2026 tax document checklist and filing guide

Income documents

Employed

• Form W-2 from each employer

Unemployed

• 1099‑G for unemployment benefits

Self-employed

• Forms 1099, Schedules K-1, income records to verify amounts not reported on 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC
• Records of all expenses — check registers, credit card statements, and receipts
• Business-use asset information (cost, date placed in service, etc.) for depreciation
• Home office information, if applicable
• Record of estimated tax payments made (Form 1040-ES)

Rental income

• Records of income and expenses
• Rental asset information (cost, date placed in service, etc.) for depreciation
• Record of estimated tax payments made (Form 1040-ES)

Retirement income

• Pension, IRA, or annuity income (1099-R)
• Traditional IRA basis (e.g., amounts you contributed to the IRA that were already taxed)
• Social Security or RRB income: SSA-1099, RRB-1099

Savings and investments or dividends

• Interest, dividend income (1099-INT, 1099-OID, 1099-DIV)
• Income from sales of stock or other property (1099-B, 1099-S)
• Dates of acquisition and records of your cost or other basis in property you sold (if basis is not reported on 1099-B)
• Health Savings Account (HSA) and long-term care reimbursements (1099-SA or 1099-LTC)
• Expenses related to your investments
• Record of estimated tax payments made (Form 1040-ES)
• Transactions involving cryptocurrency

Other income and losses

• Payment card and third-party network transactions (1099-K)
• Gambling income (W-2G or records showing income, as well as expense records)
• Jury duty records
• Hobby income and expenses
• Prizes and awards
• Trust income
• Royalty income (1099-MISC)
• Any other 1099s received
• Record of alimony paid or received with ex-spouse’s name and SSN
• State tax refund

Deduction & credit documents

Homeownership

• Forms 1098 or other mortgage interest statements
• Real estate and personal property tax records
• Receipts for energy-saving home improvements (e.g., solar panels, solar water heater)
• All other 1098 series forms

Charitable donations

• Cash amounts donated to houses of worship, schools, or other charitable organizations
• Records of non-cash charitable donations
• Amounts of miles driven for charitable or medical purposes

Medical expenses

• Amounts paid for healthcare, insurance
• Amounts paid to doctors, dentists, and hospitals
• Amounts paid for qualified insurance premiums if paid outside of the Marketplace or an employer-provided plan

Health insurance

• Form 1095-A if you enrolled in an insurance plan through the Marketplace

Child-care expenses

• Fees paid to a licensed day-care center or family day-care center for care of an infant or preschooler
• Amounts paid to a babysitter or care provider for your child (under age 13) while you work
• Expenses paid through a dependent care flexible spending account at work

Educational expenses

• Forms 1098-T from educational institutions
• Receipts that itemize qualified educational expenses
• Records of any scholarships or fellowships you received
• Form 1098-E if you paid student loan interest

K–12 educator expenses

• Receipts for classroom expenses (for educators in grades K–12)

State and local taxes

• Amount of state and local income or sales tax paid (other than wage withholding)
• Invoice showing amount of vehicle sales tax paid and/or personal property tax on vehicles

Retirement and other savings

• Form 5498-SA showing HSA contributions
• Form 5498 showing IRA contributions
• All other 5498 series forms (5498-QA, 5498-ESA)

Step 1. Gather your tax documents.

Use the above checklist to see which situations apply to you and which you can skip. The documents that apply to the most users include:

• W-2s
• 1099s
• Mortgage interest statements
• Investment income statements
• Charitable contribution statements

If you’re filing for the first time as a married couple, you may need to add:

• Form 8822 (to change your address if you moved)
• SS-5 (if you changed your name)
• W-4 (to adjust withholdings based on your new household income)

Your income and investment interest forms should have been sent to you physically or electronically. You can also find and download many of these documents from your mortgage provider, bank, or payroll company. If anything is missing, call the necessary people to get that paperwork quickly.

Step 2. Choose standard or itemized deductions.

For the 2025 tax year, the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and $30,000 for married couples filing jointly.

If your individual deductions add up to more than that for the year, it makes more sense to itemize. If not, stop the tax document treasure hunt and just take the standard deduction.

Remember, if you take the itemization route, you need to support your claims with proof. So, include itemized receipts for deductions and tax credits such as:

• Child care
• Education costs
• Charitable giving
• Medical expenses

Step 3. Decide on your filing status.

Your filing status clarifies things like what you need to do to file, what your standard deduction is, whether or not you’re eligible for certain credits, and how much you’ll owe in taxes.

Sometimes your status is clear (e.g., you’re single), and sometimes you find yourself qualifying for more than one status. Here are the options you’re choosing from:

• Single. If you’re legally separated, divorced, or not married, you’ll file as a single taxpayer.
• Married filing jointly. This is your status if you’re married and both of you agree to file a joint return. Married couples typically save more by filing jointly.
• Married filing separately. If you’re married but don’t agree to file jointly — maybe you want to be responsible only for your taxes, or maybe filing separately gives you a lower tax bill — you can use this status.
• Head of household. To qualify for this, you must be unmarried, have paid for more than half of the household expenses for the year, and must have a qualifying child or dependent. For example, if you’re a single parent taking care of an ailing family member, this status might make sense for you.
• Qualifying widow(er). If your spouse dies and you don’t remarry in the same tax year, you can file jointly with your deceased spouse. For the two years following the year of death, you can use this status if you’re still unmarried and live with a qualifying dependent.

Most people qualify as either single taxpayers or married filing jointly. But there are some instances — although rare — where another status might apply and be worth your consideration. Here, it’s important to do the math and potentially reach out to a tax professional to make sure you’re on the right track.

Step 4. File your taxes.

You’ve got your documents organized, you’ve got your status squared away, and now comes the big moment. According to the IRS, about half of Americans hire professional help to file their tax returns electronically, while 43% use tax software to self-file. The remainder are mailed in paper returns.

Which filing route should you take? Consider the complexity of your situation. Online self-filing software works well if your circumstances are pretty straightforward and you plan to take the standard deduction. If itemizing your deductions makes more sense or if your tax return will be more complicated (e.g., you own a business), hiring a professional is worth it.

1. Scan and digitize

Scanning your documents and receipts for taxes into digital PDFs can make them much easier to organize.

• Use Adobe Scan to convert receipts and forms into PDFs
• Name files clearly
• Store backups locally and in the cloud
• Password protect PDF documents to keep them safe

2. Merge and rearrange PDFs.

Once you’ve digitized your tax documents, you can easily organize them with PDF editing software like Adobe Acrobat. Many documents have attachments that you’ll rarely access individually, so merging them into one PDF file to reduce clutter is a good idea. You can also rearrange PDF pages to be not just numerical but also in a logical order.

3. Manage your PDFs.

Freshly scanned PDFs can sometimes be large and difficult to share. Adobe Acrobat lets you compress PDFs to a smaller file size, making them much easier to email to your accountant or tax officials.

You can also make it simpler to store and distribute scanned tax documents.
Convert files to and from PDF format and JPGs to PDFs in just a few seconds.