What you need

Gather these before you start

Having the right records in front of you reduces missed income, missing credits, and e-file signature rejects.

• Legal name, current mailing address, date of birth, and SSN or ITIN for you, your spouse, and any dependents.
• W-2s, 1099s, unemployment statements, retirement distributions, brokerage statements, and any other income records.
• Forms 1095-A, 1098-T, 1098-E, 5498-SA, 1099-SA, and similar documents when they apply to your health, education, retirement, or HSA situation.
• Records for deductible expenses or credits you plan to claim, such as childcare, education, energy, charitable, medical, property-tax, or business expenses.
• Bank routing and account number if you want direct deposit for a refund or electronic payment for a balance due.
• A copy of your prior-year federal return, if you filed one.

First-time filers

If you have never filed a federal return, you may not have prior-year AGI for the e-file signature step. IRS guidance says eligible first-time filers age 16 or older enter zero for prior-year AGI. Do not leave that field blank when the filing workflow asks for it.

If you have an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS, enter it when prompted. An IP PIN is different from the five-digit PIN you choose as your electronic signature.

Is TakoTax right for me?

TakoTax should help only when it can put the correct number on the correct line. If a return falls outside the supported scope, another filing path is safer than a polished but incomplete preview.

Current IRS pages for the 2026 filing season list IRS Free File, Free File Fillable Forms, and VITA/TCE free tax preparation as free filing or preparation paths. VITA generally serves taxpayers making $69,000 or less, people with disabilities, and limited English-speaking taxpayers. Direct File availability has changed by filing season; check directfile.irs.gov or IRS.gov before relying on it.

Plain-language glossary

These terms appear in review, e-file, credit, and diagnostics copy. The same glossary source is used by the public docs and the app.

AGI

Adjusted gross income: total income after certain above-the-line adjustments and before the standard or itemized deduction.

jurat

The declaration a taxpayer accepts when signing a return electronically, stating that the return is true, correct, and complete under penalties of perjury.

PIN

A personal identification number used as part of an electronic signature or identity-verification step.

EFIN

Electronic Filing Identification Number: an IRS-issued identifier for an authorized e-file provider.

perfection period

A limited correction window after a rejected e-filed return, when a timely rejected return may be corrected and retransmitted under IRS rules.

MeF

Modernized e-File: the IRS electronic filing system used to transmit tax returns and receive acknowledgements.

EITC

Earned Income Tax Credit: a refundable credit for eligible workers and families with earned income below statutory limits.

ACTC

Additional Child Tax Credit: the refundable part of the Child Tax Credit when the nonrefundable credit is larger than the taxpayer's tax.

ODC

Credit for Other Dependents: a nonrefundable credit for certain dependents who do not qualify for the Child Tax Credit.

QBI

Qualified business income: eligible income from a trade or business used to compute the Section 199A deduction.

AMT

Alternative Minimum Tax: a parallel federal tax computation that can apply after adding back certain deductions or preference items.

NIIT

Net Investment Income Tax: an additional federal tax that can apply to certain investment income when income exceeds statutory thresholds.