Today TaxMama hears from Tracy in Colorado who says. “I stored my 2006 tax information on my computer, which crashed a few months ago wiping out my tax information. How do I obtain my tax information so I can complete my 2007 tax return?”
Dear Tracy,
As my husband generally irritates me by saying at times like this, “Where’s your back up?”
You should be backing up your computer regularly.
No doubt, you lost a lot more than just your tax return. Have you tried a data recovery service? The folks at Nation Wide Data Recovery offer a flat price – https://www.nationwidedatarecovery.com
As to tax documents, this is a perfect example of why I always recommend that you print out a copy of your tax return and keep it with any original documents that went into producing it – W-2s, 1099s, 1098 mortgage statements, stock brokerage reports, etc.
But, if you only need the data from the tax return? That’s easy.
Just send IRS a Form 4506-T, specifying the year you need, and they will send you a transcript of your 2006 tax return in about 2 weeks.
You’ll want to print out a blank 2006 Form 1040 or 1040A, or whichever form you filed, so you can interpret the line numbers on the transcript. The line numbers will correspond to the Form’s line numbers. You’ll find 2006 Forms here.
https://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=169996,00.html
For more information about the Form 4506-T, just search TaxMama.com or TaxQuips.com for 4506-T. You’ll find explanations many times.
Consider using an online back up service, like Microsoft’s OneCare:
https://www.microsoftaffiliates.net/t.aspx?kbid=1461&p=http%3a%2f%2fonecare.live.com%2f&m=5&cid=1
Good luck!
And remember, you can find answers to all kinds of questions about recovering lost tax returns, and other tax issues, free. Where? Where else? At TaxMama.com
[Note: If you were subscribed to the e-mailed TaxQuips, you’d be getting other exciting news and tips by e-mail, that never appear on the site. Please click on the subscribe link and join us.]- Ask TaxMama :: Where taxes are fun and answers are free
- www.TaxQuips.com :: The number ONE free tax podcast online
- NationwideDataRecovery.com :: flat fee to recover data from hard drives
- Microsoft OneCareLive :: To do regular back ups
File Download (0:00 min / 1 MB)
