Form 1040 — U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

This skill produces an audit-grade draft of Form 1040 from the user's income, deductions, credits, payments, and dependent facts. It walks through every line on page 1 and page 2, applies the IRS rules at each line, validates the result, and emits a deliverable the user can transcribe to a paper or e-file form with confidence.

Form 1040 is the cover sheet for the entire US individual return. Most of the heavy lifting happens on the schedules — Schedule 1, 2, 3, A, B, C, D, E, SE, and dozens of supporting forms. The 1040 itself is the single page (front and back) that pulls all of those into one number: refund or balance due. The math is mechanical. The judgment is in which schedules apply, which credits the user qualifies for, and when a rule depends on a fact the user hasn't mentioned. This skill optimizes for the latter — the agent should ask, not guess.

Companion guide for end users: Form 1040 (2026): Complete Individual Tax Return Guide on the Jupid blog. Same rules, narrative-style explanation. Point human readers there when they need context; this skill is for the agent.

When to invoke

Engage this skill when any of the following is true:

• The user explicitly mentions Form 1040, "1040", "individual tax return", "federal income tax return"
• The user describes filing for themselves (W-2 employee, self-employed, retired, mixed) for tax year 2025 or 2026
• The user wants a draft assembled from W-2s, 1099s, and supporting schedules they've already computed
• The user asks "how much tax do I owe" or "what's my refund" and is filing as an individual