How does the tax document checklist work?
- Check the situations that apply to you: household, income, deductions and credits, health coverage, records.
- The checklist computes itself — only the document rows your situations map to, grouped, with a check box for each and a count of situations against documents.
- Download the PDF and print it at 100 percent on A4 or US Letter. Hang it on the fridge, check boxes as envelopes and emails arrive.
The form names follow the IRS page “Gather your documents” (irs.gov, updated 2026-06-24, read 2026-10-02) and the consensus of the big tax-prep checklists. The season label is not written into the page: it is computed from today’s date in your browser, so the sheet always says “for the return due next April” and never wears a year that has gone stale.
What documents does everyone need?
The personal-information block prints no matter what you check:
- Full legal names and Social Security numbers, exactly as on the cards
- Dates of birth for everyone on the return
- Your current mailing address
Everything else on the sheet exists only because a situation put it there.
What changes with your situations?
| If you check… | the list adds… |
|---|---|
| W-2 job | W-2 from every employer |
| Self-employed / gig | 1099-NEC, 1099-K, Schedule C records |
| Investments | 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, Schedule K-1 |
| Retirement income | 1099-R, SSA-1099 |
| Unemployment | 1099-G |
| Rental income | Schedule E income and expense records |
| Crypto | digital-asset records, 1099-B or 1099-DA |
| Sold online / paid by app | 1099-K and the sales records behind it |
| Homeowner | Form 1098, property tax statements, closing statement |
| Student loans | Form 1098-E |
| Education costs | Form 1098-T plus books and fees |
| HSA | Forms 5498-SA and 1099-SA |
| Donations | receipts; written acknowledgment for any single gift of $250 or more |
| Marketplace plan | Form 1095-A |
Two situations that share a form — self-employment and app-paid sales both pull the 1099-K — print it once.
When do the documents arrive?
W-2s and many 1099s are due to you by the end of January (IRS, “Gather your documents”, updated 2026-06-24, read 2026-10-02). Broker and mutual-fund statements often take a few weeks longer. If a form is missing, the issuer’s phone number is usually on last year’s copy — and the check boxes are there so a missing box is visible at a glance.
What this tool does not do
It lists documents; that is all. It computes nothing about the taxes themselves — no income totals, no bracket, no refund estimate, no advice on what to claim or how to file. For a tax question, the IRS pages and a human preparer are the right bench. If the job is arithmetic rather than documents — saving toward a number, ending debts in an order, or matching bills to paydays — those tools sit on the same Money bench and print the same way.
Does anything leave my device?
No. The situations you check stay in your browser — the list and the PDF are built there, the settings are remembered only in this browser’s own storage, and no request carries anything you entered. Closing the tab erases it all.
Questions
What documents do I need to file my taxes?
It depends on what happened in the year: a W-2 job pulls W-2s, self-employment pulls 1099-NEC and Schedule C records, a home pulls Form 1098 and property tax statements. Everyone needs the same personal block — names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, your address. Check your situations above and the list prints with only your rows.
What documents do I need if I'm self-employed?
A 1099-NEC from each client that paid you, a 1099-K if payment apps or online marketplaces processed payments for you, and the records behind Schedule C: income and expense records, a mileage log, home-office details. If you made estimated tax payments during the year, check that box too so the payment records join the list.
Do I need last year's tax return to file?
You can file without it, but e-filing uses last year's adjusted gross income as your electronic signature, so having the old copy makes the e-file one step smoother. It also helps you spot forms that are missing, because this year's list should look a lot like last year's.
What is a tax organizer?
The booklet accountants hand clients at filing time: a fill-in list of every form and figure the return needs. The classic versions are static PDFs, often dozens of pages, with every situation printed whether or not it applies to you. This tool is the computed version — the situations you check decide which rows exist, so a two-income W-2 household prints a short sheet and a self-employed homeowner prints a longer one.
When do tax documents arrive?
W-2s and many 1099s are due to you by the end of January (IRS, 'Gather your documents', updated 2026-06-24, read 2026-10-02); broker and mutual-fund statements often follow a few weeks later. The checklist's season line tells you which January that is for the return you are preparing.
Is this tax advice?
No. This tool lists documents — it computes nothing about your taxes themselves: no bracket, no refund, no suggestion of what to claim. It is not tax advice, and the printout says so at the bottom of every page.