As with all IRS tax forms, the 1040EZ tax form is designed for people who meet certain criteria. In this case, as its name indicates, you will be filling out one of the simpler and easier IRS forms. It still makes sense, however, to use online tax filing because, if you file this form and should have been filing the regular 1040, you may cost yourself refund money or find yourself getting a call from the IRS.
It’s important to make sure that you qualify for the 1040EZ form. You can do so by gathering all of your tax information in advance and then going to an online tax filing website and comparing your information with the criteria they list. If you cannot meet any one of the criteria, you should be using another form and you can find out online which form that should be.
1040EZ Criteria
Remember that, in order to be eligible to use the EZ form, you must meet all of the criteria. Below is a list of the requirements for using the 1040EZ tax form:
- You must be single or married filing jointly.
- You must claim either one exemption if you are single or two if you are married and filing jointly.
- You must have no dependents.
- Your income must be less than $50,000.
- If you have earned interest income, it must be less than $1,500.
- You must not be taking itemized deductions.
- All of your income must come from salaries, tips, unemployment compensation, taxable scholarships, interest, and qualified state tuition plan earnings.
- You may not have adjustments to your declared income.
- You may have no other taxes, and you may have no other credit except earned income credit.
If you can meet all of the criteria listed above, you can use the EZ form. Remember that filing your form electronically gives you the advantage of online support and gets you your refund much faster.