All returns are forms, but not all forms are tax returns. A return is classified either as a
Tax return, which is a formal declaration of income, deductions, credit, and liability for a specific type of tax (income, employment, excise) by a specific type of entity (individual, partnership, corporation, estate, trust).
Information return, a document that reports certain financial transactions or activities. It does not calculate taxes owed but provides the IRS and taxpayer with details that may affect someone else's tax return. Hint: S corporation and partnership returns are technically information returns since they are pass-through entities and normally do not pay income taxes.
A tax return consists of the return form itself, its schedules, forms, and supporting statements. Worksheets are for the taxpayer and preparer to keep. They are not filed with the tax return. Here is a list of 20 tax forms (including bolded tax return forms and underlined information returns) that you are likely to see in the wild. I have included Hawaii state equivalent forms where available:
Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
A two-page summary of a natural person’s income, deductions, taxes, credits, payments, and balance covering one tax year.
Hawaii Form N-11, Individual Income Tax Return (Resident Form)
Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement
An informational return for employees, showing their wages, benefits, and various taxes withheld from their paychecks. Due January 31st.
Hawaii Form HW-2, Statement of Hawaii Income Tax Withheld and Wages Paid
Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Completed by an employee so that their employer knows how much federal income tax to withhold from wages. Also used to request a change in withholding amounts. Technically considered a worksheet and not submitted to the IRS.
Hawaii Form HW-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance and Status Certificate
Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
Businesses who need to file informational returns (such as Form 1099s) use this form to get the information they need. If someone refuses to give their Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), then the payors need to backup withhold 24% of the amount paid and deposit it with the IRS.
Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation
Used to report certain business payments of $600 and more to most non-corporate vendors called “independent contractors.” Due January 31st.
Form 1099-INT, Interest Income
Banks will give you this if they pay you $10 or more in interest income. Non-bank businesses who pay interest of $600 or more “in the course of their trade or business” also need to file this.
Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement
Lenders who receive $600 or more in interest payments from loans that are secured by a mortgage issue this form to borrowers.
Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income
Used by multi-member LLCs (default tax classification), general partnerships, limited partnerships, LLPs, LLLPs, and spousal businesses that do not qualify for, or elect, Qualified Joint Venture (QJV) treatment. Partnerships are pass-through entities, and their partners are generally considered self-employed individuals, subject to self-employment tax.
Hawaii Form N-20, Partnership Return of Income
Form 1120-S, U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation
Corporations and LLCs that elect to be treated under the tax rules of Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code by filing a written election to the IRS. This is a pass-through entity with more eligibility requirements than a C corporation. Avoids the issue of double taxation seen in C corporations.
Hawaii Form N-35, S Corporation Income Tax Return
Form 941, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return
This is the primary federal payroll tax return filed by employers on a quarterly basis. It adds up all the wages paid, federal income tax withheld, FICA tax withheld and paid for all of the business’s employees.
Hawaii Form HW-14, Withholding Tax Return
Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts
When a taxpayer dies, an estate is created. If property you used to own makes money, then your estate needs to pay income taxes… even after you die! Same thing with a trust.
Hawaii Form N-40, Fiduciary Income Tax Return
Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
Exactly what it sounds like. This is the application form for individuals to get a six-month extension to file their federal income tax return.
Hawaii has no equivalent. If you want a state filing extension, you need to pay all your income tax for the tax year by April 20th using Form N-200V.
Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals
This form is used as an voucher for individuals to pay their estimated tax for their quarterly installment requirements, else they’ll pay an underpayment of estimated tax penalty.
Hawaii Form N-200V, Individual Income Tax Payment Voucher
Form 1040-V, Payment Voucher for Individuals
Used by individual taxpayers to pay a balance of tax due to the IRS by mail using a check or money order.
Hawaii Form N-200V, Individual Income Tax Payment Voucher
Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets
Used to report sales of capital assets like stocks and real estate. Totals flow to Schedule D (Form 1040). Make sure to keep track of your basis in each asset.
Hawaii Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses
Form 4797, Sales of Business Property
Used to report sales of noncapital assets and property used in a trade or business, as well as depreciation recapture
Hawaii Schedule D-1, Sales of Business Property
Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization
Used to take depreciation deductions.
Hawaii Form N-312, Capital Goods Excise Tax Credit, is similar
Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits
Where you claim solar and wind energy credits.
Hawaii Form N-342, Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit
Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions
If you donate noncash stuff to qualified charitable organizations, this form is used to itemize those donated items.
No Hawaii state equivalent form; reported directly on tax return
Form 8879, IRS e-file Signature Authorization
Gives permission to your Electronic Return Originator (usually your preparer) to enter your PIN on your tax return, which is the legal equivalent of your signature. Must be completed by taxpayer before your tax return is e-filed.
Hawaii follows federal guidelines for electronically submitting state tax return.
20 Most Common IRS Schedules
A tax schedule is an intermediate attachment, always associated with a specific type of tax return. Generally speaking, amounts on tax forms flow to tax schedules, which then flow to tax returns. One type of schedule is an information return (Schedule K-1).
Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Additional Income and Adjustments to Income
used to report additional income (such as business, rental, or unemployment income) and adjustments to total income, aka “above-the-line deductions” (like student loan interest or traditional IRA contributions).
Schedule 2 (Form 1040), Additional Taxes
used to report additional taxes, such as the alternative minimum tax (AMT), self-employment tax, or repayment of excess advance premium tax credits.
Schedule 3 (Form 1040), Additional Credits and Payments
used to report nonrefundable and refundable tax credits, such as the foreign tax credit, education credits, or net premium tax credit, as well as other payments like excess Social Security withholding.
Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions
used to itemize deductions, such as medical expenses, state and local taxes, mortgage interest, and charitable contributions, instead of taking the standard deduction.
Schedule B (Form 1040), Interest and Ordinary Dividends
used to report income from taxable interest and ordinary dividends if either exceed $1,500. Also used to disclose foreign financial interests.
Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business
used by sole proprietors and owners of disregarded single-member LLCs to report self-employment income and deductions from their business activities
Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains or Losses
used to report capital gains and losses from the sale or exchange of capital assets, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, or other investments, and to calculate the resulting tax or loss carryover.
Schedule E (Form 1040), Supplemental Income or Loss
on page 1, used to report profit and loss from renting real estate; on page 2, used to report income from pass-through entities such distributions from partnerships, trusts, estates, and S corporations.
Schedule F (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Farming
same as Schedule C (Form 1040) but for self-employed farming activities… different tax rules for farmers.
Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes
used if you have butlers, maids, nannies, etc. that you need to pay employment taxes for.
Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-Employment Tax
This is where the 15.3% dreaded Self-Employment Contribution Act (SECA) tax is calculated on self-employment earnings from business and farming.
Schedule R (Form 1040), Credit for the Elderly or Disabled
used to claim a small tax credit for taxpayers aged 65 or older, those who are permanently and totally disabled, and who are low income
Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents
This is where the Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, or Other Dependent Credit is calculated.
Schedule EIC (Form 1040), Earned Income Credit
When you claim the Earned Income Credit (EIC), you’ll use this form to tell the IRS all about your qualifying children.
Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), Partner’s Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc.
Think of this form as like a W-2 or 1099, except it’s for partnerships to report each partner’s share of income/loss and other separately stated items. This is the conduit through which income flows through a partnership to a person’s tax return. Schedules K-1 are attachments to information returns.
Schedule K-1 (Form 1120-S), Shareholder’s Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc.
Same thing as above, except it’s used by an S corporation to report tax information to its shareholders.
Schedule K-1 (Form 1041), Beneficiary’s Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc.
Same thing as above, except it’s used by to report income for trust fund kids or used by estates to report inheritances to heirs. In this case, people who made it into grandma’s will or benefit from good multigenerational financial planning are called beneficiaries.
This is the form that people work their entire life to be able to give to their children and grandchildren. Only those who are in some of the most privileged stations in society, receive this form at tax time.
Schedule L (Form 1120-S), Balance Sheet per Books
You’ll see this schedule towards the back of certain business tax returns that ask the entities to report the balance sheet at the beginning of the tax year and at the end of the tax year. Generally, this schedule is required to be filled out if the entity has $250,000 or more in gross receipts or total assets at the end of the tax year.
Notice how the different schedules are distinguished by writing in parentheses the form it is associated with, in this example, Form 1120-S.
Schedule B (Form 706), Stocks and Bonds
This is one of the schedules on Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, which is used by estates that are worth more than the filing threshold of $13,610,000 (2024) at the decedent’s death. The current version of the form which was last revised in August 2019 has 29 pages with multiple schedules going all the way up to the letter “U.” That doesn’t include all the attached statements, valuation assessments, and legal positions. Though the exact count was never publicly disclosed, Michael Jackson’s estate tax return was several thousand pages long.
Schedule B (Form 706) asks for details of the stocks and bonds owned by the estate and ends with the total fair market value of those assets at the time of death or the alternative valuation date, which is 6 months after death. Interestingly, the decedent’s basis in the assets is not required to be reported since they receive a stepped-up basis at the moment of death or on the alternate valuation date.
Schedule M-1 (Form 1120-S), Reconciliation of Income (Loss) per Books With Income Per Return
This schedule is found at the back of certain business returns, after Schedule L. The purpose of it is to show the IRS the difference between the income on the profit & loss (P&L) statement (or income statement) versus the income that is calculated on the tax return. The difference is caused by the tax treatment of certain income and deductions. For example, meals are only 50% deductible. Entertainment costs and government penalties are nondeductible. Businesses may have different methods of depreciation than the IRS’s standardized ones. Some deductions, such as charitable contributions or interest have deduction limitations. So, this might have a business with a $500 expense on its P&L, but it can only write off $250 of that expense on its tax return.
When you get to the large publicly traded companies, you’ll see Schedule M-3 (Form 1120), Net Income (Loss) Reconciliation for Corporations With Total Assets of $10 Million or More, which is a much more detailed version of Schedule M-1. It serves to reconcile its SEC Form 10-K, or certified audited non-tax-basis income statement, with its corporate tax return.