Getting an IRS tax transcript

A tax transcript is a summary of your tax records that the IRS keeps. It isn't a photocopy of your return. Lenders, aid offices and others ask for one to check income, and it's free. Transcripts partly mask your personal details to protect you, but the financial figures stay fully visible.

The transcript types

• Tax return transcript. Most line items from your original Form 1040-series return as filed, with its forms and schedules, but not changes made afterward. It's available for the current year and the three before it, and it usually meets a mortgage lender's needs.
• Tax account transcript. Basic data such as filing status, taxable income and payments, including changes made after you filed. Online, it covers the current year and the nine before it. By mail or phone, it covers the current year and the three before.
• Record of account transcript. The return and account transcripts combined, for the current year and the three before it.
• Wage and income transcript. Data from the forms the IRS received about you, such as W-2s and 1099s. The current year's information is generally there by the first week of February. It shows only forms that were filed with the IRS, so it may not include every one you were sent.
• Verification of non-filing letter. A statement that the IRS has no record of a processed 1040-series return for a year, as of the date you ask. It's available after June 15 for the current year, or any time for the three years before.

What you need

• Your mailing address as it appears on your latest return, to order by mail
• A way to verify your identity, to register for the online account
• The tax year you need

Steps

1. 1

   Pick the transcript type

   Check which transcript the lender or office is asking for. A tax return transcript covers most mortgage requests.

   3 min

2. 2

   Sign in to your online account

   Your IRS Individual Online Account is the fastest way, and it has every transcript type to view, print or download. It also shows what you owe, your payment history and your prior year's adjusted gross income.

   10 min

3. 3

   Download or print it

   Save the transcript as a file and print a copy if the requester wants paper.

   2 min

4. 4

   Or order it by mail

   If you can't register for the online account, order a tax return or tax account transcript through Get Transcript by Mail on the IRS site, or call the automated line at 800-908-9946. It goes to the address the IRS has on file and arrives in 5 to 10 calendar days.

   5 min

Older years and other cases

For older years, or any transcript type by mail, file Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return. If you need an actual copy of the return rather than a transcript, file Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, which has its own processing time and fee. A business has a separate business tax transcript.

How you filed, electronically or on paper, and whether you owed a balance affect when the current year's transcript becomes available.

Watch for scams

The IRS doesn't start contact by email, text or social media to ask for personal or financial information. Report an unexpected message that claims to be from the IRS as phishing, unless it came by U.S. mail. Which papers to keep, and for how long covers tax records.