What is an IRS transcript, and how do I get mine for free?

What a transcript is (and is not)

A transcript is not a photocopy of your return. It is a printout of IRS records: what you filed, what the IRS changed, or what employers and payers reported about you. Transcripts partially mask personal details such as your taxpayer identification number, while the financial figures stay visible.

If you need an actual copy of a return you filed, that is a different request: Form 4506, which has a fee. Transcripts are free.

The five transcript types

The IRS offers these at no charge:

• Tax return transcript — most line items from your original return as filed. Available for the current and three prior tax years.
• Tax account transcript — basic data such as filing status and payments, including changes made after you filed.
• Record of account transcript — the two above combined.
• Wage and income transcript — data from information returns the IRS received, such as Forms W-2, 1098, 1099 and 5498. Available for the current and nine prior tax years.
• Verification of non-filing letter — states that the IRS has no record of a processed return for a year.

Why the wage and income transcript helps

This transcript lists the forms that employers, banks and other payers filed with the IRS under your number. Comparing it with the forms you actually received shows whether something is missing.

Timing matters. The IRS says information for the current processing year is generally available in the first week in February, and the transcript only shows documents that have been filed with the IRS, which may not be every document issued to you. So a form can be missing from the transcript early in the season and appear later. The online transcript also stops at about 85 income documents; above that, the IRS asks you to use Form 4506-T.

Three free ways to get one

• Online: sign in to your IRS Individual Online Account to view, print or download every transcript type. The IRS calls this the fastest way.
• By mail: use Get Transcript by Mail, or the IRS automated phone transcript service (the number is on the IRS Get Transcript page). This covers tax return and tax account transcripts, sent to the address the IRS has on file, in 5 to 10 calendar days.
• By form: Form 4506-T requests any transcript type, including older years and the wage and income transcript by mail.

A word on safety

The IRS does not start contact by email, text message or social media to ask for personal or financial information. Get your transcript only from irs.gov or by the mail and phone routes the IRS lists there, and never share your IRS sign-in with anyone.

When Dotcross checks your documents against IRS records, it will be through an authorization you approve yourself in your own IRS online account — never with your IRS password.