When Must You Use Form 1040?(p13)

Check Where To Report Certain Items From 2008 Forms W-2, 1098, and 1099 beginning on page 12 to see if you must use Form 1040. You must also use Form 1040 if any of the following apply.

1. You received any of the following types of income:
   1. Income from self-employment (business or farm income).
   2. Certain tips you did not report to your employer. See the instructions for Form 1040A, line 7, on page 23.
   3. Income received as a partner in a partnership, shareholder in an S corporation, or a beneficiary of an estate or trust.
   4. Dividends on insurance policies if they exceed the total of all net premiums you paid for the contract.
2. You received or paid interest on securities transferred between interest payment dates.
3. You can exclude any of the following types of income:
   1. Foreign earned income you received as a U.S. citizen or resident alien.
   2. Certain income received from sources in Puerto Rico if you were a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico.
   3. Certain income received from sources in American Samoa if you were a bona fide resident of American Samoa for all of 2008.
4. You have an alternative minimum tax adjustment on stock you acquired from the exercise of an incentive stock option (see Pub. 525).
5. You had a financial account in a foreign country, such as a bank account or securities account. Exception. If the combined value of the accounts was $10,000 or less during all of 2008 or if the accounts were with a U.S. military banking facility operated by a U.S. financial institution, you may file Form 1040A.
6. You received a distribution from a foreign trust.
7. You owe the excise tax on insider stock compensation from an expatriated corporation.
8. You are reporting original issue discount (OID) in an amount more or less than the amount shown on Form 1099-OID.
9. You owe household employment taxes. See Schedule H (Form 1040) and its instructions to find out if you owe these taxes.
10. You are eligible for the health coverage tax credit. See Form 8885 for details.
11. You are claiming the adoption credit or received employer-provided adoption benefits. See Form 8839 for details.
12. You are an employee and your employer did not withhold social security and Medicare tax. See Form 8919 for details.
13. You had a qualified health savings account funding distribution from your IRA.
14. You are a debtor in a bankruptcy case filed after October 16, 2005.
15. You have a net disaster loss attributable to a federally declared disaster. See Form 4684 for details. You must file Form 1040 even if you are claiming the standard deduction.
16. You are eligible for the first-time homebuyer credit. See Form 5405 for details.