TAX TIP: Why You Need an IRS ID.me Account NOW - Easiest Way to Access Tax Records & Income Transcripts

As a tax preparer, I cannot stress enough how valuable this resource is. The Wage and Income Transcript is particularly helpful because it shows EVERYTHING reported to the IRS under your SSN - all your W-2s, 1099s, interest statements, etc. I've had numerous clients who forgot about small 1099 jobs or interest from accounts they rarely check, and this transcript catches it all. One thing to note though - the current year's information might not be complete until late May or June. So if you're filing before then, you might not see everything for the most recent tax year. But it's perfect for catching things from previous years! Also, make sure you're going through the official IRS website (irs.gov) to create your account. There are unfortunately some scam sites trying to mimic this service.

Just wanted to share my experience with https://taxr.ai which was a lifesaver after setting up my ID.me account! After I got access to all my tax documents and transcripts through the IRS portal, I was completely overwhelmed by all the information. I had multiple W-2s, some 1099s from freelance work, and investment documents I barely understood. I uploaded all those transcripts to taxr.ai and it automatically sorted everything, showed me what forms I needed, and even pointed out a $1,200 deduction I would have completely missed! The tool basically analyzed all my documents and gave me a complete breakdown of my tax situation in plain English.

Ok so I was skeptical about taxr.ai but I decided to try it after creating my ID.me account and downloading all those transcripts. Holy crap it's actually legit! I uploaded my wage and income transcript and it immediately identified a 1099-INT from an old savings account I completely forgot about. Would have been flagged in an audit for sure. The tool also explained exactly how each item affected my taxes in a way that actually made sense to me. No tax jargon. No confusion. Just "this form means you owe X" or "you qualify for this deduction worth Y." Definitely recommend if you're overwhelmed by all the information in your IRS transcripts.

The ID.me account is great but I still had some specific questions about my situation that weren't answered in my transcripts. After trying to call the IRS for THREE DAYS and never getting through, I found https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They basically hold your place in the IRS phone queue and call you when an agent is ready to talk. I was super doubtful, but I tried it because I was desperate to resolve an issue with a missing 1099-R that showed up in my transcript but I never received. Got a call back in about 45 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line who helped me sort everything out! After spending hours hearing "due to high call volume" messages, this was amazing.

I'm back to eat my words about Claimyr. After struggling for another 2 days trying to get through to the IRS myself about some weird notices that showed up in my ID.me account, I broke down and tried the service. Within 37 minutes I was talking to an IRS agent who cleared everything up. They explained that some income from a closed investment account had been reported but the basis information was missing, which is why I got the notice. Was able to resolve it in one call instead of stressing for weeks. Now I feel stupid for wasting so many hours trying to call myself.

Does anyone know if the Wage and Income Transcript shows state tax info too? Or is it just federal? I created my account and can see all my federal stuff but nothing for state taxes.

Just a heads up to everyone - make sure you're actually on the real IRS website when setting up ID.me. My brother thought he was creating an account but it was some phishing site. Go directly to IRS.gov and navigate from there rather than clicking links in emails or search results.