Which tax forms do you need?
A tax form is one you fill out and file, like Form 1040. Your tax return is the set you send the IRS, and it always starts with Form 1040. You add other forms only when your year needs them.
What happened this year?
Pick one. See the forms it brings, in the order you fill them out.
Start with Form 1040 →Every form, and when you need it
A “schedule” is just an extra page for the 1040. Each one works out one number and passes it along.
Everyone fills out this one
Your tax return starts here. For many people it's the only form.
| Form | You need it if | Its total goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Form 1040The main tax return. It adds up your year and shows your refund or what you owe.Line by line → | You need it if you file a federal tax return. Everyone who files fills one out. | Its total goes to: The IRS. You sign it and send it in. |
Did you make money besides a paycheck?
These figure out that money. Each one ends with a total that goes on another form.
| Form | You need it if | Its total goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule 1Money the 1040 has no line for, like a business or unemployment. Also things that lower your income.Line by line → | You need it if you had a business, a rental, unemployment, or student loan interest. | Its total goes to: 1040, lines 8 and 10 |
| Schedule CA business you run yourself. What came in, minus what you spent.Line by line → | You need it if you freelanced, drove for an app, or ran a side business. | Its total goes to: Schedule 1, line 3 |
| Schedule SEThe tax for Social Security and Medicare when you work for yourself.Line by line → | You need it if your business made a profit of $400 or more. | Its total goes to: Schedule 2 |
| Schedule ERent you got, and your share of a partnership or S corp. | You need it if you rent out a home, or you got a K-1. | Its total goes to: Schedule 1, line 5 |
| Schedule BA list of every bank or fund that paid you. | You need it if your interest or dividends were over $1,500. | Its total goes to: 1040, lines 2b and 3b |
| Schedule DYour profit or loss from selling stock, funds or crypto. | You need it if you sold stock, funds or crypto, or got a 1099-B. | Its total goes to: 1040, line 7a |
| Form 8949Each sale on its own row, before the totals go to Schedule D. | You need it if you sold stock or crypto and need to list the sales. | Its total goes to: Schedule D |
Can you pay less?
These take money off your income or your tax. Use the ones that fit your year.
| Form | You need it if | Its total goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule 1-ANew for 2025. Deductions for tips, overtime, car loan interest, and people 65 or older. | You need it if you got tips or overtime, bought a new car with a loan, or are 65 or older. | Its total goes to: 1040, line 13b |
| Schedule 8812The child tax credit: up to $2,200 for each child. | You need it if you have children under 17, or other people who depend on you. | Its total goes to: 1040, lines 19 and 28 |
| Schedule AA list of costs you can take off, like mortgage interest and gifts to charity. | You need it if your list adds up to more than the standard deduction. | Its total goes to: 1040, line 12e |
| Form 8863Tax credits for paying for college. | You need it if you paid college costs and got a 1098-T. | Its total goes to: 1040, line 29, and Schedule 3 |
| Form 8962Squares up the help you got paying for Marketplace health insurance. | You need it if you had insurance from the Marketplace and got a 1095-A. | Its total goes to: Schedule 2 or Schedule 3 |
| Form 8995Takes 20% of your business profit off your taxable income. | You need it if your business made money. Some rentals count too. | Its total goes to: 1040, line 13a |
| Form 8880A credit for saving for retirement, if your income is low. | You need it if you put money in a 401(k) or IRA and your income was low. | Its total goes to: Schedule 3 |
| Form 8889Money that went into or came out of a health savings account (HSA). | You need it if you have an HSA. | Its total goes to: Schedule 1, line 13 |
| Form 8829The cost of a home office, figured from your real bills. | You need it if you work from a room at home and use it only for work. | Its total goes to: Schedule C, line 30 |
| Form 4562Taking off the cost of tools, cars or a rental bit by bit over years. | You need it if you bought something big for a business or rental. | Its total goes to: Schedule C or Schedule E |
| Schedule 3Other credits and payments the 1040 has no line for. | You need it if you have a credit like the college or saver's credit. | Its total goes to: 1040, lines 20 and 31 |
Do you owe extra tax?
Most people never need these. They show up with high income or special cases.
| Form | You need it if | Its total goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule 2Taxes on top of income tax. Self-employment tax is the one most people see. | You need it if you work for yourself, or owe one of the taxes below. | Its total goes to: 1040, lines 17 and 23 |
| Form 8959A little extra Medicare tax, 0.9%, on high pay. | You need it if your pay was over $200,000 ($250,000 if married). | Its total goes to: Schedule 2 |
| Form 8960A 3.8% tax on money from investments, at high incomes. | You need it if your income was over $200,000 ($250,000 if married) and you have investments. | Its total goes to: Schedule 2 |
| Form 6251A second way to figure tax. You pay it only if it comes out higher. | You need it if you have a high income or exercised stock options. | Its total goes to: Schedule 2 |
| Form 8582How much of a rental loss you can use this year. | You need it if your rental lost money. | Its total goes to: Schedule E |
| Form 2210A penalty for paying too little tax during the year. | You need it if you owe more than $1,000 and didn't pay enough during the year. | Its total goes to: 1040, line 38 |
Waiting on a W-2 or a 1099? Tax documents explains every form that comes in the mail, box by box, and where each box goes on these forms.
Hand it over
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Start a return with the forms you have. You get a filled-in 1040 that you check, sign and mail. Free to start. The print-ready forms cost $99.