IRS Forms and Publications

Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last reviewed February 21, 2018

This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw’s team of legal writers and attorneys and in accordance with our editorial standards.

The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area.

One of the most stressful aspects of modern life is the need to interact with the federal government's Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Even if you aren't intending to do anything wrong a simple mistake could turn into costly penalties and close scrutiny of your financial affairs.

Avoiding trouble with the IRS starts with choosing the correct forms to be filed. Increasingly, a good option to ensure that you choose the correct form and fill it in correctly is the use of one of a number of online/digital tax preparation programs. These programs may assist in determining the necessary forms based upon you answers to simple initial questions about your income and employment status and will prevent the submission of documents until you have filled in all the necessary fields with valid responses.

However, many of us prefer to continue dealing with paper and pen. The IRS continues to make its forms available, along with detailed instructions on their completion and submission. Below you will find links to tax forms and publications from the IRS. Go here for state tax forms.

Frequently Requested IRS Forms and Instructions

The attached documents are the standard forms necessary to prepare and submit your taxes to the IRS. Each form has an accompanying set of instructions that provides additional detail about the information requested/required on the primary document.

These basic documents may not be enough to answer all of your tax-related questions. Fortunately, there are additional resources the IRS makes available.

Frequently Requested IRS Publications

In addition to forms that are filed and instructions to assist in their completion and proper submission, there are additional resources made available by the IRS. These documents provide information about the structure of our income tax system, your rights as a taxpayer, and information about the various adjustments to your tax liability that arise as the result of your filing status and claimed exemptions and deduction.

If a tax form or publication is mentioned within these documents you may wish to search for it specifically. The IRS has a number of helpful search functionalities that can help you find the forms and publications you need.

Search IRS Tax Forms and Publications by:

The foregoing resources will be sufficient to answer many of your basic tax-related questions. However, the tax code is extraordinarily complicated and your individual circumstances may give rise to questions that aren't addressed in these basic forms. Where else can a taxpayer look for assistance and answers to their tax-related inquiries?

Get Legal Help With Your Federal Tax Returns

Tax issues can be both costly and stressful, but you don't have to face your tax problems alone. An experienced tax law attorney can help you minimize your tax woes and detect irregularities before they become big problems. Get started today and find a local tax lawyer.

Was this helpful?

Can I Solve This on My Own or Do I Need an Attorney?

  • You may need a certified public accountant (CPA), enrolled agent (EA), or a tax attorney for your tax issues or IRS concerns
  • Complex tax cases (such as back taxes, criminal tax matters, tax litigation, or serious issues with the IRS) may need the support of an attorney

Tax issues and IRS matters can be challenging. A tax attorney has advanced training to offer tailored advice to resolve complicated tax situations.

 Find a local attorney

Helpful Links

Attorney Directory