What IRS form do I use?

Question

I was wondering what type of form do i use to file my taxes if I am a college student that had like 2 jobs, well three but i never really recieved a check for that job. Do I use the 1040 EZ like I did in high school or do I have to move on to the 1040?

Answer 1

Bostonianinmo has it pretty nailed.

I would add that so long as you receive W-2's, it's easy. If you get a 1099 for the one job, you can just let it go, but you may want to consider a complaint against that employer. It is likely you are being cheated by the employer pretending you were not legally an employee and making you pay both halves of the social security taxes. I might add they almost certainly cheated you with unemployment and workers' comp then too. That all is, of course, if they 1099 you.

But if you meant that you never actually got paid by them, then they don't matter, this year. If you ever do receive the wages, they matter the year you receive them, not this year.

With the exception of complications like that, the 1040EZ vs. 1040A or 1040 question is really more about ease of filing vs. do you have any deductions you think could noticeably reduce your tax. One year, you might want to fill out all three or at least the 1040 and compare for which gets the most back (or owes the least...) and was it worth the effort?

For instance, this year the sales tax deduction will apply again. Nobody thinks much of it, but it has an interesting aspect if you bought something with a big sales tax on it like a car. Not only do you get the entire deduction anyone else in your state would get, but you also get to add in the entire sales tax you paid. So a deduction of, say, $250 might jump up to $1,250 when your car's sales tax is added in. That could seriously affect your refund any year you buy a car in, assuming the deduction is made permanent.

Easy is nice, more money back is nicer!

Answer 2

In most cases if your wages were limited to W2 wages only, either 1040EZ or 1040A would be appropriate.

If you were paid cash for a job without any taxes being taken out you should receive a Form 1099 for that income. Depending upon the amount ($400 or more) you may have to pay Self Empolyment tax on that. In that case, you'll have to file Form 1040.

Answer 3

It really depends on how much income you made. I forget the exact dollar amount, but its something like under $36,000 or so (it might have been scaled for inflation since I last used it), then you should go ahead and use the EZ. UNLESS you have a whole bunch of tax credits or deductions you want to use, which come up to more than the standard deduction. But my guess is that you are likely not paying for a mortgage, so its probably unlikely. My guess is that you are best served using the EZ.

Answer 4

To report income from the job that you were paid cash for, you will need a Schedule C and use Form 1040.