There are three ways in which one can request a tax return transcript from the IRS. If you or your family member needs to document your taxable income, you can request the IRS to send you the Tax Transcript to fill out a FAFSA application or to fulfill verification requirements, free of charge. Once validated the IRS Tax Return Transcript can be expected within 5 to 10 days from the time the request was made.
While requesting the tax return transcript make sure that you are choosing the right tax year. You can make an online request by logging in to the IRS Web site at www.irs.gov. There, under the section TOOLS, you will have to click on ‘Get Transcript of Your Tax Records’. You can get this transcript printed. If you choose to get the transcript by the second option i.e. Mail then the same document will be received via post mail.
If you choose the mail option then make sure you avoid validation issues by entering the tax filer’s information as it was entered on the original tax form when entering the tax filer’s social security number, date of birth, street address, and zip or postal code. Because if the information does not validate then you will need to use a different option to retrieve the information.
You can also call on the IRS helpline no. 1-800-908-9946. You will need to follow the prompts to enter required information and select the IRS Tax “Return Transcript” option. You will be asked to enter the tax filer’s social security number and verify the entered information with this you will also need to enter the numbers on the address entered on the tax filer’s tax forms not including the zip code, without special characters such as commas, periods, numeric pound sign (, . #), etc, and without any letters.
While you are making a request for the w2 online copy, you will also be asked the type of transcript you need- Return transcript or Account transcript. The ‘Return Transcript’ will only show a summary of the tax information and you will need to submit an ‘account transcript’ to the Financial Aid office if you have made changes to your tax forms and filed an Amended tax form.
