How to file paper tax return 2021
How to Fill Out Form 1040 | Preparing your Taxes 2022 | Money Instructor
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how to fill out the 2021 irs form 1040
the 1044 may look complex however don't
be overwhelmed with doing taxes and
filling out the form
here we will step through some of the
more common lines for the 1040 to help
give you an idea of what things you
likely will need to fill out first what
is form 1040 form 1040 is the u.s
individual income tax return it is a
federal income tax form that people use
to report their income to the irs and
claim tax deductions or credits it is
used to calculate their tax refund and
tax bill for the year you may file your
tax return online with tax software or
you can also download form 1040 directly
from the irs website if you prefer to
complete your return by hand what is on
the 1040 tax form before we get into the
details of the 1040 let's take a quick
overview of what we will be looking at
first it asks you who you are the top of
form 1040 collects basic information
such as your name address social
security number your tax filing status
and how many tax dependents you have
next you calculate your taxable income
by adding up all your income for the
year your taxable income is the amount
of income that is subject to income
taxes on page 2 of the 1040 form you
calculate the taxes you owe your tax
liability you can subtract any tax
credits you may be eligible for and any
taxes that you have already paid via
withholding from your paychecks
throughout the year
finally you will determine your tax bill
or refund this will tell you whether you
have already paid any or all of the tax
bill the form 1040 can also help you
determine whether tax credits or
withholding taxes covered your tax bill
you'll be eligible for a refund if you
have overpaid during the year now let's
take a look at the details of the
example tax form to see how it looks
here we will step through some of the
more common filled in lines for the 1040
to help give you an idea of what things
you may need to fill out
this is form 1040 u.s individual income
tax return for the year 2021. this
example form has been filled out for
john he is single so for filing status
he has checked the single box
next he has filled in his name and
social security number
he also filled out his address
information
now there is a question about virtual
currency he does not own any so he
checked the no box
no one can claim him as a dependent and
he has no dependence so all that
information is left blank
next he entered his income information
john is employed and he earned sixteen
16 150 this year
he got that information from his w-2
form which was supplied by his employer
he also had 10 in taxable interest from
his bank
his other lines were zero so he added
that here to get a total income amount
he had no adjustments so the same amount
was his adjusted gross income
next is standard deduction or itemized
deductions he took the standard
deduction
he got that amount by looking at the
left side of the page and entering the
amount listed for single
he gave 100 in charitable contributions
so he entered it here
next he added lines 12 and 12 b the
standard deduction and charitable
contributions to get this amount
he had no qualified business income
deductions so that was left blank so we
enter the amount again here next he
subtracted that amount from line 14
adjusted gross income
that gives us taxable income taxable
income is the amount that we will now
use to calculate taxes he has three
thousand five hundred ten dollars in
taxable income we will use this amount
to calculate taxes using the tax table
the tax table can be found in the 1040
instructions document by looking up his
taxable income amount here is the page
in the tax table we need to look at you
need to find the line that corresponds
with your taxable income his taxable
income was three thousand five hundred
ten dollars which is at least three
thousand five hundred but less than
three thousand five hundred fifty since
he is single the amount he should use
therefore is 353.
this now brings us to page 2 of the 1040
form
on line 16 we enter this amount from the
tax table this is his tax
other lines don't apply to him so he
re-entered the amount here
and again here
now this is his total tax
now we need to look at how much he
already paid in taxes taxes are normally
deducted from your paycheck
he got the information for how much he
paid on his w-2 form and entered it here
his other lines did not apply so were
zero and the same amount is entered
again
so his total payments are entered since
he already paid more in taxes than his
tax amount he is going to get a refund
here we subtract the amount paid from
the amount owed and this gives us the
amount overpaid he wants to receive this
amount in full so he entered the same
amount here
once he makes sure all the information
is correct he will sign the return and
fill out the other information when he
is ready he is going to mail the return
to the address listed in the 1040
instruction document before the due date
to help reduce the chance for errors and
delays it is suggested that you instead
submit your form electronically and use
direct deposit
this was just an example to help you
better understand the 1040 form your tax
situation is likely different so be sure
to take a look at the 1040 instructions
and consult with a tax professional if
you need help
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