The Treasury Department has unveiled the 2019 IRS Form 1040 – the form many Americans use to file their taxes – and there is a peculiar twist to the new version: it’s the size of a postcard.
It is the fulfillment of a promise to simplify the U.S. tax code for the majority of Americans.
“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,” said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. “The new, postcard-size Form 1040 is designed to simplify and expedite filing tax returns, providing much-needed relief to hardworking taxpayers.”
The new 1040 will replace the current Form 1040, as well as the Form 1040A and the Form 1040EZ. The streamlined form will make it so that all 150 million taxpayers can use the same form when filing their taxes, according to the Department, consolidating three versions of the 1040 into one form.
The new form will be put into use next tax season.
The update is part of the tax cuts passed by Congress and signed into law in December by President Donald Trump. Last week marked the six-month anniversary of the enactment of the cuts, and was marked by events at the White House.
“The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act slashed income taxes all across the board. We nearly doubled the standard deduction and did double the child tax credit,” President Trump said during an event at the White House commemorating the cuts. He was joined by small business owners who have benefited from the cuts.
“We cut taxes for businesses of all sizes to make this the best place on Earth to start a business, to invest. We have billions and billions of dollars of additional revenue coming in. We lowered the corporate tax rate so the American worker finally has a level playing field.”
“Six months after our tax cuts, more than 6 million workers have received bonuses, pay raises, and retirement account contributions,” the President added.
In addition to cutting individual tax rates, streamlining the filing process, and doubling the standard deduction and child tax credit, the cuts also reduced corporate tax rates almost by half, cutting them from 35% to 21%. Administration officials credit that fact for the economy’s current rapid growth.
“A lot of our critics said you could never beat two percent [economic growth]. We’re now beating three percent, and we’re on an upswing,” Larry Kudlow, President Trump’s National Economic Council Director, told Fox Business last week.
“As we said all along, the President’s economic agenda was focused on tax cuts, regulatory relief, and trade, and we’re really seeing now the impacts of tax cuts and regulatory relief kick in,” Mnuchin added.
“We’re expecting a very big quarter, and let me give the disclaimer, I have no advanced notice as to what it is. The Atlanta Fed is projecting 4.7 [percent]. Whether we hit that or not, this is an enormous quarter, and we’re beginning to see the impact of the tax cuts on bigger growth, a healthy economy, and hardworking taxpayers getting money back.”
Photo by U.S. Treasury Department