What is the difference between short and long income tax form?

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Scott C	You use the short form if you aren't filing itemized deductions. You use the long form if you have itemized deductions. If you don't have mortgage interest, high medical bills, etc you probably won't itemize. You will want to itemize if your itemized deductions are larger than the "standard" deduction that you will take on the short form.

jseah114	1040EZ (the "shortest" form) - only for single filers and can only claim standard deduction 1040A (the "short" form) - any filing status, but can only claim standard deduction 1040 (the "long" form) - any filing status, but can claim either standard deduction or itemized deductions

mrs clean	The long form means just that: You must itemize all your allowable deduction, keeping in mind that your deductions must exceed the federal standard deduction permitted. The short form means that you accept the Federal Gov't standard deduction and your qualifying expense do not exceed that amount.

Karen	You can have idomized deductions on the long form ex. Home loan interest

Sherri M	Short one is the express one, not many deductions at all. Just what the IRS allows and has declared for you. The long form, you have many deductions to take and have back up receipts to prove it!

helpless and hurt	short form is basically plain and simple and you can only use short form if you were taxed under 1500.00.

cactusone	short forms do not allow itemizing of your assets. long forms ask all the ?'s and let you itemize...hope this helps

Rose	The difference between short and long form is one takes less time than the other one.

ridiculouslycurious	a long form is required if you wish to itemize your deductions (mortgage interest, excessive medical, donations, losses)beyond what the government allows. check with your accoutant to see if itemizing would be worthwhile for you.

swanjarvi	Short form is a summary: usually when you don't have too much to report and things are simple! Long form is when you have lots of claims and deductions, itemised!

PLC	You not itemize on the short form and you can on the long.

Iamstillpaying	The difference is on how much property or different types of income u have. Example if u r married and have a house u would most likely need the long form. if u r single have no ira or 401k income comming in short form.

Corvinus	About 30 pages!

Joy K	The short form is brief, fast and easier to complete if your income is under the limit and you don't have sufficient deductions to itemize. Otherwise you need to use the long form.

Jed	The long form is more agonizing.

lydlykarug	The long forms require a little bit more effort on the part of the person preparing it! Long forms utilize itemized deductions where the short form is just that..short and sweet, no in-depth itemizations, no need for receipts as proof for declaring said deductions etc.

rbarth	The IRS has different forms to be filed by the wage earner. Form 1040 EZ is the simplest, designed for those who have modest incomes and do not need to itemize deductions. Form 1040 is a more complex form for those who need to itemize deductions. the form 1040 may be accompanied by any of several supporting forms, form 1040 A for itemizing deductions or others for explaining different types of incomes such as form 1040 F for farm income etc

david42	The basic difference is the amount claimed for deductions from adjusted gross income. The short forms use the standard deduction and the long form allows the taxpayer to itemize or list separate deductions. The largest deduction for most is interest paid on a home. The IRS has been moving for years to eliminate deductions. There are in my opinion, to many powerful special interest groups that will stop any meaningful tax reform.

fred6636	use long if you itemise deductions or have a small business short if you dont

Rooster 1972	A short form is called the 1040A. This form is relatively easy. You have no deductions such as mortgage, or any other kind of income such as capital gains. This is a simple form where you take the standard deduction for your status. The 1040 is the form where you file because you have deductions such as mortgage, medical and other types of income. The form takes longer and the tax service people charge more for the 1040 than the 1040A or the 1040EZ.

Scott K	The long form used to be an IRS Form 1040 and the short form was the 1040A. Now there's a "shorter" form, the 1040EZ, which is for filers with a limited number of w2's and no other complications. The 1040A has been expanded for interest income, child care, and some other fairly straight forward items. The 1040 can be filed by anyone, but is required by all filers ineligible for either the 1040A, or the 1040EZ.

Terry Z	The short form is the 1040EZ form. It is just that-short. If you do the long form, you are itemizing your deductions. Generally, the long form is used by property owners.

lucky#8	Just a quick and short summary for both: The short form is just the standard of reporting your gross income, whatever dependents you have and gives your net and if too much you pay in or not enough then you get a refund. The long form has all your itemized deductions and medical of what will be deducted from your gross income and most likely you get a return.

the one.	the answer is simple. it's your mom.

Debbie C	Depends on your deductions.

T S	The short form is for someone who doesn't have a lot of deductions, mostly young or old who don't have a home or other things that can be taken off your taxes. The long form is for when you have a lot of deductions, home, work, business and a lot of medical bills paid by you, to name a few. It gives you the chance to add up all your deductions and get a percentage of them back.

padwinlearner	Please note that not all deductions are available through the 1040EZ or the 1040A. If you have student loans, for example, you might do better with a 1040. If you are comfortable with compute software, there are some very good programs out there that don't cost very much - some are available on-line (TurboTax is one). H&R Block has software that can be purchased on-line, and if you cannot complete the form without professional help, it can be pulled up at a local H&R Block office for them to complete for you.

LORD Z	In the long form you are able to itemize you deductions better and possibly save more money. However, you stand a better chance of being audited based on the number of pages you use to turn in your taxes.

420	One i slong and one is short.

penhead72	About half a bottle of Tums.

dixonkntz	Short form means you do not own much. Long form means you owe too much.