Why You Should Use Form 1040EZ

Form 1040EZ is one of many forms the IRS puts out each year to help you file your tax returns. While the IRS thinks it is making the procedure easy and straightforward for individuals who are not sophisticated taxpayers, many people still think it is a complicated way of accounting. After all, how many people care to about what items goes in what line. Some people just don't like accounting for their financial activities. Others are income tax averse because they don't like the idea of the IRS telling them what to do with their earnings. Still others feel that they are paying more than fair share. Having said that, most people file their returns at tax time and would prefer an easier way to do it.

Form 1040EZ helps you if you would rather visit the dentist than prepare your return each year. But not everyone one can use it, because you need to fit certain criteria. Give it a try and see if it applies to you, whether you are single, under 65, had taxable income of less than $100,000, and many more criteria. Unfortunately, you have to match the ten criteria to qualify to use Form 1040EZ. If you do qualify you could save yourself the hassle of preparing one of the longer forms.

You can use Form 1040EZ if all of the following apply:

Your filing status is single or married filing jointly.
You do not claim any dependents.
You do not claim any adjustments to income.
The only tax credits you can claim are the earned income credit and the credit for the federal telephone excise tax.
You (and your spouse if filing a joint return) were under age 65 and not blind at the end of 2006. If you were born on January 1, 1942, you are considered to be age 65 at the end of 2006 and cannot use Form 1040EZ
Your taxable income (line 6 of Form 1040EZ) is less than $100,000.
You had only wages, salaries, tips, taxable scholarship or fellowship grants, unemployment compensation, or Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, and your taxable interest was not over $1,500.
You did not receive any advance earned income credit payments.
You do not owe any household employment taxes on wages you paid to a household employee.
You are not a debtor in a chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed after October 16, 2005.

If you do not meet all of the requirements, you must use Form 1040A or 1040.
Even if you can use Form 1040EZ, it may benefit you to use Form 1040A or 1040 instead. For example, you can claim the head of household filing status (which usually results in a lower tax than single) only on Form 1040A or 1040.

Also, you can itemize deductions only on Form 1040. It would benefit you to itemize deductions if they total more than your standard deduction, which is $5,150 for most single people and $10,300 for most married people filing a joint return. We hope you qualify to use Form 1040EZ.

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