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Tax Documents Checklist: How to Win Big This Tax Season

Tax Documents Checklist How to Win Big This Tax Season (300 × 534 px)

Personalized Tax Document Checklist Generator

These days, filing your taxes is easier than ever, especially since you can meet with a TurboTax Live tax expert — but there are still documents to gather for tax prep.

Luckily, our tax documents checklist is here to help. To learn what you need to have on hand, take our quiz, fill in your unique information and get your personalized results. 

What to Consider When Filing Your Taxes

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Personal Information and Dependents

First things first, as the taxpayer, you need to gather your and your dependents’ personal information. To make this beginning step of the tax preparation process simple for the following years, keep these important documents in a permanent home in either your home desk or filing cabinet. As you receive tax forms at the beginning of the year, you can stick them in this folder for easy access as you get ready to file. 

Here are the personal documents you may need to file your tax return:

Income and Expenses

Having all the tax documents about your income and expenses will be your ticket to all the deductions and refunds you qualify for. Here’s what you need to file your tax return and where to find that information:

Income Documents

Whether you’re employed, self-employed, or unemployed- there’s a document that is necessary for you to file taxes. Here’s what to do with each type of form:

W-2 

You should receive this in the mail, via email, or online from your employer. With TurboTax you can enter your W-2 both manually and via automatic import from over a million employers. 

Forms 1099-NECS and 1099-Ks

If you did contract or freelance work for a company that paid you over $600, then you should receive a 1099-NEC from them in the mail or electronically. If a company used a third-party payment network like PayPal or Venmo to pay for services or goods, then you can expect a 1099-K if you received more than $20,000 in payments from over 200 transactions.

Form 1099-G

If  you received unemployment income, that amount will be reported on a Form 1099-G form and will typically be sent to you by email or mail from the issuing government agency. Other payments from federal, state, or local governments are also reported on a Form 1099-G such as a state or local income tax refund, credit, or offset you may have received. 

Other Income

If you have income from another source, you’ll also need records of those amounts. Here are a few examples:

Expenses and Receipts 

Want to take a little money off your tax bill? Some expenses and receipts may come in handy, so grab documents like these:

Deductions and Adjustments

Last up on our tax preparation checklist is everyone’s favorite part: deductions and adjustments. This is where you get to reduce your income and, in turn, lower the taxes you pay. Let’s take a look at the documents you’ll need::

Owned a Home

If you marked that you owned a home last year, then you may need some of the following documents:

Affected by Federally Declared Disaster

If you were affected by a federally declared disaster, and are claiming a casualty loss you will need:  

Owned a Vehicle

If you purchased a vehicle or signed a long-term lease, and you are filing for tax returns, get the following document ready:

Gave Charitable Donations

If you donated to a charity last year, then you’ll need the following information:

Visited a Medical Professional

If you had qualified unreimbursed medical care expenses, you may be able to deduct some of your expenses if: 

Other Adjustments

If you had any items that could be checked off on the adjustments to income, you can expect to provide the following documents, depending on your needs:

Other Deductions and Credits

Let’s dive deeper into what information is needed to handle some deductions and credits that are not as common but can still have great impact on your taxes:  

No matter what moves you made last year, TurboTax will make them count on your taxes. Whether you want to do your taxes yourself or have a TurboTax expert file for you, we’ll make sure you get every dollar you deserve and your biggest possible refund – guaranteed. 

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