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Your personal tax document checklist. What you actually need.
Tax preparers ask for the same dozen-ish documents every year — but which ones apply depends on your life. This checklist is organized by situation (W-2 only, self-employed, rental owner, parent, multi-state, retiree) so you skip what doesn't apply and bring what you actually need.
7 min read· Twin Cities, Minnesota
The short version
- Everyone:last year’s federal + state return, SSN/ITIN for you and dependents, ID/driver’s license, bank info for direct deposit.
- Income docs: W-2s from every employer, 1099s of every flavor (NEC, MISC, INT, DIV, B, R, K, G), K-1s if you own partnership / S-corp interests, Social Security SSA-1099 if collecting.
- Deductions:1098 mortgage interest, property tax, charitable receipts ($250+ need written acknowledgment), state/local income tax paid, medical if > 7.5% of AGI.
- Life events:sold a home (1099-S, closing statement, improvement records), had a baby (SSN), got married/divorced, moved states.
If you have a W-2 job (and only a W-2 job).
This is the simplest filer. You’ll need:
- W-2 from every employer for the year
- 1099-INT for any savings account that paid interest
- 1099-DIV for taxable brokerage dividends
- 1099-B if you sold investments (with cost basis)
- 1098 from your mortgage company (interest + property tax)
- HSA contribution and distribution summary (Form 5498-SA and 1099-SA)
- Receipts for charitable contributions over $250
- Student loan interest paid (Form 1098-E)
If your only situation is “W-2 + standard deduction,” DIY software handles it cleanly. Where it gets messy is when life adds anything from the sections below.
If you're self-employed or 1099.
The list gets longer. Self-employment income is where most missed deductions live and where most preventable penalties come from.
- 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC from every client / payer who issued one
- 1099-K from PayPal, Stripe, Square, Venmo for Business — don’t double-count income that’s already on a 1099-NEC
- Total revenue from your books or bank deposits (especially anything you weren’t 1099’d for — cash clients, direct deposits, etc.)
- Business expense totals by category (software, supplies, advertising, travel, meals at 50%, professional fees, insurance, etc.)
- Mileage log if you drive for work — date, miles, purpose
- Home office square footage (or actual % of home used exclusively for business)
- Quarterly estimated tax payments made for the year
- SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) contributions made
- Self-employed health insurance premiums paid
- Asset purchases over $2,500 (equipment, vehicles)
If you own rental property.
Schedule E lives or dies on having the right records:
- Rent received per property (gross, before any management fees)
- Mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, HOA fees, utilities (when you pay them)
- Repairs vs. improvements split — repairs deduct immediately, improvements depreciate over time. We’ll help draw the line.
- Property management fees
- Travel to/from the property (mileage log if you drive, receipts if you fly)
- Original purchase date + price + improvements (for depreciation tracking)
- 1099-MISC issued to vendors who did $600+ of work
- If sold during the year: closing statement (HUD-1 / CD)
If you have dependents.
- SSN or ITIN for each dependent (kid, qualifying relative)
- Childcare expenses paid — provider name, address, EIN or SSN, total paid per child
- 1098-T for any dependent in college
- 1099-Q if a 529 distribution was taken
- Medical / dental expenses paid on behalf of a dependent
- For shared custody: who claims the dependent this year (alternating years is common)
If you moved or earned income in another state.
Multi-state returns are where DIY software often quietly gets things wrong. Bring:
- Move dates (departure from old state, arrival in new state)
- W-2s where Box 15 shows multiple state codes
- 1099-NEC from out-of-state clients (where the work was done matters more than where the client is)
- Real estate or business income from another state (Schedule E or Schedule C state column)
- Any state tax already withheld or paid as estimates to a state you no longer live in
If you're retired or near retirement.
- SSA-1099 for Social Security received
- 1099-R for any IRA, pension, or 401(k) distribution (including required minimum distributions)
- 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-B for taxable brokerage / savings
- Form 1095-B or 1095-C for Medicare coverage proof
- Long-term care insurance premiums paid (deductible above certain age thresholds)
- Out-of-pocket medical (often deductible after age 65 even below 7.5% AGI threshold; check current rules)
- Charitable distributions made directly from an IRA (QCD) — these don’t show on the 1099-R as charitable; we have to know to ask
What you don't need to bring.
Things people often gather that aren’t actually needed:
- Every credit card statement — we only need totals by category, not transactions
- Receipts for under-$250 charitable gifts (canceled check or bank record is sufficient)
- Receipts for routine groceries, gas, personal items (not deductible for W-2 employees)
- Hand-written notes about “maybe deductible” items you’re unsure about — just ask in an email; we’ll tell you yes or no
The actual list is shorter than you think. The trick is bringing the right things.
Skip the checklist
Or just send us what you have. We'll tell you what's missing.
Email us with whatever documents you have — we’ll tell you what’s missing, what doesn’t apply, and what else to look for. Free 30-min call follows if it’s a fit.