The Quick Way to Choose the Best of the Tax Return Forms for You

Most of us living in the United States will readily admit that we are not tax experts in any way and that we barely understand the system beyond knowing that it takes money from us each year. That could well mean that when it comes to choosing the right selection from the tax return forms offered by the Internal Revenue Service, we get tripped up. Making a mistake when you go to choose the correct tax form is only going to give you problems because each of the major forms has a different set of eligibility requirements that you need to make sure you meet if you are going to use them. When you use the wrong form you will find that you get it sent back and have to file all over again which not only wastes your time and effort, it means that you might end up late if you waited until close to the April 15th deadline that we all have to meet. Being late means fees and no one wants to have to pay those, particularly since they can get quite expensive very quickly. All you need to know to start with is that the fast way to find the right form means looking at the 1040 Series.

Within the 1040 Series there are three primary forms that will work for a variety of taxable situations. If you have a relatively simple income situation and you do not plan to claim a lot of tax credits or deductions so you can get a bigger refund, then Form 1040 EZ is going to be the fastest of the tax return forms for you to use. However, at the next level, Form 1040A provides a reasonable solution for those who want to claim a few deductions and credits, but are still not looking to maximize their refund to the full extent of the tax codes. This is called the short form because it is quicker than the longest form in the 1040 Series, Form 1040 itself. This is a long form that is going to be able to take into account just about any complexity that you can throw at it. While it takes a longer amount of time to fill out, it gives you far more options that help you get back the biggest possible refund you can and avoid paying too much in taxes, a problem that a significant portion of Americans face every single year.

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