Tax forms come in more varieties than flavors of ice cream. Nearly any time something of value changes hands, there’s a specific tax form available to capture it for posterity. Check out the list below to familiarize yourself with some of the forms that are likely to hit your mailbox this tax season:
For Earnings:
- W-2 – Wages received from an employer during a calendar year.
- W2-G – Gambling earnings. You can expect to receive one of these from a casino or other betting entity if you have gambling earnings above a certain level. The minimum amounts that require a form depend on the kind of gambling.
- 1099-MISC – Income earned when you are not an employee, but a contractor, small-business owner, etc. Each customer billed more than $600 should send you one.
- 1099-K – Business payments received through credit cards (you may get one if you are an Uber driver or make a lot of sales through websites like Ebay or Amazon).
- 1099-G – Government payments, including for unemployment insurance or state and local tax refunds.
- K-1 – Earnings from business partnerships, LLCs and S corporations.
For Investments:
- 1099-INT – Interest earned. You’ll get one for every interest-paying account, no matter how small.
- 1099-DIV – Dividends paid to you.
- 1099-B – Investment sales, documenting taxable capital gains. You’ll get these if you sold stocks or mutual funds during the year.
- 1099-R – Distributions from retirement accounts (like a 401k or IRA).
For Health Care:
- 1095 – Proof of health insurance, required under the Affordable Care Act. NOTE: The IRS has approved delays in sending many of these to you. Just make sure you have proof of insurance prior to filing your tax return!
- 1099-SA – Documents the use of HSAs to pay medical expenses.
For Tax Breaks:
- 1098 – Mortgage interest statement.
- 1098-T – Confirmation of tuition and fees paid to qualified educational institutions.
- 1098-C – Confirmation of the value of property (such as used clothes or vehicles) donated to charitable organizations.
- 1098-E – Student loan interest paid, from a lender.
Gathering all these forms is important, because the IRS gets copies of each form sent to them as well. Missing one can trigger a letter from the IRS and a correspondence audit that can make extra work and delay your refund. Create a list of expected forms and check them off as they arrive.
As you await your forms, reach out to schedule your tax-filing appointment ahead of the April 15 filing deadline.
As always, feel free to pass this Tip along to friends, and reach out if you need help with your personal tax and finance situation.