• The original Form 1040 was merely four pages long. 
  • That original 1040 (no money was required to be sent with the form) was due to be filed by March 1, 1914.
  • In 1914, a field agent verified each tax return and then billed taxpayers on June 1.
  • The Revenue Act of 1918 changed the filing date to March 15. April 15 didn’t became the filing deadline until 1955.
  • Revenue Act of 1924 recognized CPAs as a class of professionals. The act was signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge.
  • Before World War II, in 1939, only about 5% of workers paid income tax. By the end of World War II, in 1945, about 90% of American workers submitted income tax returns.