Tax season is upon us. Don’t be caught without the forms your patrons need! Although the number of Americans who file their taxes on paper is steadily on the decline¹, the library is still inundated with people from December through April looking for tax forms. And who among us hasn’t had to recite IRS talking points regarding the availability of tax forms? Here are some valuable pieces of information to help us weather the 2019 tax season.
Perhaps the most obvious form change is the 2019 Federal 1040 form. The IRS has issued a draft of this form, which is roughly half the size of previous versions of the form. The new 1040 form will replace the current 1040 forms as well as the 1040A and the 1040EZ.
Sweeping changes also affect the tax schedules for Form 1040. No longer will we see Schedule A, B, etc.; instead, we will see these schedules numbered and renamed. Here’s the current list of 1040 schedules, as of September 29, 2018:
- Schedule 1 — Additional Income & Adjustments to Income
- Schedule 2 — Tax (Additional Taxes)
- Schedule 3 — Non-Refundable Credits
- Schedule 4 — Other Taxes
- Schedule 5 — Other Payments and Refundable Credits
- Schedule 6 — Foreign Address and Third-Party Designee²
For State of Ohio tax forms, libraries will continue to receive smaller supplies of instruction booklets. According to the Ohio Department of Taxation, “we will only be distributing Ohio and School District Income Instruction booklets. In late December to early January, the department will be shipping the same number of booklets that you received last year.”
Some libraries opt to print copies of the most popular state forms to have them readily available to patrons. If this is not an option at your library, patrons can request paper forms themselves via tax.ohio.gov, by calling the Ohio Department of Taxation at 1-800-282-1782, or by mailing a request to:
Ohio Department of Taxation
PO Box 2476
Columbus, Ohio 43216-2476
Good luck this tax season, intrepid librarians! And remember, we don’t have to answer tax questions. In fact, if patrons have questions more complex than “Can you print me this form?” or “What day is Tax Day?” you can happily refer them to the Ohio Department of Taxation at 1-800-282-1782 or the IRS tax help line at 1-800-829-1040.
– Kristin McCormick
¹https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-may-11-2018
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