Do You Know All of the Tax Forms You Need to File?

While most taxpayers in the U.S. are familiar with Form 1040, this is just one of several forms that taxpayers may need to file by Tax Day (which is April 18, 2023). Individual and corporate taxpayers may need to file a variety of other forms as well, and failure to file any required form could lead to unwanted scrutiny from the IRS—along with interest and penalties.

10 Common Tax Forms (Besides IRS Form 1040)

So, do you know all of the tax forms you need to file—both for yourself and your business? Here are 10 examples of federal tax forms (among many others) that could be required:

1. Schedule A

Taxpayers who are planning to itemize their deductions instead of taking the standard deduction must use Schedule A to report their charitable contributions, medical costs, mortgage interest, state taxes, and other eligible expenses.

2. Schedule B

Taxpayers who receive taxable interest and dividends exceeding $1,500 must report these forms of income to the IRS using Schedule B.

3. Schedule C

Schedule C is used to report income and expenses from contract work—including freelance work and gigs. While independent contractors can deduct certain expenses, they must be careful to ensure that they are only deducting eligible expenses that they truly incurred for business purposes.

4. Schedule D

Schedule D is used to report investment gains and losses—including gains and losses from securities and cryptocurrency investments.

5. IRS Form 1098

Homeowners and students (or former students) must use IRS Form 1098 to ensure that they accurately report their mortgage interest and student loan interest payments on their federal returns.  

6. IRS Form 1099

IRS Form 1099  is used to report various types of non-employment income. There are several variations of IRS Form 1099, and taxpayers who earn non-employment income during the tax year must ensure that they have all of the 1099s they need to accurately prepare their returns.

7. IRS Form 8829

For U.S. taxpayers who operate home-based businesses, IRS Form 8829 is used to deduct eligible home-related expenses. This includes (but is not limited to) expenses related to a home office.

8. IRS 1040X

Taxpayers who discover past tax mistakes during the 2023 tax season should correct these mistakes promptly. In many (but not all) cases, this will involve using IRS Form 1040X to amend a prior year’s return.

9. IRS Form 8938

Taxpayers who own qualifying “foreign financial assets” must disclose these assets on IRS Form 8938. Along with the failure to report taxable income, failure to report foreign financial assets can lead to steep penalties.

10. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)

In addition to filing IRS Form 8938, taxpayers that own offshore accounts may also need to file an FBAR. Even if a taxpayer discloses offshore accounts on IRS Form 8938, failure to file an FBAR can still have serious consequences.

Contact Thorn Law Group in Virginia

Do you need to know more about federal tax compliance in 2023? If so, we encourage you to contact us for more information. To request a consultation with tax attorney Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group in Virginia, please call 703-752-3752, email ket@thornlawgroup.com or contact us confidentially online today.