What Documents Do I Need to Bring to a Tax Preparer?

When you sit down with a tax preparer, bring identification for everyone listed on the return, every income form you received, records supporting any deductions or credits you plan to claim, your health insurance statements, and a copy of last year’s return. The question of what documents to bring to a tax preparer comes down to two things: proving who you are, and proving every number that will appear on your 1040. For tax year 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household, so one of the first things your preparer will do is decide whether your itemizable records beat those numbers.¹ The checklist below walks through what to gather, in the order most preparers work through a return.

Identification for Everyone on the Return

Your preparer needs the full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number for you, your spouse if you’re filing jointly, and every dependent. These have to match IRS records exactly. A transposed digit or a misspelled name is enough to make an e-filed return bounce back.²

If you or a dependent isn’t eligible for an SSN, bring the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number instead. ITINs are issued by the IRS on Form W-7 and do the same job as an SSN on a return.²

The document people forget most often is the Identity Protection PIN. If the IRS enrolled you in the IP PIN program after an identity theft incident, or if you opted in voluntarily, you get a new six-digit PIN every year on a CP01A notice mailed between mid-December and early January. Without it, your preparer cannot e-file your return.³ If you opted in online rather than receiving a notice, log in and retrieve it before your appointment.

Income Forms

Every dollar of income has to be reported, whether or not a form came in the mail. The most common forms:

Form W-2 from every employer you worked for.⁴
Form 1099-NEC from each client that paid you $600 or more as an independent contractor.⁵
Form 1099-INT for bank interest of $10 or more.⁶
Form 1099-DIV for dividend income.⁷
Form 1099-B for stock, bond, or other securities sales, which also shows your cost basis and whether the gain is short- or long-term.⁸
Form 1099-R for pension, annuity, IRA, or other retirement distributions.⁹
Form 1099-G for unemployment compensation and state or local tax refunds.¹⁰
Form SSA-1099 for Social Security benefits, mailed each January.¹¹
Form 1099-K from payment apps and online marketplaces when your total goes above $20,000 and 200 transactions. That threshold reverted to the higher figure under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, so you may not receive one for smaller totals.¹²

Missing forms don’t erase the income. Freelancers with many small clients often earn plenty in aggregate while every individual payment stays under $600. Bring a summary of gross receipts. Gambling winnings, jury duty pay, prize money, and other odd income should be written down too, even informally.

Self-Employment and Business Records

If you run a business or freelance, your income and expenses land on Schedule C, and your 1099s are only the starting point. Bring organized records of all business revenue and every deductible expense, backed by receipts, invoices, bank statements, or credit card statements. The IRS expects documentation showing who was paid, the amount, the date, and what was purchased.¹³

Common expense categories include supplies, advertising, software subscriptions, business mileage, professional services, and insurance. If you bought equipment or other assets during the year, bring the invoices and purchase dates so your preparer can decide between depreciation and a Section 179 deduction.¹³

If part of your home is used exclusively for business, you have two options. The simplified method allows $5 per square foot up to 300 square feet, capped at $1,500. The regular method requires the business-use percentage of your home plus records of mortgage interest or rent, utilities, insurance, and maintenance.¹⁴ Bring whichever set fits your situation.

Rental Property Records

Landlords report on Schedule E. Bring records of all rent collected, including bank deposits and lease copies. Tenants paying through a government housing program may generate a Form 1099-MISC on those payments.

On the expense side, bring Form 1098 for the rental mortgage interest, property tax bills, insurance statements, and receipts for repairs and maintenance. If the property has both personal and rental use, tell your preparer the split so expenses can be prorated. Also bring records of when you acquired the property and the purchase price, because those numbers drive depreciation.

Digital Assets and Foreign Accounts

Cryptocurrency and other digital assets need careful documentation. For every sale, exchange, or disposal, bring the asset type, acquisition date, disposal date, fair market value in U.S. dollars at both points, units, and cost basis.¹⁵ Most exchanges will export this. If you received crypto as payment for goods or services, bring the fair market value on the date of receipt, since that is income.

If you held foreign bank accounts and the combined value went above $10,000 at any point in the year, you must file FinCEN Form 114, the FBAR. Tell your preparer about the accounts even if they earned little interest.¹⁶ Separately, if foreign financial assets exceed $50,000 on the last day of the year or $75,000 at any point, Form 8938 may need to accompany your return. Thresholds are higher for joint filers and taxpayers living abroad.¹⁷

Records for Adjustments to Income

These deductions reduce your adjusted gross income before the itemize-or-standard decision, so they can help even if you take the standard deduction. Bring what applies:

Form 1098-E from your student loan servicer, which supports a deduction of up to $2,500 in interest.¹⁸
Traditional IRA contribution receipts or year-end statements. The 2026 limit is $7,500, or $8,600 if you’re 50 or older. How much is deductible depends on your income and whether you or your spouse are covered by a workplace retirement plan.¹⁹
Form 5498-SA for HSA contributions and Form 1099-SA if you took distributions. The 2026 contribution maximum is $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage.²⁰²¹²²
Educator expense records. K-12 teachers, counselors, and principals who worked at least 900 hours can deduct up to $350 per person for out-of-pocket classroom costs, or $700 combined on a joint return where both spouses qualify.
Alimony payment records if your divorce or separation agreement was finalized before January 1, 2019, along with your ex-spouse’s SSN, which has to appear on the return. Post-2018 agreements are not deductible.²³

Records if You Might Itemize

Bring these so your preparer can compare itemizing against the standard deduction.

Mortgage Interest and State and Local Taxes

Your lender sends Form 1098 for the mortgage interest paid.²⁴ You can also deduct property taxes plus state and local income taxes, or sales taxes if you prefer. For 2026 the combined SALT cap is $40,400, well above the $10,000 that applied from 2018 through 2024, though the cap phases down for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income above roughly $505,000.¹

Charitable Contributions

For any cash gift of $250 or more, you need a written acknowledgment from the charity showing the amount, date, and whether you got anything in return.²⁵ For smaller cash gifts, bank statements or canceled checks are fine. For clothing, furniture, or other property donations, note what you gave and its fair market value. Noncash donations above $500 require Form 8283, and anything above $5,000 generally needs a qualified appraisal.

Medical and Dental Expenses

Only the portion above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income is deductible, so this usually helps only after a major expense like surgery, long-term care, or heavy dental work. Bring receipts and explanation-of-benefits statements for prescriptions, copays, and any health insurance premiums you paid outside of an employer plan.²⁶

Backup for Tax Credits

Credits cut your tax bill dollar for dollar, but each one has documentation requirements, and a missing piece can cost you the credit entirely.

Child and Dependent Care

If you paid someone to care for a child under 13 or a disabled dependent so you could work, bring the provider’s name, address, and taxpayer identification number, plus a statement or receipts showing the total paid.²⁷ A tax-exempt provider like a church daycare still needs the name and address on the return, but the TIN isn’t required.

Education

Both the American Opportunity Tax Credit, worth up to $2,500 per eligible student, and the Lifetime Learning Credit require Form 1098-T from the school.²⁸ The American Opportunity Credit also covers course materials bought elsewhere, so bring separate receipts for textbooks and required supplies.

Residential Clean Energy

Installed solar panels, a solar water heater, a geothermal heat pump, or another qualifying clean energy system? Bring the purchase receipts, installation records, and manufacturer certifications the IRS looks for, such as Energy Star for geothermal heat pumps or Solar Rating Certification Corporation certification for solar water heaters.²⁹ One boundary worth flagging: the new clean vehicle credit is no longer available for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025, so unless you bought your EV on or before that date, there is no credit to claim for 2026.³⁰

Health Insurance Statements

If you bought coverage through the federal or a state marketplace, you’ll receive Form 1095-A by mid-February. Do not file until you have it. Your preparer uses it to reconcile the premium tax credit on Form 8962. If your income ended up higher than you estimated, you may owe some of the advance credit back; if it was lower, you may pick up additional credit.³¹

If you have an HSA, bring both Form 1099-SA for distributions and Form 5498-SA for contributions so Form 8889 can be completed.²²

Logistical Records That Round Out the Packet

A copy of your 2025 federal and state returns. It helps your preparer catch carryovers like capital losses, depreciation schedules, and unused credits, and it supports identity verification for e-filing.
Bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit of any refund. E-filed returns with direct deposit usually get refunds within three weeks, compared with six weeks or longer for paper returns and mailed checks. The same numbers let you pay electronically if you owe.³²³³
Records of quarterly estimated payments made during 2026, including dates, amounts, and confirmation numbers. Form 1040-ES includes a worksheet for tracking these.³⁴
A copy of Form 4868 if you filed for an automatic extension, along with confirmation of any payment made with it.

Bring any IRS notices or letters you received during the year, especially ones about prior-year adjustments, underpayment penalties, or balances due. They give your preparer context that affects the current filing. Being thorough at this stage is the cleanest way to avoid an accuracy-related penalty, which runs 20% of any underpayment the IRS later attributes to negligence or a substantial understatement of income.³⁵

1
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
2
Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN)
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Internal Revenue Service. FAQs About the Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN)
4
Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement
5
Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Payments to Independent Contractors
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-INT, Interest Income
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-B, Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-G
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Social Security Administration. Get Your Social Security Benefit Statement (SSA-1099)
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Internal Revenue Service. IRS Issues FAQs on Form 1099-K Threshold Under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill
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Internal Revenue Service. What Kind of Records Should I Keep
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Internal Revenue Service. How Small Business Owners Can Deduct Their Home Office From Their Taxes
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Internal Revenue Service. Digital Assets
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FinCEN.gov. Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts
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Internal Revenue Service. Do I Need to File Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets
18
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 456, Student Loan Interest Deduction
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Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8889, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
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Internal Revenue Service. Notice 26-05
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-SA and 5498-SA
23
Internal Revenue Service. Divorce or Separation May Have an Effect on Taxes
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement
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Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contributions: Written Acknowledgments
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Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502 (2025), Medical and Dental Expenses
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Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 602, Child and Dependent Care Credit
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Internal Revenue Service. Education Credits: Questions and Answers
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Internal Revenue Service. How to Claim a Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit
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Internal Revenue Service. Credits for New Clean Vehicles Purchased in 2023 or After
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HealthCare.gov. How to Use Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement
32
Internal Revenue Service. Refunds
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Internal Revenue Service. Get Your Refund Faster: Tell IRS to Direct Deposit Your Refund to One, Two, or Three Accounts
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Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Form 1040-ES
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6662 – Imposition of Accuracy-Related Penalty on Underpayments