Fill out Form 1040 online

Who uses Form 1040

• U.S. citizens and resident aliens who must file a federal income tax return for 2025
• People who do not have to file but want a refund of federal income tax that was withheld
• People claiming refundable credits, such as the earned income credit or the additional child tax credit
• Married couples filing one joint return
• A spouse or personal representative filing a 2025 return for a taxpayer who died before filing it

Before you start

• Social security numbers for you, your spouse and each dependent, with names as shown on the social security cards (or ITINs, if you use them)
• Forms W-2 from each employer, and any Forms W-2G, 1099-R or other 1099s you received
• Records of other income, such as interest, dividends, retirement payments, social security benefits and sales of assets
• Any schedules or forms your return needs, such as Schedules 1, 1-A, 2 and 3, Schedule A or Schedule 8812
• Records of 2025 estimated tax payments and any 2024 overpayment applied to 2025
• Your bank routing and account numbers for a direct deposit refund, and your Identity Protection PIN if the IRS sent you one

How to fill out Form 1040

1. 1

   Top of page 1: name, address and SSN

   Fill in the tax year dates only if you use a fiscal year instead of the calendar year. If you are filing for a taxpayer who died, check the Deceased box and enter the date of death. Enter your name and social security number, and your spouse's if you file jointly. Enter your home address; use the foreign address spaces if you live abroad. Check the box if your main home (and your spouse's, on a joint return) was in the U.S. for more than half of 2025. Check the Presidential Election Campaign boxes only if you want to. Checking them does not change your tax or refund.

2. 2

   Filing Status and Digital Assets

   Check one filing status box: Single, Married filing jointly, Married filing separately, Head of household or Qualifying surviving spouse. If you file separately, enter your spouse's SSN in the spouse's SSN box at the top and their full name in the space below the boxes. If you checked Head of household or Qualifying surviving spouse and the qualifying person is a child who is not your dependent, enter the child's name. Then answer the Digital Assets question by checking Yes or No.

3. 3

   Dependents

   List up to four dependents in the columns. For each one, rows (1) to (4) ask for first name, last name, SSN and relationship. Rows (5) to (7) ask whether they lived with you more than half of 2025 and in the U.S., whether they were a full-time student or permanently and totally disabled, and which credit applies: the child tax credit or the credit for other dependents. If you have more than four dependents, check the box and attach a statement with the same details.

4. 4

   Income: lines 1a to 11a

   Line 1a is the total from box 1 of your Forms W-2. Lines 1b to 1h cover other wages and earned income not on line 1a, such as household employee wages and unreported tip income, and line 1z adds lines 1a through 1h. Lines 2 to 7a cover interest, dividends, IRA distributions, pensions and annuities, social security benefits and capital gains or losses. Line 8 comes from Schedule 1, line 10. Line 9 is your total income, line 10 your adjustments from Schedule 1, line 26, and line 11a your adjusted gross income. Attach your Forms W-2 to page 1.

5. 5

   Tax and Credits: lines 11b to 24

   On page 2, line 11b repeats your adjusted gross income. Lines 12a to 12d are checkboxes, for example if someone can claim you as a dependent, or if you or your spouse were born before January 2, 1961 or are blind. Line 12e is your standard deduction or itemized deductions from Schedule A, line 13a is the qualified business income deduction, and line 13b comes from Schedule 1-A, line 38. Line 15 is your taxable income and line 16 your tax. Lines 17 to 23 bring in amounts from Schedules 2, 3 and 8812, and line 24 is your total tax.

6. 6

   Payments, Refund and Amount You Owe: lines 25a to 38

   Lines 25a to 25c are federal income tax withheld on Forms W-2, 1099 and other forms, and line 25d adds them. Line 26 is your 2025 estimated tax payments plus any amount applied from your 2024 return. Lines 27a to 31 are refundable credits, such as the earned income credit and the additional child tax credit, and line 33 is your total payments. If you overpaid, line 34 shows the overpayment, line 35a is the amount to refund, lines 35b to 35d are your bank details for direct deposit, and line 36 is any amount to apply to your 2026 estimated tax. If you owe, enter it on line 37. Line 38 is the estimated tax penalty.

7. 7

   Third Party Designee and Sign Here

   Check Yes in Third Party Designee if you want to let someone discuss this return with the IRS, and enter their name, phone number and a five-digit PIN they choose. Sign and date the return and enter your occupation. On a joint return your spouse signs too. Enter your six-digit Identity Protection PIN if the IRS sent you one. Phone and email are optional. A paid preparer completes the Paid Preparer Use Only section.

After you fill it out

A Form 1040 filed on paper is mailed to the IRS. The mailing address depends on where you live and whether you are enclosing a payment, so check the Where to file page on IRS.gov before you mail it. Attach your Forms W-2, and Forms W-2G and 1099-R if tax was withheld, and place any schedules and forms behind Form 1040 in order of their Attachment Sequence Number. If you owe tax, see the IRS payments page for ways to pay, and keep a copy of the return for your records.

Signing: The instructions say you must handwrite your signature on a Form 1040 filed on paper; digital, electronic or typed signatures are not valid. Print the completed form and sign and date it in ink, and on a joint return both spouses must sign.

Questions about Form 1040

Official information

• About Form 1040 (IRS)
• Instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR
• Where to file Form 1040
• Pay your federal taxes

Page text last reviewed November 7, 2026.

Related forms

• Form 1040-SRU.S. Income Tax Return for Seniors
• Schedule 1Additional Income and Adjustments to Income
• Schedule AItemized Deductions
• Schedule 8812Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents
• Form 1040-XAmended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return