On October 3, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the federal income tax.

The rate was 1% on income over $20,000 to $50,000, graduating up to 6% on incomes over $500,000.

About 1% of households paid tax.

The form was 4 pages in total, one page each for income, deductions, the tax charts and the instructions.

For 2012, the full set of 1040 instructions alone was 214 pages. Progress.