Tax Transcripts – why they matter

The IRS provides an open window into your tax life, both historical and current. All you need to do is look through it to discover a wealth of information.

There are several reasons to seek out transcripts:

• Filing your return late or on extension? Pull the Wage & Income Transcript to ensure documents have not been mis-placed. 
• Do you have old issues that you need to determine if they have been resolved? Grab the Account Transcript. These are available going back to the Cold War.
• Have you misplaced a prior year return?  That is what a Return Transcript is for.

What Types of Transcript are there?

Here is a quick overview of the 5 most used IRS Transcripts:

1. Tax Account Transcript
   • This is considered the main transcript. Shows basic data: Return type, marital status, AGI, Taxable income, all payment types, etc.
   • For income taxes it is an annual report, for payroll taxes it is quarterly. Available back to the 1980s.
   • It is updated weekly.
2. Wage & Income Transcript
   • I call this the “What does the IRS know” transcript.
   • It shows data collected from information returns: W-2, 1099, 1098, 5498, etc.
   • Usually not available until July, but the IRS is working to speed this up. The 2019 reports started coming online in May 2020.
   • Available for prior 10 years.
3. Separate Assessment Transcript
   • This is another type of Tax Account Transcript.
   • Show information related to MFJ accounts that are split.
4. Return Transcript
   • Provides most line items from your ORIGINAL (not amended) tax return.
   • Available for current and prior 3 years.
   • Can be used in lieu of actual return for things like Mortgage and Student loan applications.
   • Is not available for Substitute for Returns (SFR)
5. Civil Penalties
   • This transcript is mainly used for Trust Fund Recovery Penalties.
   • Available back to the 1980s.

How to Get Transcripts?  Here is what the IRS suggests:

Order online. Taxpayer can use the Get Transcript tool on IRS.gov. Users must authenticate their identity with the Secure Access process.

Order by phone. Call 800-908-9946 for tax return transcripts and tax account transcripts.

Order by mail. Complete and send either 4506-T or 4506T-EZ to the IRS. Use Form 4506-T to request other tax records, such as a tax account transcript, record of account, wage and income, and a verification of non-filing.

Transcripts are free and available for the current tax year and the past three years. A transcript usually displays most line items from the tax return. This includes marital status, the type of return filed, adjusted gross income and taxable income. It also includes items from any related forms and schedules filed. It does not reflect any changes the taxpayer or the IRS may have made to the original return.

Taxpayers needing a transcript should remember to plan ahead. Delivery times for online and phone orders typically take five to 10 days from the time the IRS receives the request. Taxpayers should allow 30 days to receive a transcript ordered by mail, and 75 days for copies of your tax return.

Need help figuring out what is going on with the IRS? Contact me:

Jeff Roltgen, Tax Rescue CPA
Jeff@TaxRescueCPA.com
www.TaxRescueCPA.com

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