How to mail previous year's capital gains and losses to IRS - what forms do I include?
Hey everyone, Total newbie with tax stuff here. So I'm trying to send my old stock stuff from last year directly to the IRS through mail because apparently you can't e-file previous years' info (at least that's what my buddy told me). I'm only doing this because I need to confirm my stock loss carryover amount for this year's taxes. I've already completed last year's Schedule D (1040) and I have the 1099 from my investment company. But I'm confused about what else needs to go in the envelope. Like, do I need to include Form 8949 even if all my transactions are already shown on the 1099? Or is there some cover letter I should attach? Maybe I need to include the entire 1040 form too? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I've never mailed anything to the IRS before and don't want to mess it up. Thanks for any help!!
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Mateo Rodriguez
You'll need to send a complete tax return, not just the capital gains forms. This means you need Form 1040 (the main tax return), Schedule D (for capital gains/losses), AND Form 8949 (the detailed transactions). Even though your 1099 shows all transactions, you still need to complete Form 8949. The IRS needs to see how YOU reported these transactions. Your 1099 is just what your broker reported - you need to confirm those numbers and potentially make adjustments. Also include any other schedules that apply to your situation from that tax year (Schedule B for interest/dividends if applicable, etc). Make sure you SIGN and DATE the tax return (physical signature, not typed). If you're filing just to establish loss carryover, write "Filed solely to establish loss carryover" at the top of the first page.
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Aisha Abdullah
•If OP is only filing to establish loss carryover, does the entire 1040 need to be completed with all income sources, or can they just fill out the parts related to capital gains/losses?
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Mateo Rodriguez
•You'll need to complete the entire 1040 with all income sources. The IRS doesn't accept partial returns, even when you're just establishing loss carryover. They need to see your complete tax situation to properly process the capital loss. For the loss carryover specifically, make sure line 21 of Schedule D shows the loss amount (capped at $3,000 per year against ordinary income) and that it properly flows to the 1040. This establishes your basis for carrying losses to the current tax year.
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Ethan Wilson
After struggling with a similar situation last year (had to mail in an amended return with stock losses), I found this amazing service called taxr.ai that saved me so much headache! https://taxr.ai has this cool "document review" feature where you can upload all your forms before sending them in and it tells you if anything is missing or incorrectly filled out. When I was about to mail my previous year's tax forms with capital losses, I ran them through taxr.ai first and it caught that I had used the wrong cost basis method on my 8949 and hadn't properly carried over my losses! It's way better than just hoping you did everything right before mailing it to the IRS.
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NeonNova
•Does this service actually look at prior year's returns? I thought most tax software only handles the current year. How's it different from just using TurboTax?
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Yuki Tanaka
•I'm skeptical about these tax checking services. How much does it cost? And how do you know they're giving accurate advice that's better than what you'd get from a CPA?
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Ethan Wilson
•The service is specifically designed to review documents from any tax year, not just current ones. Unlike TurboTax which walks you through creating a return for a specific year, taxr.ai analyzes already-completed forms to check for errors or missing information regardless of which tax year they're from. Their system uses tax professionals who review your documents alongside their AI tools, so you're getting human expertise backed by software that catches common errors. It's like having a second set of eyes on your work before you commit to sending it to the IRS, which is especially helpful for complicated situations like capital loss carryovers that span multiple tax years.
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Yuki Tanaka
Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that the other user mentioned. I uploaded my completed Schedule D, 8949 and 1099-B from my previous tax year, and they actually found that I had miscalculated my wash sale adjustments which would have affected my loss carryover amount! I was really surprised since I thought I had done it correctly. They explained exactly what needed to be fixed and how it would affect my current year taxes. Definitely worth it since getting my carryover amount wrong would have caused major headaches if I got audited. The review was super fast too - I had results back in hours instead of waiting days for a CPA appointment.
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Carmen Diaz
I went through this exact nightmare last year trying to call the IRS about a previous year's capital loss carryover. Spent WEEKS trying to get through to a human being. Finally discovered this service called Claimyr https://claimyr.com that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes after I'd been trying for days on my own. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Instead of mailing everything blindly and hoping for the best, I'd recommend getting clarity directly from an IRS agent first. The agent I spoke with actually told me I didn't need to file a complete return if I just needed confirmation of my loss carryover - I only needed to submit a specific form. Saved me tons of time and worry.
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Andre Laurent
•Wait, so this service somehow gets you through the IRS phone system? How does that even work? When I called last year I was on hold for 3+ hours and then got disconnected.
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Emily Jackson
•Sounds like a scam tbh. Nobody can magically get through the IRS phone line faster. They probably just keep you on hold themselves and charge you $$$ for the privilege.
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Carmen Diaz
•It's not about "magically" getting through - they use technology that continuously redials and navigates the initial IRS phone menu until they secure a place in line with an actual agent. Once they have someone on the line, they call you to connect. It's basically doing the frustrating waiting and redialing part for you. I was skeptical too, but it genuinely worked. Instead of spending my day hitting redial and navigating the same menu repeatedly, I went about my day and got a call when they had an agent. The IRS's phone system is overwhelmed, but their technology essentially waits in line for you instead of you having to do it yourself.
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Emily Jackson
I want to apologize for calling Claimyr a scam earlier. I actually decided to try it myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS about my own capital loss carryover issue from 2023. I couldn't believe it when I got a call back with an actual IRS agent on the line this morning! The agent confirmed that I DO need to file a complete tax return for my previous year (not just Schedule D) if I want to establish my capital loss carryover. They also told me exactly where to mail it and that I should mark the top of the 1040 with "Filing to establish capital loss carryover" to help them process it correctly. Would have taken me weeks to get this info otherwise. Sorry for being so negative before!
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Liam Mendez
I'm an enrolled tax preparer and want to add something important: make sure you keep COPIES of everything you send to the IRS! They sometimes lose mail, and you need proof of what you submitted. Also, send it certified mail with return receipt so you have proof they received it. When establishing a capital loss carryover, documentation is critical since it might affect your returns for many years to come.
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Nia Thompson
•Thanks for the advice! Do you know approximately how long it typically takes the IRS to process a mailed previous year return? Should I wait to hear back from them before filing this year's return with the carryover loss?
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Liam Mendez
•The IRS is currently taking about 6-8 weeks to process paper returns, but it can be longer in some cases. You don't need to wait for confirmation before filing this year's return with the carryover loss. Go ahead and file your current year return using the carryover amount you've calculated. Just make sure you keep detailed records of how you determined that amount. If the IRS later finds an issue with your previous year's return, you can always file an amended return for the current year if necessary.
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Sophia Nguyen
Has anyone used FreeTaxUSA for prior year returns? Their software lets you prepare previous year returns for free and tells you exactly what forms to print and mail. That's what I did for my 2022 return with capital losses, and it was pretty straightforward. Just wondering if others had good experiences with it.
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Jacob Smithson
•I've used FreeTaxUSA for the past 3 years including a prior year return. Super easy and it generates all the forms you need to print out. Way cheaper than TurboTax and H&R Block for basically the same service. They even have a checklist for what forms to mail and where to send them.
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Kendrick Webb
Just to add another perspective - I had a similar situation last year where I needed to establish capital loss carryover from 2022. I ended up going to a local VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) site and they helped me prepare the prior year return for free. The volunteer was really knowledgeable about capital gains/losses and made sure I had everything correct before mailing it in. They also helped me understand exactly how the carryover would work for my current year taxes. If you have a VITA site near you, it might be worth checking out - especially since you mentioned being new to tax stuff. They're specifically trained to help with these kinds of situations and it doesn't cost anything. You can find locations on the IRS website. Just make sure to bring all your documents (1099s, any previous year tax returns you have, etc.).
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