1040 Mailing/Efiling Instructions
Before continuing with the process of filing your US Income Tax Return by the traditional means of mailing it in, it is important to get all of your documents in order. This means digging out all the receipts, tax credits W-2s and worksheets. Next you will need the actual paperwork. A tax packet can be picked up at your local post office or it can be ordered from the IRS' website. This will provide you with all the necessary forms and the official envelope needed to mail it to the IRS. Once you have all that ready to go, you can start in on the form and its addendums. The form will need to be completed one line at a time.
If for whatever reason, your envelope is in need of addressing, residents of the fifty states, need to print 'Department of the Treasury' on the first address line, 'Internal Revenue Service Center' on the second address line and the third line should be one of the following city / state / zip code options based on state of residency:
- Atlanta, GA 39901-0002 - Residents of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia
- Andover, MA 05501-0002 - Residents of D.C., Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont
- Kansas City, MO 64999-0002 - Residents of Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia
- Austin, TX 73301-0002 - Residents of Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas
- Fresno, CA 93888-0002 - Residents of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Filing online with the IRS can be done through their e-file program. As with the traditional filing process, it is important to get all your documents in order before proceeding. As with the electronic filing of the Form 1040 itself, not having to stop, look something up, or find something that is missing saves time. You will need your W-2s, 1099s, bank account numbers, receipts etc. Unlike the traditional mail-in means of filing, you will need your last year's Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) or your prior year's self-selected PIN for a signature.
Next you will need to determine what way you will wish to distribute the finished forms: through a Tax Professional, via your Personal Computer or through the Free File program. If a tax preparer is to be used, make sure they are an Electronic Return Originator (ERO), meaning they are accredited to transmit tax return information to the IRS. If you wish to use a PC, meaning you purchased software to help prepare your taxes (either from a retailer or off the internet), then you will need to answer the simple questions within the program, and the software will do the rest for you. Then the software will prompt the e-file process. Have your bank account information on hand.