Form 1040
Also called: 1040, US individual tax return, tax return
Form 1040 is the main US individual income tax return, the two pages onto which every schedule eventually flows. Its structure follows the logic of the tax code: income at the top, adjustments to reach AGI, deductions to reach taxable income, then tax, credits and payments. Understanding that flow is what makes an otherwise opaque document readable, since every planning move targets one specific line of it.