When You Should Use Form 1040A

A common reason to file Form 1040A is to claim the head of household filing status, which usually results in a lower tax than filing with a status of single. You must meet ALL the following conditions:

• Taxable income must be less than $100,000
• In addition to the income available for a 1040EZ filer, those using form 1040A may also have income from the following sources: IRA distributions, pensions and annuities, interest, ordinary dividends, capital gain distributions (but not unrecaptured section 1250 gain, section 1202 gain, or collectibles gain), taxable social security and railroad retirement benefits
• Adjustments to income cannot be for anything other than the following items:
• IRA deduction
• Student loan interest deduction
• Educator expenses
• Tuition and fees deduction
• You cannot itemize deductions
• Taxes can only come from the following items:
• Tax Table
• Alternative minimum tax
• Recapture of an education credit
• Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Investment Income of More Than $2,000
•  Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet
• You can only claim the following tax credits:
• The credit for child and dependent care expenses
• The credit for the elderly or the disabled
• The child tax credit
• The additional child tax credit
• The education credits
• The retirement savings contributions credit
• The earned income credit
• You cannot have an alternative minimum tax adjustment on stock acquired from the exercise of an incentive stock option

The limitations of Form 1040A include the lack of ability to itemize deductions or report business income.

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