When will the IRS wage and income transcripts become available for 2025 tax year?

The IRS Wage and Income Transcripts generally become available in mid-to-late May for the previous tax year, so for the 2024 tax year (which you'd file in 2025), you'd typically be able to access them around May 2025. This is after the standard April 15 filing deadline. You definitely don't have to file your return before these transcripts become available. The transcripts are actually created from the information forms (W-2s, 1099s, etc.) that employers and other payers submit to the IRS. The whole point is that they represent what the IRS has on record for you. If you're worried about something not being reported correctly, your best option before May would be to collect all your income statements directly - all your W-2s, 1099s, and other income documents that were sent to you. These are the same documents your employers should have sent to the IRS.

Honestly, I was in the same boat last year with multiple income sources and was super anxious about missing something. I found this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that saved me big time. It can actually analyze all your tax documents and financial statements to make sure everything matches up before you file. I uploaded my bank statements and what W-2s I had, and it flagged a missing 1099 payment that I would have completely forgotten about! It can analyze typed or even handwritten documents and extract the important tax info automatically. Definitely a game changer if you're trying to make sure everything is accounted for before those official IRS transcripts become available.

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai that I mentioned I might try. I actually went ahead and used it last weekend and wow - it found a 1099-NEC that was mailed to my old address that I never received! The state tax feature was exactly what I needed too - it organized everything by jurisdiction which saved me hours of spreadsheet work. The document analysis was surprisingly accurate, even with some of my messier paperwork. Now I feel confident that what I'm reporting matches what the IRS will see when those wage and income transcripts finally become available in May. Definitely worth it for peace of mind if you're dealing with multiple income sources!

If you need to actually TALK to the IRS about your wage and income transcript, good luck getting through on the phone... I tried calling every day for two weeks straight last year and couldn't get a human on the line. Then I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an IRS agent in about 45 minutes instead of the hours or days of redial hell. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was super skeptical at first, but it actually worked! The IRS agent I spoke with was able to tell me exactly what income was showing up in their system and confirmed there was a missing 1099 that I needed to address. Saved me from a potential audit situation.

So I need to eat my words from my previous comment. After continuing to fail getting through to the IRS on my own for another week (calling at different times, trying different options in the menu), I broke down and tried Claimyr. I got connected to an IRS rep in about 35 minutes! The agent was able to confirm what income sources were already showing in their system even though the official wage and income transcript wasn't available yet. Turns out they could see most of my W-2 and 1099 info already in their system, just not in the organized transcript format that becomes available in May. This saved me a ton of stress because I was able to confirm a questionable 1099 was indeed reported properly. Just wanted to update since I was so skeptical before.

Not sure if this helps, but you can request your "Return Transcript" or "Account Transcript" before the Wage and Income Transcript is available. They don't show itemized income sources like the Wage and Income Transcript does, but they might give you some info. I know the Account Transcript shows your total income as processed by the IRS. You can request these online through the IRS website if you set up an account. The Return and Account transcripts are usually available pretty quickly after you file, unlike the Wage and Income ones that take until May.

I'm self-employed and I've noticed that some of my 1099s show up on the wage and income transcript earlier than others. Usually the bigger companies (like payment processors) get their reporting in faster, while smaller clients sometimes take longer or occasionally miss the reporting entirely. If you're dealing with gig work or multiple income sources, I'd highly recommend keeping your own detailed records rather than relying solely on what the IRS has. In my experience, it's not uncommon for there to be discrepancies, and it's way easier to sort them out if you have your own documentation.