Before You File: What to Know This Tax Season

Tax season is upon us, so it is time to collect all the paperwork you will need to get your tax return completed.

Most forms will be sent to you around January 31 st , some will arrive later than that date. Form W2 (yearly statement for your work earnings), Form 1099-INT (bank or credit union interest or interest from a life insurance policy), Form 1099-DIV (dividends paid from stock holdings), 1099-R (pension or IRA distributions), and 1099-SSA (Social Security earnings) are important income documents that you should receive around the end of January.

HINT: If you have online access to various accounts, you may be able to get these forms from your online account instead of waiting for them to show up in the mail.

Form 1099 from brokerage account holdings come mid-February, but if your investment account has a wide variety of holdings, the 1099 may not be available until mid-March.

HINT: If you get a corrected 1099 from your brokerage every year, you may want to be patient for a couple of weeks before you complete your taxes in case an amended form shows up.

Form 1099-NEC is sent to people who work as contractors (not employees).

For taxpayers with college costs, Form 1098-T should be accessible from the student’s college website. These forms are usually not sent in the mail; you will need to access them on your own.

If you are worried about scams or identity theft, go online and request the IRS to send you a security PIN. That PIN is entered on your tax return and tells the IRS that the filing is specifically from you. The PIN changes every year and the IRS will send you a new PIN notice every January. An IRS identity PIN may save you some stress if you ever get hacked.

Having all your forms together when you come to the office makes getting the return done much smoother. We look forward to seeing you.