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Whether you hire a professional or do it yourself, you need certain information and documentation to file your tax return. Here鈥檚 a list of items聽taxpayers commonly need to complete the job.

Personal data

Let鈥檚 start with the obvious.

• Last year鈥檚 taxes, both your federal and 鈥� if applicable 鈥斅爏tate return.听These aren鈥檛 strictly necessary, but they鈥檙e good refreshers of what you filed last year and the documents you used.
• Social Security numbers for yourself, your spouse and all dependents.听Remember, in addition to children, dependents can include elderly parents and others.

Income

Gather all the documents that confirm the money you received during聽the previous year.

• W-2 forms.听Employers must issue these by Jan. 31, so keep an eye on your mailboxes, both聽physical and electronic.听
• 1099 forms.听Each of these ends with a different suffix, depending on the type of payment you received. For example, form聽聽is for contract work or that big jackpot you hit on your visit to Las Vegas. If you鈥檙e paid via a third party such as PayPal or Amazon, you鈥檒l likely get a 1099-K. Investment earnings show up on 1099-INT for interest, 1099-DIV for dividends and 1099-B for broker-handled transactions.

Deductions

Deductions help reduce your taxable income, which generally means a lower tax bill. The key to claiming deductions is documentation.

You don鈥檛 have to itemize to benefit from some deductions. These are listed directly on聽聽or, to a lesser extent, on Form 1040A. More deductions are available if you itemize expenses on Schedule A.

Here鈥檚 a rundown of some popular聽.听Make sure you have documentation for each before you file:

• Retirement account contributions.听You can deduct for contributions to a聽聽or self-employed retirement account. Just be sure to stay within the contribution limits. 聽
• Educational expenses.听Students can claim a deduction for tuition and fees they paid, as well as for interest paid on a student loan. Beginning with 2016 tax filings, the IRS won鈥檛 accept your deduction claim without Form 1098-T, which shows your education transactions. Form 1098-E has details on your student loan.
• Medical bills.听Medical costs could provide tax savings, but only if they total more than 10% of adjusted gross income for most taxpayers.
• Property taxes and mortgage interest.听If your mortgage payment includes an amount escrowed for property taxes, that will be included in box 11 of the Form 1098 your lender sends you. That document will also show how much home loan interest you can claim on Schedule A.
• Charitable donations.听To ensure your generosity pays off at tax time, keep your receipts for charitable donations. The IRS could disallow your claim if you don鈥檛 have verification.
• Classroom expenses.听If you鈥檙e a school teacher or other eligible educator, you can deduct up to $250 spent on classroom supplies.
• State and local taxes.听You can deduct various other taxes, including either state and local income or sales taxes. You don鈥檛 need receipts for the sales tax; the IRS provides tables with average amounts you can claim. The tax on a major purchase, however, can be added to the table amount, so keep those receipts.

Note that state income taxes paid should be on your W-2, but remember to add any state estimated taxes you paid during the year.

Credits

Credits are deductions鈥� more valuable cousins: They provide dollar-for-dollar cuts in any tax you owe. But as with deductions, you need documentation to claim them. Here are some popular tax credits:

• American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credits.听These education-related credits can save you quite a bit of money. As with the tuition and fees deduction, Form 1098-T is required to claim either.
• Child Credit.听The standard Child Credit is worth聽up to $1,000 per child dependent. If you added to your family through adoption, you might be eligible for additional tax credits.
• Premium Tax Credit.听If you bought Affordable Care Act coverage through the government鈥檚 marketplace, be on the lookout for Form 1095-A. It will help you claim the Premium Tax Credit or reconcile the amount you got in advance.
• Retirement savings contributions credit.听,聽similar employer-sponsored plan or an IRA might allow you to claim this credit.

Payments

Most of us have income taxes withheld from our paychecks to cover our tax liabilities; that amount is on our W-2 forms. But if you made federal estimated tax payments during the year, have this amount handy, too.

This tax checklist covers preparation issues common to most filers, but taxes are different for each of us. Be prepared to tailor the list above to your situation.

To learn more on potential tax savings, see NerdWallet鈥檚聽.

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