What Is the Purpose of Tax Returns?
The United States employs a pay-as-you-go tax system whereby individuals and corporations are expected to pay their income tax as they earn income. At the end of the tax year, taxpayers are expected to submit a tax return, which outlines their tax liability, tax paid and tax due.
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Deadline
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For individual taxpayers, tax returns are due on April 15 of each year--unless it falls on a holiday and the deadline is on the next day other than a holiday or weekend. They can be filed electronically or by mail.
Purpose
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Tax returns are used to determine the amount of tax you paid versus the amount of tax you owed and thus decide whether you owe more tax or if you are owed a refund.
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Forms
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A number of forms can be used to file an income tax return. For individuals, these forms include the 1040, 1040A, 1040NR and 1040EZ while some of the forms designated for businesses are forms 1120 and 1165. In addition, many tax returns not only require a general form, but they also require accompanying schedules.
Income
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Taxpayers who earn income via wages should use their W-2 to determine the amount of income they earned during the tax year while self-employed persons should generally refer to their Form 1099s.
Exceptions
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Taxpayers who do not meet the filing requirements are not required to file a tax return. The filing requirements are determined by a taxpayer’s income and filing status. To determine if you meet the income threshold required to file a return, visit IRS.gov.
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