Remember those postcard-sized tax returns? They’re here. Sort of. They’re not exactly postcard-sized, but the new form 1040 is smaller than before.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made the new form 1040 and the accompanying six new schedules for the 2018 tax year available on the IRS website. The form may look easier, but the instructions didn’t get any shorter. The instructions for the form 1040 for 2018 weigh in at 117 pages. You can check them out (downloads as a pdf) here.
One change worth noting (and previously called out in the drafts): The new form 1040 is intended to replace not only the current form 1040 but also forms 1040A and 1040EZ. The instructions state: For 2018, you will no longer use Form 1040A or Form 1040EZ as you may have in the past. Instead, you will use the redesigned Form 1040, which now has six new numbered schedules in addition to the existing lettered schedules like Schedules A, B, C, D, E and F.
The plan is for taxpayers to only file the base form 1040 plus any new schedules that apply to their own facts and circumstances.