Documents You Need For Free Help from Tax-Aide

Bringing the right documents will get your return done faster

/ Updated October 24, 2023

AARP FOUNDATION

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide will get your tax returns filled out and filed — all for free.

The program, aimed at taxpayers 50 and older, is free and doesn’t require AARP membership. You’ll get assistance from volunteers certified by the Internal Revenue Service. You can even get your tax return sent electronically for free, which will speed your refund. To get help with preparing your tax return from an IRS-certified volunteer, book an appointment using the Site Locator. But you can’t just walk in empty-handed or — even worse — with a shoebox full of receipts. Here’s what you will need:

General

• All correspondence received from the IRS and your state/local taxing authority.

• Social Security cards and/or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number notices/cards or other official documentation that show the taxpayer identification numbers for every individual on your return.

• Government-issued photo ID for each taxpayer.

• Checking or savings account information if you want to direct-deposit any refund(s) or direct-debit any amounts due.

• Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) (for each individual if applicable). Don't have one? The IRS can send you one.

Income

• W-2 forms for each employer.

• 1099-G form for unemployment compensation or state/local income tax refunds.

• SSA-1099 form showing the total Social Security benefits paid to you for the year, or RRB-1099, Tier 1 railroad retirement benefits form.

• 1099 forms (or other statements) reporting interest (1099-INT), dividends (1099-DIV) and/or proceeds from sales (1099-B), plus documentation showing the original purchase prices if you sold stocks or other assets.

• 1099-R form if you received a pension, annuity or IRA distribution.

• 1099-MISC, 1099-K or other 1099 forms. If you have a business, bring a summary list of all your income (cash and noncash) and all business-related expenses.

• Information about any other income of any form, including cash.

• Any stimulus check receipt or tax document that you may have received from your state.

Payments

Records of any federal and/or state and/or local income tax paid (including quarterly estimated tax payments) if not shown on income documents.

Deductions

Most taxpayers have a choice of taking either a standard deduction or itemizing their deductions. You need to have more itemized deductions than the standard deduction. If you have a substantial amount of deductions, you may want to itemize. If so, bring the following information:

• 1098 form showing home mortgage interest.

• A summary list of medical/dental/vision expenses, including doctor and hospital bills and medical insurance premiums, prescription medicines, assisted living services, long-term insurance and bills for medical-related home improvements such as ramps and railings for people with disabilities.

• Summary of cash and noncash contributions to charity.

• Property tax bills paid during the year (frequently shown on mortgage statement).

• 1095-A forms if you purchased insurance through the marketplace (exchange).

Credits/adjustments

• Dependent care provider information — name, address, telephone number and employer ID or Social Security number and amount paid to provider.

• 1098-T form for education expenses plus statement of account from the educational institution showing tuition and fees actually paid and scholarships, grants, etc. received. Bring a summary of any other education expenses.

• 1098-E form for student loan interest.

Privacy Information

AARP Foundation operates the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program under a cooperative agreement with the IRS. In order to help complete your tax returns, AARP Foundation’s trained and IRS-certified volunteers will see personal information that you give them about you and your finances. This information is strictly confidential. We will not share your information with anyone except as necessary to accurately file your tax returns, as otherwise required by law, or with your consent. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide and the IRS-approved tax software vendor keep different types of information about you for different periods of time. We keep your return information temporarily so that we can electronically process your return and ensure acceptance by the IRS as well as any state taxation authority. This personal data is kept confidential and secure and will not be sold, given away or used for any commercial purpose. We also keep and use de-identified aggregated data, (for example, city, state, ZIP codes of people the program served, number of people the program served, etc.) summarized at the site level for program impact analysis. This data does not include personally identifiable information about any individual taxpayer. If you have any questions about this notice, please contact us at taxaide@aarp.org or 888-227-7669.