The sooner you finish your taxes, the sooner you’ll receive your tax refund, if you have one coming.
But even if you do tend to wait until the last moment or plan on filing an October 15 extension, not organizing your tax paperwork could mean problems later.
To help you get a leg up on tax prep, whether you’re tapping a tax professional to prepare your return or doing it yourself, here’s all the information and documents you’ll need to gather.
[READ: 4 Benefits of Filing Taxes Early]
What Tax Forms Do I Need to File Taxes?
The forms you need to file taxes depend on your financial activities throughout the year. Below are some of the common tax forms organizations are required to file and send to taxpayers under certain conditions. Note that if you have a working spouse and you’re filing jointly, you may both get some of these forms:
— Form 1040:;This is the tax form used for individual federal income tax returns. If you use tax preparation software, a tax preparation service or a tax accountant — they’ll all need you to complete it. If you’re doing your own taxes, you can get a copy from theIRS website.
— W-2:If you work for an employer, you should receive a W-2 by Jan. 31, which shows how much you earned last year and how much was deducted for taxes and retirement account contributions.
— 1099-NEC:This 1099 form reports non-employee compensation. You should receive it by Jan. 31 if you received more than $600 from a business for work as an independent contractor.
— Other 1099 forms:If you earned interest from savings or investments, you may receive a 1099-INT form. You could also receive a 1099-DIV, which reports dividends and distributions from investments. If you received a 1099-C, that means you had a debt of $600 or more canceled. The amount forgiven or canceled is generally taxable, but there are exceptions, according to the IRS, such as someone who had debt canceled in a Title 11 bankruptcy case.
— 1098:Those who own a home and pay mortgage interest will get a Form 1098 from their mortgage lender. It shows the amount of mortgage interest a homeowner paid above $600.
— 1098-E:This form records tax-deductible student loan interest payments over $600. (You can deduct up to $2,500 worth of student loan interest under certain conditions.) If you paid less than $600, you may not get a 1098-E, but if you find out how much interest you paid, you can deduct it. If you need the form, your loan servicer should send it to you.
— 1098-T:Form 1098-T can help you calculate and claim educational tax credits and deductions. It reports payments received for qualified tuition and related education expenses that you may have paid last year. You’ll also need to include scholarships or grants. Your school or child’s school should send this to you.
[Read: How to File Taxes for Free.]
What Other Documents Do I Need?
In addition to tax forms issued by organizations, here are some other documents you may need as you start preparing your taxes:
— Supporting information for tax deductions and credits. If you plan to take advantage of tax deductions and credits, you’ll need certain documents to ensure you qualify. These could include documentation or receipts related to child care, medical expenses and business expenses. Claiming a mileage tax deduction? Ideally, you’ll have already created a log including dates, destinations and reasons for travel.
— Social Security numbers for family members. Ensure you have your spouse and dependents’ Social Security numbers. If you had a baby in 2024, you’d need his or her Social Security number to claim child tax credits.
— Retirement and college savings contribution information. Remember to collect documentation on retirement plan contributions that are tax deductible. If you contributed to a 529 college savings plan in 2024 and your state offers a tax benefit, you’ll want to keep that information on hand for your state taxes. Unfortunately, 529 contributions aren’t tax deductible for federal taxes.
— Charitable donations. Gather all your receipts for your charitable contributions during 2024 and put them somewhere safe. You don’t need to send these to the IRS, but you’ll want proof that you contributed what you claimed in case of an audit.
— Last year’s tax returns. If you file your taxes yourself, having last year’s on hand for reference might not hurt.
— Estimated tax payments that you sent to the government. Are you self-employed? If you don’t use a tax preparation software service or tax accountant who keeps track of your estimated tax payments, you’ll need to supply them to the IRS. If you have an employer, your taxes come from your regular paycheck, and you don’t have to worry about estimated tax payments.
— Your bank account information. Do you want your refund sent to you via direct deposit? You must provide the IRS with your bank account and routing numbers.
[Related:Red Flags That Could Trigger a Tax Audit]
Keep These New Changes in Mind
Every year, there are some new changes to be on the lookout for when it comes to filing your taxes. Here are two you can expect for the 2025 filing season:
1. A New Way to File
There’s a new way for some taxpayers to file, called Direct File.
“The IRS is now testing its own in-house tax return preparation software,” says Jordan Rippy, a certified public accountant and associate professor of practice in accounting at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
“This is meant to eventually compete with well-known commercial products like TurboTax. Because it is a pilot program, the pool of eligible taxpayers is limited,” she says.
While the program was only open to taxpayers in 12 states last year, it’s now available in 25. However, you can only use it if you have qualifying types of income, credits and deductions. Gig economy or business income, for example, will disqualify you.
2. You Might Need Form 1099-K
There’s been a lot of talk about Form 1099-K, which reports payments users collect through mobile apps.
“One item we were expecting to see this filing season that has been delayed is the $600 reporting threshold for third-party payment apps like Venmo, PayPal and Square on Form 1099-K,” Rippy says. “The challenge has been that it is hard to distinguish between nontaxable and taxable transactions that happen via payment platforms.”
Rather, this tax season the threshold is much higher. You should get a 1099-K from any payment platform where you collected over $5,000 last year (previously the threshold was $20,000 and 200 transactions). You may still receive the form if you don’t meet that threshold or if your state has a lower threshold.
Either way, all income a person receives in exchange for goods and services is taxable and should be reported to the IRS.
“If you are sending money via Zelle to your friend who purchased a movie ticket on your behalf or picked up the whole dinner tab, that is not a taxable transaction. However, if you are paying your hair stylist via Venmo, that is taxable income to your hair stylist,” Rippy says.
More from U.S. News
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Tax Prep Checklist: Collect These Forms Before You File originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 03/19/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
