Tax statements and forms can confuse anyone simply because of the number of forms you might need to file every year. There are around over 1000 IRS tax forms that remain available for reporting wages, incomes, gifts, compensations and other financial data. Knowing about the forms that you have to fill is difficult in the first place. And the problem gets compounded by the complexity of the forms which come with all sorts of instructions and boxes that must be properly filled. However, fortunately, if you are a layman then you would only have to fill a few tax forms at best in between January and March before you can continue on your merry way for the rest of the year. Here are some of the most common IRS forms that you might need to file in a given year.

Form 1040

This is the form that you should start with. There are three forms in the 1040 series including 1040A, 1040EZ and 1040 itself. You will have to fill one of these forms depending on your financial conditions and choices. If you are below the age of 65, don't want to itemize your deductions and earn less than $100,000, you will need to fill 1040EZ. However, if you want to pursue tax deductions for a student-loan interest etc, you will need to use the 1040A form. In cases where you might earn more than $100,000 or want to itemize your deductions, you will need to use the 1040 form. Schedule A to Schedule E are specific attachments that you may need to add to your form as well if needed.

Form 1099

Any income that doesn't qualify as salary or tip would need to be reported using the 1099 series. It is important to note that you only need to fill these forms if you have earned over $600 within the tax year. You would need the 1099-DIV to report earnings through capital gains while you would require the 1099-INT for reporting earnings through investments. While in other cases you will require the 1099-MISC form so as to report earnings through miscellaneous means like the rent you received on your second house or the commission or royalty you received from a company for your work etc.

Form 1098

Another form that you might require would be from the 1098 series. These are the forms that will help you in getting tax exemptions for any interest that you might have paid as part of your mortgage or your student loan or for any money that you may have paid as your tuition fee or for any donations that you may have made to charity. The original 1098 form is used for reporting loans paid on mortgages, the 1098-C is used for reporting charity donations, the 1098-E is used for reporting interest paid on college loans and 1098-T is used for informing about the amount paid as tuition fees.

Form W-2

You will receive the W-2 form from your employer so as to fill out the information about your income. The information on this form would help you in filling out the 1040 form as well.