What to Actually Bring to Your Tax Appointment

Every year, the same thing slows returns down: not complexity, but missing paper. A preparer can work around a complicated situation. What nobody can work around is a 1099 that arrives in March after the return has already been assembled.

Here is the honest version of the list.

Identity and prior filings

• A copy of last year's return, federal and state
• Social Security cards or ITIN letters for everyone on the return
• A government-issued photo ID

Prior-year returns matter more than people expect. They carry forward losses, depreciation schedules, and credits that phase in over multiple years. Without last year's return, your preparer is rebuilding history from memory — yours.

Income

• W-2s from every employer, including the job you held for six weeks
• 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC for contract work
• 1099-K from payment platforms, even if the amount looks wrong
• 1099-INT, 1099-DIV and 1099-B for interest, dividends and investment sales
• 1099-R for retirement distributions, and SSA-1099 for Social Security
• Records of income that never generated a form at all

That last one is where most self-employed filers get into trouble. If you were paid in cash, through a friend's app, or by a client who never bothered with a 1099, that income is still reportable. Bring your own record of it — a spreadsheet is fine.

Deductions and credits

• Childcare provider name, address and tax ID
• Tuition statements (1098-T) and student loan interest (1098-E)
• Mortgage interest (1098) and property tax records
• Medical expenses, if they were substantial
• Charitable contribution receipts
• Business expense records: mileage log, home office square footage, equipment purchases

The one people forget

Any letter the IRS sent you. Notices are not something to hide in a drawer until they stop coming. Most are routine — a math adjustment, a request for a missing form, a balance notice. They are also time-sensitive, and the options available at day 30 are broader than the options at day 120.

Bring what you have. Nobody has all of it on the first visit, and part of our job is helping you find the rest.

This article is general educational information, not tax, legal or financial advice for your specific situation. Tax law and credit reporting rules change, and the right answer depends on facts we would need to look at together.