tax compliance software that has been approved by the IRS to file their returns automatically. 
  • People can also use a tax professional for e-filing. 

Tax compliance software can file tax returns of individuals on their behalf. Individuals need to file Form 8948 to explain why they did not file Form 1040 electronically. 

Paper Filing

You can use paper filing to file Form 1040 as well. This has been the way of filing ever since 1040 was introduced in 1913. The IRS releases the form every year in January. 

Considering the developments in technology, the IRS allows taxpayers to download the form as a PDF and file it virtually. However, individuals cannot sign the forms virtually.

  • By entering your prior-year Adjusted Gross Income or your prior-year Self-Select PIN
  • Alternatively, they can also print the form, fill it by hand, and send it to the IRS. 

Form 1040, along with the additional forms needed, must be sent in a single packet. Taxpayers can send it by mail or courier it to the IRS address according to their location in or outside the United States. Taxpayers must send the amount they owe as well. For this, they can use Form 1040-V to make the process smoother. All the forms can be stapled together except for Form 1040-V. However, 1040-V must be sent with the packet itself.

IRS Free File is a great tool for people that earn below a certain level. However, if you are not eligible for it, you might need to shell out hundreds of dollars to file your taxes. 

Your State’s IRS Address for Mailing 1040

If you are looking for the IRS address to mail a federal tax return, here are the details for your state:

States IRS Address
Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin     Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 931100, Louisville, KY 40293-1100
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 1300, Charlotte, NC 28201-1300
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 802502, Cincinnati, OH 45280-2502

IRS Address for Non-Resident Aliens

For People Who Live In IRS Address
A foreign country, US possession or territory, or use an APO or FPO address, or file Form 2555 or 4563, or are a dual-status alien. Internal Revenue Service,

P.O. Box 1303, Charlotte, NC 28201-1303 the USA

Where Do I Mail my Tax Return? 

Taxation doesn’t need to be more complicated than it already is and we hope this article was able to answer any questions you had about tax filing.

Make sure to note down the IRS tax return address for your state that we’ve listed above. Do make sure to attach all the correct schedules while mailing your tax returns.