Taxpayers who need a real copy of a tax return can get one for the current tax year and up to six years ago. The taxpayer will complete and mail Form 4506 to request a copy of a tax return. They should mail the request to the appropriate IRS office listed on the form. Taxpayers who didn't keep a copy of their tax return from the previous year, but now need it, have several options for obtaining the information.
In general, people should keep copies of their tax returns and any documents for at least three years after filing them. Please note that only account and tax return transcript types are available in Get Transcript by Mail. Use Form 4506-T, Request for a Transcript of the Tax Return, if you need a different type of transcript and cannot use Get a Transcript Online. The IRS recommends keeping tax returns and other documents for three or two years from the time you paid the tax, whichever comes later.
The IRS has a statute of limitations for conducting audits and is limited to three years. This way, if an emergency arises, that person will know how to access any document they may need to keep their affairs in order. Likewise, the IRS generally has only three years from the filing date or due date of the return (whichever comes later) to apply an additional tax. However, we have translated the Get Transcript website into five foreign languages to help users before trying to verify their identity and use Get Transcript Online, which is only available in English.
The Get Transcript service allows individual taxpayers to retrieve their own transcripts for their own purposes. From retirement account contributions to self-employment expenses, learn more about the five most common tax deductions from the experts at H&R Block. Taxpayers can request a copy of a tax return by completing and mailing Form 4506 to the IRS address on the form. In addition, if you amortize, depreciate, or buy or sell a property, you must keep records of the property until the statute of limitations period of the year in which you dispose of the property expires.
For example, you should plan to keep retirement account tax forms, such as IRAs, for up to seven years after the account has been fully liquidated. For example, certain creditors and even some insurance companies may require you to keep records longer than the IRS. IRS transcripts are the best and are most often used to validate previous income and tax-filing status of applications for mortgages and other loans, and to help prepare taxes. If a taxpayer can't get a copy of a return from the previous year, they can request a tax transcript from the IRS.
For the best possible experience, use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Microsoft Edge to view this website. For example, if you omit more than 25% of your gross income from your return, the IRS has six years instead of three to apply an additional tax. If you filed your tax return electronically, it takes 2 to 4 weeks for the return to be processed by the IRS before the transcript is available.
