DictionaryIdentity and taxes

Tax return: what it means

A tax return is the yearly form you use to report your income to the IRS and figure the tax you owe, so you can pay what is due or get a refund. The federal return for individuals is Form 1040.

In Spanish it is

Declaración de impuestos

Also written as: income tax return · federal tax return · Form 1040

A pregnant woman takes a video appointment on a tablet at her kitchen table.

Verified on October 17, 2026

3 official sources

See the whole dictionary

The full explanation

In general you must file if your gross income is above the minimum the IRS sets for your filing status, or if you had a certain amount of net earnings from self-employment; even when you do not have to, filing can pay off. You need your SSN or ITIN, and those of everyone else on the return, plus documents such as your W-2s and 1099s.

An example

Every spring, Andrea gathers her W-2 and the 1099s from her side jobs and prepares her tax return for free at a VITA site.

You will see it in…

Form 1040 and its schedules
The tax return transcript a lender asks for
The ITIN application, which is sent together with your return

Words that go with it

You will rarely see this word alone. These are the ones that show up with it on the same papers.

More guides that use “tax return”

Still confused by a paper?

A HUD-approved housing counselor can walk you through it. Agencies usually charge little or nothing, many work in Spanish, and they do not sell you anything.

What a housing counselor does See free help

Official sources

We sum up what these official sources say, in plain words. We add no rules they do not state; when a rule changes, the definition and its date change.

1. IRS · About Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026
2. IRS · Check if you need to file a tax return (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026
3. IRS · Gather your documents (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026