Key takeaways
- Check each Social Security number against its card before you send anything to a preparer.
- Start the IRS identity check early, because a mailed transcript takes 5 to 10 calendar days.
- Enter the original AGI from your prior-year return, or enter zero if you never filed.
- The Form 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000 for payments made in 2026, and $600 for payments made before 2026.
- A gift of $250 or more needs a written acknowledgment from the charity.
Identity and Social Security numbers come first
Get the Social Security number for you, for your spouse if you file jointly, and for every dependent before you collect anything else. Check each number against the card or the Form W-2 it came from. A typo is hard to spot after the return is sent.
Have a current photo ID ready: a driver's license, state ID or passport. The Login.gov steps ask for a smartphone or tablet with a camera, your Social Security number (SSN), a driver's license, state ID or passport, and a U.S. phone number or mailing address. The ID.me steps ask for an SSN or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) and a government-issued photo ID.
Identity verification is the step that blocks e-filing
Get Transcript Online and the Get an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) tool both require identity verification through ID.me or Login.gov. If you cannot pass the online check, you cannot use those tools. The IRS says that if you are unable to register, you can get a tax return or tax account transcript mailed to you instead.
Mail takes 5 to 10 calendar days to reach the address the IRS has on file. Use Form 4506-T for all transcript types by mail, or Form 4506-T-EZ for the tax return transcript only. You can also request a mailed transcript by calling 800-908-9946.
Decision rule: if your first online attempt fails, file the mail request the same day rather than the week before the deadline. Mail takes 5 to 10 calendar days, so a request filed in early February gives you the transcript well before a late-March return.
Prior-year AGI and the Self-Select PIN
The Self-Select PIN method asks for your date of birth and either the adjusted gross income (AGI) from your original prior-year return or your prior-year PIN. The figure has to come from the original return, not an amended one. On last year's Form 1040, find the adjusted gross income line and copy the number exactly, including the cents.
Decision rule: if you filed a return last year, use its original AGI. If you never filed before, enter zero for the original AGI and leave the prior-year PIN blank. A primary taxpayer under age 16 who has never filed cannot use this method.
Failure mode: the AGI you enter does not match the IRS record. The usual cause is a copy of an amended return, or a figure taken from a different line. The fix is to pull the original return from your files, or to request a tax return transcript as described above, and then re-enter the number.
Wages: one Form W-2 from each employer
Each employer must give you Copies B, C and 2 of Form W-2 by February 1, 2027, for the 2026 tax year. Match the box 1 wages and the box 2 federal withholding to your final pay stub of the year. If the stub disagrees with the W-2, raise it with payroll before you file.
Decision rule: two jobs in 2026 means two W-2s, and a job held for only part of the year still produces one. If an employer has not sent its W-2 by February 1, 2027, ask that employer's payroll contact for a copy first, since the employer holds the wage and withholding figures.
Retirement withdrawals come on Form 1099-R, which the payer files for each distribution of $10 or more.
Interest, dividends, brokerage and crypto
Payers file Form 1099-INT for interest of at least $10, and brokers file Form 1099-B for each person whose stock, bond or fund sales they reported. Form 1099-DIV covers dividends and other distributions from banks and other financial institutions. A corrected brokerage statement can arrive after the first copy, so wait for it before filing.
For digital assets, the rule is that a broker must complete Form 1099-DA for each sale it effected for customers after 2025. Basis reporting for covered digital assets applies to those same sales, so a Form 1099-DA for 2026 should carry more cost basis detail than an older crypto statement.
Decision rule: if an exchange did not issue a Form 1099-DA, and you sold or swapped crypto on a platform that did not report it, export a full transaction history from that platform before you file. The sale is still reportable, and a balance statement cannot show your cost basis.
Freelance and gig income: Form 1099-NEC and Form 1099-K
The payer threshold for Form 1099-NEC changed for 2026. Payments made before 2026 needed a Form 1099-NEC at $600 or more. For payments made in 2026, the threshold is $2,000. A client who paid you just under $2,000 in 2026 may not send a form, but that income is still yours to report on your return.
Decision rule: total each client for the year and compare the total to the $2,000 threshold. A client at or above it should have sent a Form 1099-NEC by January 31, 2027, so check the form against your own invoices. If it is missing, ask for it and keep your invoice total as the record.
Form 1099-K comes from card and payment apps. Its threshold has changed, so a missing form does not mean no income. Reconcile its gross amount to your records, since it can include personal transfers.
Self-employment tax follows the income. The IRS instructions say you must file a return if you had net earnings from self-employment of at least $400, even when no 1099 arrived.
Mortgage, student loans and tuition
A lender files Form 1098 for mortgage interest of $600 or more, and the $600 threshold applies separately to each mortgage. A lender that receives $600 or more of student loan interest from you in a year files Form 1098-E. A school files Form 1098-T for each student it enrolls.
Whether you need these documents for the return depends on whether you itemize. For tax year 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household. If your mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable gifts and other itemized items add up to less than your standard deduction, take the standard deduction.
Student loan interest is a deduction you can take even when you do not itemize, so the Form 1098-E matters either way. Get it from the lender before you file.
Charitable gifts: the $250 written acknowledgment
For a single contribution of $250 or more, IRS Publication 526 says you can claim the deduction only if you have a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the charity. A bank record shows the payment but does not replace the acknowledgment. For a gift taken from your paycheck, payroll deduction records are the accepted alternative.
The acknowledgment must state the cash amount, whether you received goods or services for the gift, and a description and estimate of their value. You need it by the earlier of the date you file the return or the return's due date, including extensions.
Failure mode: a church sends a thank-you email with the amount but nothing about goods or services. The fix is to ask the organization for a letter that covers all three points, and to ask before you file, not after.
How long to keep the records
The IRS guidance is to keep records for 3 years if none of the longer periods apply. The period becomes 6 years when you did not report income you should have reported, and the unreported amount is more than a quarter of the gross income shown on the return.
Decision rule: keep the 2026 records for at least 3 years from the date you file, and for 6 years if there is any chance you left out income. Keep investment purchase records until you sell the investment, plus the same period.