List Of Common Income Tax Form Errors 1040EZ, 1040A, 1040

Each year the IRS releases a list of common income tax return errors in the hope that someone will read and correct them prior to mailing in their printable 1040EZ, 1040A, or 1040 income tax forms. Before you mail in your income tax forms this year, review the list of these common income tax form errors. We added a few of our own in there based on our income tax preparation experience.

Avoid these common income tax form errors:

• Illegible name, social security number, and address.
• Checked more than one filing status.
• Forgot to check the exemptions boxes for yourself and spouse.
• Listed a dependent without the required social security number.
• Entered income on the wrong lines.
• Deductions and credits incorrectly calculated, or entered on the wrong lines.
• Failed to attach the necessary supporting forms, schedules, or documentation for deductions and credits.
• Forgot to place brackets (1,234.00) around negative amounts.
• Incorrectly calculated the standard deduction when age 65 or older or blind.
• Used the wrong column in the tax tables to figure the tax amount due.
• Forgot to sign and date the income tax forms.
• Did not attach copy of all Form W-2 received from your employers.
• Did not attach any Form 1099 that shows federal tax withholding.
• Did not organize income tax forms by sequence number as shown in the upper right-hand corner of each form.
• Mailed income tax forms to the wrong mailing address.
• Mailed income tax forms with incorrect postage amount.
• Forgot to include a check or money order made payable to the "United States Treasury".
• Forgot to write your social security number, tax form, and tax year on your check or money order.
• Incorrect routing and account numbers for refund by direct deposit request.
• Forgot to copy the signed return and all schedules for record keeping.
• Forgot to keep or request a postage paid receipt with a clearly visible date stamp.

Remember to review all of your printable income tax forms and even calculate them by hand with a calculator one last time before inserting the forms into a mailing envelope. Just because someone else prepares your income tax forms does not mean they wont make a mistake. Fixing these common income tax form errors on your form 1040EZ, 1040A, or 1040 will ensure they are processed as fast as possible by the IRS.

Reference: Topic 303.