Comment: Eliminate Duplicate Forms - Eliminate Forms 1040A and 1040EZ and save the government a ton of money in extra printing. All the separate instructions for 1040A and 1040EZ would be eliminated. All the confusion about line numbers being different on different forms would be eliminated. Have just the one form - Form 1040. We would all be on the same page - literally. Take many of the lines on Form 1040 that are rarely used and make them write-ins in the appropriate section. For example, many of the lines in the adjustments to gross income and credits are rarely used, such as Educator Expenses. Take them out and have an open line for write-ins for cases where these rare items apply. If more than one type of item applies, a detailed statement could be attached to the return. You could assign a code to each type of item that is not shown on the form. California already does this with credits on its income tax return - Form 540. For example, if Educator Expenses were Code 54, the taxpayer would enter 54 and the amount. Instead of starting with the current Form 1040 and eliminating lines, you could take Form 1040A as the starting point and modify it to add the necessary lines for the write-ins. Submitted by Howard Gordon Certified Public Account with 30 years of tax preparation experience |