The IRS Knows More About Your Financial History Than You May Think
Written By Keith Kiker
The IRS website may be more interesting than you expect.
Most people visit IRS.gov because they need to make a payment, check on a refund, or find a tax form. But tucked inside your IRS account is something you may not have looked at before: years of information the IRS has collected about you.
Your employers report information. Banks and investment companies report information. Your tax returns add another layer. Over time, the IRS builds a fairly detailed record associated with your Social Security number.
And you can see much of it yourself.
We’ve created a simple route card to help you safely access and understand your IRS tax transcripts. Keep reading to learn what these records contain, or [download the guide here].
What Does the IRS Have on File?
Through IRS.gov, you can access several types of tax transcripts.
Your Wage and Income Transcript can show W-2s, 1099s, 1098s, and 5498s reported under your Social Security number.
A Tax Return Transcript contains most line items from your originally filed return.
A Tax Account Transcript provides information such as filing status, taxable income, payments, and certain changes made after filing.
There is also a Record of Account Transcript, which combines return and account information into a single document.
Think of these transcripts as another way to look back at your tax history through the information the IRS received.
Your Own Tax Archive
There is a practical reason to know these records exist.
Tax paperwork tends to scatter. Maybe you changed employers. Maybe you've worked with several accountants. Perhaps one spouse has traditionally handled the family's tax documents. Or maybe ten years of records are sitting in folders that nobody particularly wants to sort through.
Your IRS transcripts can help you create a more organized digital record.
Consider making it an annual habit. Download the newly available information each year and add it to your existing tax files. Over time, you can build a useful archive of your own financial history.
And What If You Don't Have The Tax Return?
This is where knowing about transcripts can become particularly useful.
If your Social Security number was associated with a jointly filed U.S. tax return, you may be able to retrieve transcript information associated with you even if you were not the person who maintained the family's tax files.
That can matter after a divorce or the death of a spouse, or even when contemplating a divorce and trying to understand what records exist.
Instead of beginning by hunting through old files or trying to reconstruct years of paperwork, you can start by seeing what information is available to you directly from the IRS.
Go See for Yourself
There is something useful about comparing the financial records you maintain with the information the IRS has on file.
You may find that everything lines up exactly as expected. You may simply come away with a better organized tax archive. Either way, knowing where to find your transcripts gives you another source of information when reviewing your financial history.
And you don't have to figure out where to click on your own.
We've created a simple route card showing how to safely reach the official IRS website, verify your identity, find your transcripts, and understand the different records available.
Once downloaded, keep these records secure. VestGen clients should share tax transcripts and other sensitive documents through the secure client portal rather than regular email.
