1040 vs 1040A

WHAT IS THE DIFFERANCE BETWEEN THE TWO??? I WILL BE FILING HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD, I'M DIVORCED PAYING CHILD SUPPORT FOR TWO AND HAVE THEM HALF THE YEAR..

The main reason I find that people go long form is because
they itemize (Sch. A)., which forces you to file a 1040. If you have
mortg. interest, property taxes, a substantial amount of medical bills
(these are just a few things of many that may go on a Sch.A), then you
may be able to go long form. You have a Standard Deduction for filing
Head Of Household of $6450.00. When you itemize (Sch.A), you want to go
over that amount. If you can't, then you would take your Standard Deduction.

It also depends on what type of income you have. If all you have is
W-2's, maybe a little interest from a checking or savings account, or
even unemployment, you would just file a 1040A. Do you have your
own business? Gambling winnings? Certain things will force you to file
long form (1040). Even if you only have W-2's from your job(s), you could
fill out either a 1040 or 1040A...the results would be the same. The
advantage of filing a 1040 would be to itemize, therefor lowering the
amount of your income even more that is being taxed.

Confusing? Yes, it can be. Feel free to ask any questions about what
I've just told you.

No,I do not have any mortgage or property taxes,yet.Just one w2 and one 1099r and no other source of income.So if i have no other itemized deduction greater than the standard 6,500 for head of household i can use the 1040 short form?
last year i had my company take out an extra $20 form each pay period which would be $40 a month,but only claimed myself, so they were taking a large amount out of my pay checks, but this year i change that so they would not take as much out of my pay checks and eliminated the $20. because i need the money at this time due to possible custody of my children soon and i will be purchasing a home this year also.is there any info i can give you to help as far as $ amounts?? thank you p.s. does Mi stand for michigan?

[ShyCat]

If you're paying child support, that must mean the children do not live with you more than 50% of the time. I do not believe you can file Head of Household. That would be your ex-spouse's filing status, not yours.

Let me ask another question....What is the distribution code on your 1099R?
(you'll find that in box 7 of the 1099R) That could make a difference
in which form you file also.
If you paid child support and had your children at least half the time,
you may be able to prove that you paid over half the cost of their care,
therefor making it possible for you to file Head of Household and claim
the children. Is there anything stated in your divorce decree about who
gets to claim the children? (just wanted to clear that up after the reply from
Shycat)
From what you told me, it sounds as if you can just file a 1040A....depending
on that distribution code on your 1099R. If it's an early distribution, you'll
have to pay a 10% penalty on that, as well as taxes on it. Did they withhold
any taxes on your 1099R?
p.s. Yes, MI does stand for Michigan. Is that where you are also?

My 1099R is not going to help me out much as it has a 1 in it which is for eary distribution,and they did withheld taxes from me.(shycat)Due to my work schedule i am able to get my kids 10 to 15 days a month while i pay full child support and finacially support them when i have them and as for my divorce decree we have joint custody, I get them 1,3,5 weekend of the month,but we have a mutual agreementbecause of my work schedule. But she is to provide primary residency, it does not say who gets to claim them.
I new from the beginning she would claim them, but I was hoping I could file for HOH, I provide a home ,pay for all medical,dental,life,etc..she does not work so when they go to school i will be paying for just about everything.
p.s. no, im in texas..coincidence, Ijust got off the phone with my grand mother who resides in Southfield,Mi.

Ok..you will have to file a 1040, because of that early distribution.
You'll have to fill out another form with that also. It's a 5329. You should
only have a 10% penalty on that distribution. The result of the form 5329
goes on line 53 of the 1040. It's good they withheld tax on it. If the
tax they withheld was at least 20%, then they withheld the tax on the
early distribution for you as well...you should be ok with that.

I don't want to get too nosey here, but if your ex-wife does not work, what
does she support your kids on? If she isnt working, has absolutely no
income coming in, she has no reason to file a tax return. Sounds like
you would be able to prove that you are providing over 50% of the
support for the children, therefor claiming them on your tax return.
Have you asked her to allow you to claim the children (have her sign
a form 8332 releasing the exemptions to you)? I've had divorced parents
do this...but usually the parent who releases the exemption(s) makes sort
of a deal with the other (getting a "cut" of their refund, ect). I just tell them I
don't need to know their reason for doing it.
If you want to read up more on this, go to Publication 501. I'm providing
a link for you here....hopefully it works.
This takes you to different IRS publications...click on Pub 501, then
check out page 15.
[url]http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/forms_pubs/pubs.html[/url]

Hope this helps you out. Let me know if the link doesn't work.

Thanks for the info on the publications,I need to see if she will let me claim for one child due to our mutual visitaion agreement.I geuss i'll have to file 1040ez.