Getting A Copy of Last Years Tax Return

Welcome to the New Year! It’s time to do you taxes! Yes, I can hear you groan through the ether known as the internet. Complaining will get you nowhere. You have to do it and there are plenty of pitfalls that can make it a miserable experience. One such pitfall is losing your return from last year.

The IRS is known for its forms. If the Agency had its way, you would have to fill out a form seeking permission to fill out a form. While most of us regular folks assume there is some purely evil reason for all the forms, there actually seems to be a method to the madness. The combination of forms are designed to do two things – trip you up if you are lying and create a cross reference to figure out if you are even if you come up with a good lie!

Your 1040 tax return form is now part of this process. The IRS analyzes the figures you report not only for this year, but as it compares to previous years. If the numbers don’t look right over the years, then an audit can be triggered. Trust me, you don’t want that to happen!

So, what does this mean for you? It means you need to look at your previous years tax return when preparing this years version. I’m not suggesting you cheat at all. You simply have to make sure the numbers you reported for last year translate to this years. For instance, let’s assume you took a business mileage deduction. If the ending mileage figure from your last return is different from the starting figure for this year’s return, well that is going to raise some questions isn’t it?

Now let’s get to the crux of the problem. What if you can’t find the return for last year? Hey, it happens. You can request a copy of your tax return from the IRS using Form 4506. The IRS will send you a copy of the return. It takes 60 days and costs $57, so make sure to plan accordingly. If you won’t receive it by April 15th, you can always file for an automatic extension.

Losing your tax return is never a good thing. That being said, it is hardly the end of the world either.

Richard A. Chapo writes about federal tax topics for BusinessTaxRecovery.com.