Find out how to file your taxes if you’re missing important tax documents such as W-2s or 1099s.
“Something suddenly came up.” Those were the immortal words with which Marcia Brady famously broke off a date. But they could just as easily describe why lots of taxpayers fail to file a return every year – April sneaks up on you and then, well, something suddenly comes up.
And if you’re a procrastinator, and have put off filing your late taxes for a while, it’s not hard to misplace the important tax documents that you need to file. Once that happens, even if you want to file, how can you possibly get right with the IRS?
Never fear. There are many ways to retrieve copies of the necessary tax documents.
Anyone who worked as an employee somewhere will need a copy of their W-2 [Wage and Tax Statement] in order to file. Thankfully employers are required to keep a copy for at least four years. So if you’ve lost yours, you may be able to get a copy from them.
This same tactic may also work if you need a 1099-MISC from a former client. For other 1099 forms you can try contacting your bank, broker, or other appropriate entity.
You can also order a transcript of your tax documents directly from the IRS. The only downside is that it will take them 5-10 business days for them to mail the document to you.
You can retrieve transcripts of the following forms from the IRS:
- 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ [U.S. Individual Income Tax Return]
- W-2 [Wage and Tax Statement], W-2G [Certain Gambling Winnings], and 1099-MISC [Miscellaneous Income]
- 1099-R [Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.] and SSA-1099 [Social Security Benefit Statement]
- 1041 [U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts], Schedule K-1 [Partner’s Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc.], 1065 [U.S. Return of Partnership Income], 1120S [U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation]
- 1099-A [Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property], 1099-B [Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions], 1099-C [Cancellation of Debt]
- 1098 [Mortgage Interest Statement], 1098-C [Contributions of Motor Vehicles, Boats, and Airplanes], 1098-E [Student Loan Interest Statement], 1098-T [Tuition Statement]
Once you’ve got all the tax documents, you can get started on your return! But hold on there for one second. First you’ve got to choose your tax software – unless you plan on wading through all those old tax forms by yourself. And when it comes to filing taxes late, not all tax companies are created equal.
Some of the larger sites that you may already be familiar with don’t even allow you to prepare a prior year tax return online. It’s essential that you find a company that specializes in late taxes to make the process as smooth as possible.
PriorTax not only specializes in late taxes, but its online application is guaranteed to find you your maximum refund for prior year tax years and free live help is available whenever you need it. Don’t procrastinate on your taxes any longer. Create an account now!
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hi my name is yvonne i had filed my taxes with hr block and for some reason something came back not right so i went in and got it fixed but i had to pay and mail my paper work in to irs but i didnt have the money and i went in and now they dont have my paper work how can i go about getting that info.. its been about 5 years
Hi Yvonne,
You can order a tax transcript of any tax document that has been filed with the IRS here: http://www.priortax.com/prior-tax-missing-forms/.
However, if you’re talking about getting info from a return that was never filed, you’ll have to talk to H&R about that.