America’s First Income Tax Form

Ever wonder what the original 1913 IRS 1040 form looked like? See a PDF version here.

Notable for its four-page length—and single page of instructions—the original 1040 requires at least one thing modern forms don’t: math knowledge. The 1913 form actually lists individual tax rates and brackets, allowing taxpayers to calculate taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. liability the old fashioned way as opposed to looking it up in a pre-calculated table—or clicking an option box in TurboTax.

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