The Trump administration unveiled new IRS Form 1040s Friday, saying they were “postcard-sized” to reflect the tax overhaul’s simplification of the tax code.
The new two-page 1040 will replace the old one, as well as the old 1040A and the 1040EZ. The Treasury said all 150 million taxpayers will use the new form.
“As part of the historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, this Administration committed to making taxes simple and fair for American families. We are delivering on this promise,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement. “The new, postcard-size Form 1040 is designed to simplify and expedite filing tax returns, providing much-needed relief to hardworking taxpayers.”
While the form is smaller in size, filers will need to calculate and enter supplemental information to fill out its boxes.
“The administration’s new tax form is a smokescreen designed to conceal paperwork, additional calculations, and Trump’s broken promise to simplify the tax code,” said Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee. “It won’t take long for America to realize this postcard isn’t simple — it’s simply complicated.”
The biggest simplification included in the tax law is a near-doubling of the standard deduction. The larger standard deduction means fewer families will have to itemize specific deductions.
However, the overhaul also introduced new complications into the tax code, such as a complex tax break for businesses that are not organized as C corporations but rather send their earnings straight through to owners’ tax returns.
The Treasury said the postcard-style tax form is preliminary and will be finalized over the summer.
