Most of the time at a tax appointment goes on finding out what happened in your year, so the more of it is on paper, the shorter and more accurate the appointment is. Our full checklist has every document we ask for. This post explains why we ask for each group.
Who is on the return
We need a photo ID for you, and Social Security cards or the numbers for everyone on the return, including children. The IRS matches every name and number against its own records, and a single wrong digit holds up the refund. Bring them to the appointment. Please don’t email them or send them through our website.
If someone else prepared last year’s return, bring that too. It shows us what was claimed before, any carryovers, and the bank account the refund went to.
Income
Bring every W-2 from every employer you had during the year, even a job you held for a few weeks. Bring the 1099s as well: they cover interest, dividends, contract work, unemployment benefits and retirement payments. If you sold investments, the 1099-B from the broker lists each sale.
The IRS receives copies of all of these. If one is left off the return, the IRS will usually notice, and the letter tends to arrive a year or two later with interest added.
Things that can lower your tax
These are the documents people most often forget, because nobody sends a reminder about them:
- the mortgage interest statement (Form 1098) and your property tax bills
- the name, address and tax ID of your childcare provider, and what you paid them
- tuition statements (Form 1098-T) and student loan interest statements
- records of any estimated tax payments you made during the year
- receipts for charitable gifts, if you think you may itemize
If you had health insurance through the marketplace, bring Form 1095-A. The return can’t be filed correctly without it.
A side business or rental property
If you had income from a business or a rental, bring a summary of what came in and what went out, plus the 1099s you received for it. A spreadsheet or the reports from your bookkeeping software is fine. If your records are a box of receipts, bring the box and we’ll go through it with you, but expect the appointment to take longer.
Anything from the IRS or Virginia Tax
Bring every letter you received from the IRS or Virginia Tax during the year, even if you think it’s been dealt with. Some letters change what goes on this year’s return.
If something is missing
Come anyway. We’ll go through what you have, tell you what’s still needed, and finish the return once it arrives. It’s better to find the gap at the appointment than after the return is filed.