Common Tax Forms and Descriptions
To say the acronym soup that makes up the IRS tax form system is confusing would be an understatement. Let’s take a Form 1099 as an example. There are SIXTEEN versions of this form, each used to report a different thing. To help simplify things a little, we have created a brief list of the common tax forms and what they are used for. While this list isn’t complete, we have attempted to cover the forms everyday taxpayers may encounter. Let us know if you have any questions about the following forms. We are always happy to clarify things!
Popular IRS Forms, Instructions, Publications- This links to the main IRS forms database and can be used to find forms not covered here.
Form 1040: This is the standard 1040 individual federal tax return completed annually by most US citizens and residents.
Form 1040-SR: Similar to the Form 1040 but designed as an alternative form for those age 65 or older.
Form 1120, Form 1120S, Form 1065: Yearly federal tax returns filed by corporations
Form W2: Reports employee’s annual wages and the amount of taxes withheld (if any).
Form W-4: Used to tell your employer how much federal tax to withhold from your paycheck. This form was completely overhauled as of January 1st, 2020.
Form 1099: As previously mentioned, there are 16 variants of the Form 1099. The purpose of a Form 1099 is to report payments made by a business to another individual or independent contractor. This does two things. First, it informs the IRS that you have received money from a business. Second, it gives you a record of how much that business paid you. Some common forms are 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, 1099-MISC, 1099-R, and 1099-SA.
Form 1098: This is essentially the opposite of a Form 1099. Instead of reporting payments made to you, the 1098 reports payments or contributions made by you that may be tax-deductible. Some common forms are:
Form 1098: This form reports mortgage interest paid throughout the year. It may also include other information such as mortgage insurance or property taxes paid in the year
Form 1098-E: This form reports student loan interest paid
Form 1098-T: This form reports the amount of qualified tuition and related expenses paid for post-secondary education
Form 1095: The form 1095 is used to report health insurance. There are numerous versions depending on your situation. Some examples are 1095-A, 1095-B, and 1095-C
Hopefully this brief list helps clarify some of the forms you are receiving in the mail. We will be going into more detail of these forms in the future.