Form 1040 is the U.S. tax form individuals commonly use to report annual federal income to the Internal Revenue Service.
The form is officially titled “U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.” Taxpayers use it to declare income, claim deductions and credits, calculate tax owed, and determine whether they are due a refund. Most individual federal income-tax returns are filed using Form 1040 or one of its related versions.
The modern Form 1040 developed from earlier U.S. income-tax return forms. It is generally filed for the preceding calendar year, with the usual deadline falling in April unless an extension or special rule applies. Electronic filing is now widely used.
Form 1040 is often confused with Form W-2, which employers provide to report wages and tax withholding, and Form 1099, which reports many kinds of non-wage income. Form 941 is an employer’s quarterly payroll-tax return, not an individual income-tax return.