Another holdover from the pen and paper era is giving way to the electronic age. The Iowa Department of Revenue is ending the use of the 10-40 short form for individual income tax filing. Department spokesperson, Victoria Daniels, says the paper form has become obsolete as electronic filing has taken over.
“People who are used to using that 1040 and filing on paper shouldn’t panic because according to our statistics, about 97 percent of the people who filed an Iowa 1040-A short form will actually meet the qualifications to file electronically for free,” Daniels says.
Daniels says the elderly, low-income residents, veterans and students are the ones who most often used the form, and they may not know there is an alternative. “People depending upon their income, their age, veteran or student status have the ability to file electronically for free and a lot of people are not aware of that,” Daniels explains.
She says those who will have to make the switch to electronic filing shouldn’t find it hard at all. “I filed my step daughter’s taxes for free for the first time ever last year, and it was pretty slick and pretty easy,” Daniels says. Information on how to file is on the Department of Revenue website at: www.iowa.gov/tax.