Tax Documents You Should Have For Tax Return Filing...and where to stick them.

Tax Documents You Should Have For Tax Return Filing...

and where to stick them.

Last year, did you…
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Have a job? …Then you should have a W-2—issued by your employer. It shows your wage income, any taxes you have already paid through withholding, and any benefits provided by your employer that the IRS wants to know about...this usually goes on line pages 1 and 2 of your Form 1040.

Own your home? … 1098—issued by your mortgage company showing, among other items, the amount of interest and real estate taxes you can deduct on your tax return...this usually goes on Schedule A of your Form 1040.

Have a savings or money market account? … 1099-INT—issued by your bank or broker. It shows the amount of interest your savings and other interest-gathering accounts earned last year...this may go on Schedule B of your Form 1040, or only on page 1, depending on the amount you received.

Own stock or shares in a mutual fund? … 1099-DIV—issued by your broker or mutual fund or, if you hold your own stock in certificate form, by the transfer agent of the company you own stock in. This shows the amount of dividend you earned last year from the stock or mutual fund. Some brokerage firms and mutual fund companies put 1099-DIV’s and 1099-B’s in the same document...This usually goes on Schedule B of your Form 1040...watch those capital gains distributions!

Sell stock, bonds, or shares in a mutual fund? … 1099-B—issued by your broker or mutual fund. This helps you calculate the amount of capital gain or loss you had from selling stock or shares in your mutual fund last year. You have to pay tax on the capital gains, and you may or may not be able to deduct the capital losses...You will probably need to do a schedule D, GOOD LUCK.

Unless your broker has your records, you probably will need to go through your files to hunt down the price you paid in the first place for the stock or securities you sold.

Own shares in your own company? ... K-1-- issued by S Corporations, LLCs, LLPs, and Partnerships showing your share of company profit and loss to report on your personal tax return. Partnerships created for investment purposes also issue K-1s to their investors instead of 1099s...Follow the instructions that come with your K-1, the items go all over the place.

Get a refund from your State or Locality? … 1099-G—issued by your State and Local Governments showing the amount of refund you received from them last year. You have to pay tax on this in the current year if you itemized your deductions last year...This usually goes on page 1 of your Form 1040.

Receive payments from your retirement funds? … 1099-R—issued by your pensions or IRA’s when you received a distribution. These payments may or may not be taxable to you...This usually goes on page 1 of your Form 1040.

Freelance? … 1099-MISC—issued by business clients and customers of self-employed individuals and companies showing the amount paid for services. Form 1099-MISC usually is required only if the amounts paid totaled $600 or more for the year...You will probably need to file a Schedule C.

Receive Social Security benefits? … SSA-1099—issued by the Social Security Administration showing the amount of Social Security benefits you received last year. Whether any of it is taxable depends on factors such as what other income you had last year...This usually goes on page 1 of your Form 1040.