Organize the records for your 2023 tax return, identify missing forms and verify investment basis before filing. Historical reference: February 2024.
February 5, 2024 · Financial Forte Staff
Historical article: prepared retrospectively using information available as of February 5, 2024.
The first tax form arrives, and it is tempting to finish the return while the task is fresh in your mind. But one form doesn't tell you whether the rest of your tax picture is complete. A second employer, a closed investment account or a retirement withdrawal can produce paperwork that arrives through a different channel.
For your 2023 return, start with a list of the documents you expect and check off what you have received. That simple comparison can reveal a missing account or income source before it turns into an amended return.
Start with what changed during the year
Last year's return can help you remember employers, accounts and other recurring items. It should not be treated as a complete list for 2023. Add the changes: a job move, a new savings account, investment sales, a side business, a home transaction or a retirement distribution.
For each source of income, identify the expected document and where it should arrive. Some institutions send paper forms; others post them to an online account. A notice that a document is available isn't the document itself. Download the relevant file through the institution's verified website and store it securely.
Include information about estimated tax payments and withholding, not only income. A payment made directly to a tax authority may not appear in the same place as withholding reported by an employer. Keep confirmation dates and amounts available for the preparer.
The IRS's January 2024 filing-season announcement emphasized gathering complete income records before filing. The general federal deadline for most individual 2023 returns is April 15, 2024, with exceptions that must be checked for the taxpayer's circumstances.[1]
Separate what you received from what is taxable
A deposit into a bank account does not, by itself, tell you how it belongs on a return. It could represent wages, an investment sale, a transfer between your own accounts or another transaction. Collect the underlying records so the transaction can be classified correctly.
Consider a hypothetical taxpayer, Maya, who sold shares for $12,000 during 2023. She sees the sale proceeds on her tax statement and remembers paying roughly $9,000 for the investment. Using those figures alone would suggest a $3,000 difference, but memory is not sufficient evidence of tax basis. If records instead establish an adjusted basis of $10,000, the simple proceeds-minus-basis difference would be $2,000 before other tax adjustments. The records change the calculation.
She needs the actual purchase records and any relevant adjustments. Reinvested distributions, corporate actions, prior transfers or other circumstances may affect the calculation. The holding period also matters. The task is to establish the facts, not to assume all proceeds are profit or use a remembered purchase price without checking it.
If the form is missing information or appears wrong, flag the issue rather than silently replacing it with a guess. Contact the issuer or ask the preparer how to reconcile the records. Keeping the explanation with the document makes the decision easier to revisit if a corrected form arrives.[2]
Organize potential deductions without assuming eligibility
Keep records for charitable gifts, medical expenses, education costs and other items that may affect the return. Label them by category and year. A receipt establishes that a payment occurred; it does not automatically establish that the payment is deductible or that itemizing will help.
Suppose Maya has a folder of donations and medical receipts. Her preparer still needs to determine which expenses qualify, whether applicable thresholds are met and how the result compares with the standard deduction. Gathering the records preserves the option to evaluate them accurately. It isn't a commitment to claim each item.
Retirement contributions deserve their own records, including the account type and the tax year assigned to each contribution. A contribution made early in 2024 may require a different treatment from a payroll contribution made in 2023. Tell the preparer what happened and provide confirmations; don't infer the tax year from the bank statement date alone.
If your return includes a business, rental property or partnership interest, organize that information separately. A personal expense folder won't necessarily capture the records needed to establish business income, costs or basis.
Check completeness before checking the refund
Maya's document list shows two employers, two financial institutions and one investment sale. She has four of the expected statements. Even if tax software produces an attractive refund using those four, the calculation is unfinished until the missing item is addressed.
That distinction can prevent a common frustration: becoming attached to a refund estimate that changes when additional information is entered. Treat an early software result as a work in progress, not money available for a purchase.
Also review identifying information, dependent information where relevant, and the account details for a refund or payment. Use a secure method to share documents. Tax records contain information that doesn't belong in a casual group message or an unprotected shared folder.
Give missing information a next step
If an expected form hasn't arrived, record who you contacted and when you expect a response. If the deadline approaches while information remains unresolved, discuss a filing extension and a payment estimate. More time to prepare a return does not generally mean more time to pay the tax due.[3] Avoid sending account passwords or full tax documents through an unverified email request while trying to resolve missing information.
You can make useful progress without finishing everything today. Build the expected-document list, mark what is missing and assign one follow-up. A complete set of records gives the person preparing your return a firmer foundation and gives you a clearer view of the questions worth addressing afterward.
Related reading
- Tax Filing Extension or Payment Extension? Know the Difference
- Use Your Tax Return to Find This Year's Planning Questions
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The contact invitation is current; it does not imply this contact path existed on the historical reference date.
Educational information, not personalized investment, tax, legal or benefits advice. Examples use hypothetical assumptions. Verify current rules and your circumstances before acting.
