Return of the Taxes
/Do you know where your old returns are? Do you even have them? Now is the time to check.
The IRS recommends keeping your returns for at least three years (more if you have under-reported your income, if you’re depreciating business assets, or made substantial investments or improvements). But that is based on timelines for what the IRS may be interested in -- if you are facing divorce, even an amicable one, you may be asked to produce 5-10 years of returns.
If you have gone paperless, you can (and should) keep those returns forever, just be sure that whatever your storage is (1) secure and (2) backed up. I personally make sure that any document containing birthdates and social security numbers is password protected at least once. Often I will password protect individual files and then store them in an encrypted drive.
What if you don’t have your old returns? The IRS can provide you with either a copy of your actual filed return, or a transcript. Actual copies are only available for the current year and the three previous tax years, and cost $50 each. Transcripts are a print-out generated by the IRS that lists each line item and the amount for each -- i.e. Wages Tips and Salary, Federal Income Tax Withheld, etc. These are available for free online for the current year and the previous three years. Transcripts from earlier tax years are also available for request by mail.
So if you do not have your old returns you should, at the very least, download whatever transcripts are available for your records. If you know that you are facing a divorce or other legal proceedings, it may be worth your while to pay now for the copies that are available from the IRS. I know that when I handle a contested matter, I want to see the signed returns. And you may be able to request transcripts from earlier tax years -- although the best solution is to just keep copies (paper or electronic) every year as you file them.
Here’s the IRS page for ordering and downloading transcripts for recent tax years: http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript
Form 4506-T for requesting older transcripts: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506t.pdf
Form 4506 for requesting copies of prior year returns: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf
And: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Tips-for-Managing-Your-Tax-Record
-- Anna