What Do You Need to File Your Taxes?
“When it comes to taxes, there are two types of people. There are those that get it done early, also known as psychopaths, and then the rest of us.” – Jimmy Kimmel
If you’ve already file your taxes, I’m proud of you! If you have all of your documents ready to go but are waiting until the last second to file your taxes, I’m still proud of you. If you are waiting for some documents to trickle in or don’t know what you’re waiting for, don’t worry - I got you.
Here is a very basic list of the things you will need to file your taxes. It’s broken down in to personal, work, investments and other.
Personal:
Your full name, date of birth, SSN and address (and spouse’s if filing together)
Date of birth and SSN of any dependents
Direct deposit information (routing and account number) for direct deposit of your refund or paying what you owe
Work:
W-2 forms (your work will send this to you)
1099-G (if collecting unemployment)
Schedule K-1, 1099-MISC, etc. (if self-employed)
Investments:
1099-R (if you took distributions from a retirement account)
1099-INT, 1099-DIV (interest and dividend income from investment accounts)
1099-B (if you sold stock)
Other:
1098-E (if you paid student loans & interest)
Any other 1099s
Sometimes it’s hard to know when to pull the trigger on filing your taxes because you don’t know if you have everything together. Been there! I hope this checklist is helpful.
Something else I like to do is physically write out a list of all of my bank accounts and investment accounts. Then, I log into my accounts and go to the tax statement section to ensure I have everything I need. In some cases, if there has been no activity in the account or you did not make distributions there will be nothing to report.
The above list is not exhaustive and some of these documents may not apply to you. In addition, you may receive a document that is not listed above. For a full list of all tax forms, you can visit the IRS website.
This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor. Kerrigan Financial Management and LPL Financial do not provide tax advice or services.