Accepted Answer

Hello XXXXXXXX,

Schedule C is filed by people who are self employed. So if you had any income at all from self employment that you performed, including side jobs that you may have done, this income would not be reported to you on a W-2 from by an employer. Instead, you would simply report that income (or loss) on Schedule C. So if you had any of this type of self employment income, then your tax preparer would have used Schedule C to report that.

Typically when you apply for a mortgage, the lender will ask to see your tax return for the last one or two years, as this is normally the easiest way to confirm someone's actual income for the year. Sometimes this can be a problem when you have filed a Schedule C which shows a loss, as it can be misleading as to what your actual income was for the year. When you have income from self employment, you are also allowed to deduct certain expenses that you had in connection with that job. This might include such things as mileage, the cost of your tools, a deduction for using your home as a business office and depreciation on equipment. Some of those deductions, such as the home business office and depreciation, are not really "out of pocket" expenses to you, but they can result in showing that you had a loss from your self employment work.

If you need a copy of your tax return and your tax preparer is no longer available, the only other way for you to get an actual copy of your return is through the IRS, and unfortunately that can only be done through the mail, and it can take around 60 days to receive. You would order an actual copy of your return by filing Form 4506 with the IRS, and there is a fee of $57 for each tax return which you are requesting.

You may also order a Tax Transcript from the IRS. A transcript will not be an actual copy of your return, but it will be a computerized prinout which shows the line by line entries that were made on your tax return. It will also show any wages that were reported to the IRS on any W-2 forms or 1099 forms that you may have received. The Tax Transcript is free of charge and generally takes around 10 days to receive. This can be ordered by calling the IRS at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or by filling out Form 4506-T.

Unfortunately your tax information is not available over the internet. The only two options for receiving this information from the IRS is to either order an actual copy of your return or to order a Tax Transcript.

The other thing you may wish to try is to simply contact the employers that you worked for and ask if they can provide you with another copy of your W-2 form for the year you need. You may be able to get this information sooner than waiting for the information from the IRS, and this might be an option if your lender is willing to accept the W-2 forms as documentation of your income.

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Thank you and let me know if you have more questions.

Expert:	Merlo
Pos. Feedback:	99.8 %
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Answered:	8/24/2009

Accountant

25+ years tax consulting. Specializing in returns for US citizens living abroad