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https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/f1040--dft.pdf
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/f1040s--dft.pdf

Congress mandated that the IRS specifically develop a new 1040-SR for age-advanced (65+) taxpayers, for the IRS to implement for 2019. Today the IRS posted the first drafts of the 1040 and the 1040-SR today.

So what's the difference between the two forms that the IRS needed to do a new form? Larger type. No joke.


(Also, in good news, they made the "postcard" bigger and the form flow seems better. Maybe for 2020 we'll have a 2 full 8.5 x 11 inch pages to file taxes on)

Totals and subtotals are back!!! That's gonna mess up some people....lol. Last year's was created by a non-math 5th grader.

Foreign Postal Code is back! Goodbye to Schedule 6?

Box for indicating whether you have full year health coverage has been eliminated apparently because of dropping the penalty . However we are still going to have to deal with the advance subsidy payments .

On the 1040S there is a huge box at the bottom of the front page to mark how many boxes were checked on the Age and Blindness box. Must be a separate schedule because I don't actually see such a box on this form. And the print is bigger. Big Whoop!

It seems like the only differences are the larger print and the additional guidance in determining the standard deduction. It seems to me they could have just made this the new format of the 1040 instead of making it an additional form. Taxpayers under age 65 cannot use the new form. What is the purpose of that rule? It should be allowed for anyone who wants to use it, particularly vision impaired taxpayers of any age.

No I don't think there is a separate schedule . This appears to be designed so you can easily summarize the additional standard deduction amounts for over 65 and blindness that is part of the Standard Deduction Chart . This should simplify the filing process for seniors who prepare paper return .

lucyko wrote:No I don't think there is a separate schedule . This appears to be designed so you can easily summarize the additional standard deduction amounts for over 65 and blindness that is part of the Standard Deduction Chart . This should simplify the filing process for seniors who prepare paper return .

Yes, those above 65 and/or blind who file the standard 1040 will have that information in the form instructions rather than at the bottom of the page.

CrowCPA wrote:Taxpayers under age 65 cannot use the new form. What is the purpose of that rule? It should be allowed for anyone who wants to use it, particularly vision impaired taxpayers of any age.

Congress passed a bill which mandated the creation of Form 1040-SR for seniors; they did not mandate the creation of a form for vision impaired taxpayers. Maybe the IRS is being passive-aggressive against the statute?

missingdonut wrote:Congress passed a bill which mandated the creation of Form 1040-SR for seniors; they did not mandate the creation of a form for vision impaired taxpayers. Maybe the IRS is being passive-aggressive against the statute?

Must be that new Trump appointee Rettig, huh? Seriously, what an absurd accusation to make. The IRS has plenty of documents already with large print, braille, and other accessible features.

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/accessib ... x-products

makbo wrote:

missingdonut wrote:Congress passed a bill which mandated the creation of Form 1040-SR for seniors; they did not mandate the creation of a form for vision impaired taxpayers. Maybe the IRS is being passive-aggressive against the statute?

Must be that new Trump appointee Rettig, huh? Seriously, what an absurd accusation to make. The IRS has plenty of documents already with large print, braille, and other accessible features.

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/accessib ... x-products

I don't understand why you would think my comment had anything to do specifically with the new Commissioner.

Congress specifically required the creation of this form for seniors; the form number is even in the statute. The statute says that it's supposed to be like the 1040-EZ but for the age-advanced and it must also be able to report interest and dividends, retirement distributions, social security, and capital gains. At that point you're pretty much at the "postcard", and the 1040-EZ is toast these days, but the IRS is still required to create a 1040-SR.

So they republish the 1040 with larger print. That's the part that seems passive-aggressive, or at the very least snarky.

actionbsns wrote:On the 1040S there is a huge box at the bottom of the front page to mark how many boxes were checked on the Age and Blindness box. Must be a separate schedule because I don't actually see such a box on this form. And the print is bigger. Big Whoop!

The boxes are located about one third of the way down the page between the address section and the dependents section.

The SR thingy is what happens when you have an electorate that equates this to "tax reform". We're doomed.

missingdonut wrote:So they republish the 1040 with larger print. That's the part that seems passive-aggressive, or at the very least snarky.

Snarky? OK, I get it, you're just joking. Kind of like calling the FBI treasonous.