IRS Wage and Income Transcript

These are IRS Wage and Income Transcripts.

They are not tax returns. They are the IRS’s copy of the income-reporting documents that other people/entities filed under your SSN.

Meaning: employers, banks, mortgage companies, retirement companies, unemployment agencies, etc. sent forms to the IRS, and this transcript prints what they reported.

What they contain

Form shown	What it means
W-2	Employee wages from an employer, plus federal withholding, Social Security wages, Medicare wages, retirement plan info, health coverage cost.
1098	Mortgage interest reported by a lender. Used for possible itemized deduction.
1099-G	Government payments, usually unemployment compensation or state tax refund.
1099-R	Retirement / pension / IRA / 401(k) distribution. Often taxable.
1099-INT	Interest income.
1099-MISC	Miscellaneous income, including rents.
1099-NEC	Nonemployee compensation / contractor income. Usually self-employment income.

What the transcript is for

It answers:

“What income documents did the IRS receive for this SSN for this tax year?”

It does not answer:

“Was a Form 1040 filed?”

That is the Account Transcript.

Why these matter

These are the documents used to rebuild missing tax returns.

For example, your 2021 Wage and Income Transcript shows:

Item	Amount
Giant Eagle W-2 wages	$2,638
Home Depot W-2 wages	$690
Pennsylvania/Mass unemployment compensation	$41,774
1099-MISC rents	$8,125
1099-R retirement distribution	$157

That is income data the IRS has for 2021, even though your 2021 Account Transcript says no 1040 return is present.

Your 2024 Wage and Income Transcript shows W-2s, 1099-NEC contractor income, and mortgage interest records, including Wolfe W-2 wages of $40,843 and Wolfe-related 1099-NEC income of $20,982.