This form was for taxpayers with basic tax situations and offered a fast and easy way to file income taxes. The form was discontinued as of the tax year in favor of the redesigned Form Anyone who hasn't filed a tax return using Form EZ for tax years and earlier can still do so by going to the IRS website.
Other requirements for filing the Form EZ included:. For most individuals, the EZ was the first tax form they ever completed. Consider a typical high-school student employed part-time.
Provided they met the income qualifications, the EZ will likely be the most straightforward and appropriate form to file. Form EZ had only a few credits or deductions available to taxpayers. Filers were able to include an earned income credit EIC and elect nontaxable combat pay.
One significant difference was that Form had fields to include information about dependents, while EZ did not allow individuals to claim dependents. The filer was also able to include unemployment compensation payments. Form EZ allowed filers to claim income from wages, tips, salaries, taxable grants or scholarships, the Alaska Permanent Fund, and unemployment compensation. Form , though, had at least 16 income categories.
Categories available on the standard form included dividend payments, retirement account distributions, and farm and rental income.
Form also allowed the entry of Social Security benefits, alimony, and other forms of income. This form also had a long list of deductions, ranging from education costs to healthcare savings plan contributions. Accessed Feb. Income Tax. Finances With Children. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Investopedia. Also, you could not use EZ if you had any income from self-employment, alimony, dividends or capital gains. You could use Form EZ if all of the following apply:.
It offered more room for tax breaks than Form EZ—including childcare, education, and retirement savings e. Still, it was limited in terms of allowable deductions and credits compared to the standard If you couldn't use Form EZ—for example, because you had dependents to claim—you would have been able to use A if:. And starting with tax year , is the only form you can use unless you qualify for the seniors form, SR.
This is the most complex of the forms for individual tax filers—it was simplified, starting in —but it also gives you the most options for claiming deductions and credits. You should file Form if:. As a rule of thumb, the longer the tax form, the more tax breaks, and credits will be available.
Filing Form EZ or A instead of Form was often faster and with fewer recordkeeping requirements, but you may miss out on money-saving tax credits and deductions.
As of , the EZ and A versions of form have been discontinued. Internal Revenue Service. Individual Income Tax Return. Accessed Oct. Income Tax. Health Insurance.
Personal Finance. Finances With Children. Social Security. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Investopedia. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page.
These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Form has replaced Form EZ since tax year , but if you haven't filed a return using Form EZ for tax years and earlier, you may still access past versions of the form on the IRS website or through TurboTax's tax preparation software.
Form has separate sections where you report your income, tax deductions, and some tax credits to determine your tax bill and whether you owe money or can expect to receive a refund. Depending on the types of income you report and the tax deductions or tax credits you claim, you may need to attach other forms or schedules. Before it was discontinued, Form EZ allowed you to claim a handful of credits and deductions on your tax return.
For example, if you needed to file a simple return, but you were also claiming the standard deduction and the earned income tax credit EITC , you could use Form EZ. Form asks you to include information about dependents, while EZ didn't allow you to claim any. Form resembles Form EZ by allowing you to claim income from:. Form has many more income categories for items such as Social Security benefits and alimony, along with the ability to claim more deductions.
Forms and SR resemble the EZ form, which originally aimed to simplify the tax return preparation process if you faced a straightforward tax situation and met certain conditions.
Now, with Forms and SR as options, the choice is still simple for most taxpayers. The regular form includes more income categories, deductions, and credits, while the SR form is only available to you if you are 65 or older. If you meet the age criteria, Form SR: U.
Tax Return for Seniors is the same as the current Form , but with a larger font and the standard deduction table printed on the form. Form SR also provides more space to fill in your information if you fill out the form by hand. While this form is no longer in use, the below information is accurate for each section in tax years prior to As with all tax forms, the top of Form EZ required you to provide your personal information such as:.
Here, you listed tax payments you had already made through employer withholding or estimated tax payments. If you had federal tax withheld from your paycheck, your employer would issue you a Form W-2 reporting the total amount withheld. If you were eligible for the EITC, you could claim it in this section.
However, these were the only two tax credits you could claim when filing Form EZ. You then added up all of your payments and credits before calculating the tax on your taxable income. You could use the tax tables in the instructions to find the amount of tax you owed for your filing status and taxable income. If your total tax payments and credits exceeded the calculated tax on your income, then you were entitled to a refund for overpayment. If you calculated a refund, you could enter your bank information and have it deposited directly to your account.
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