What a transcript is, and what it is not
A transcript is not a photocopy of the return you filed. It is a summary the IRS prints from its own records: the figures your return reported, the payments and credits posted to your account, and everything that has happened since. That makes it the document people ask for when they need proof of income, such as a mortgage lender or a college financial aid office, and the one you need when you want to see your account the way the IRS sees it. If you need an actual copy of the return itself, that is a different request (Form 4506), and the IRS charges a fee for it.
Transcripts are free. Any site or service that asks you to pay for one is selling you something the IRS gives away.
The five kinds, and which one you want
| Transcript | What it shows | Years available |
|---|---|---|
| Tax return transcript | Most line items from your original Form 1040 as filed, with its forms and schedules. Does not show later changes. | Current year and the three before it |
| Tax account transcript | Filing status, taxable income and payments, plus every change made after you filed: adjustments, penalties, refunds. | Current year and the nine before it online; three prior years by mail or phone |
| Record of account | The return transcript and the account transcript combined. | Current year and the three before it |
| Wage and income transcript | What employers, banks and brokers reported to the IRS: Forms W-2, 1098, 1099 and 5498, up to about 85 documents. | Current year and the nine before it |
| Verification of non-filing | A letter saying the IRS has no processed Form 1040 for a year. | Prior three years; the current year only after June 15 |
A rough rule: lenders and aid offices usually want the return transcript. If you are tracking a refund or a balance, you want the account transcript. If you lost a W-2 or a 1099 and need the figures to file, the wage and income transcript shows what the payer sent the IRS.
How to get one
- Online, immediately. Sign in to your IRS online account and open the records section. You can view, print or download every type. The first sign-in requires identity verification, which takes a few minutes and a photo ID.
- By mail, in 5 to 10 calendar days. The IRS's Get Transcript by Mail service sends a return or account transcript to the address on your latest return. You need that exact address to request it.
- By phone, in 5 to 10 calendar days. The automated transcript line, 800-908-9946, mails the same two types to the address on file.
- Form 4506-T. The paper request covers every transcript type and older years the other routes do not, and is the one to use when a third party needs to receive the transcript directly.
Mail and phone requests always go to the address the IRS has on file. If you have moved since your last return, update the address with the IRS first, or use the online account.
When this year's transcript appears
A transcript for the return you just filed cannot exist until the IRS has processed it, which is why a request made the week you file comes back empty. The IRS's own timing:
| How you filed | Request the transcript after |
|---|---|
| E-filed, refund or nothing due, or balance paid with the return | 2 to 3 weeks after submission |
| E-filed, balance paid later | 3 to 4 weeks after full payment |
| Paper return, refund or nothing due | 6 to 8 weeks after mailing |
| Paper return, balance paid with the return | Processed in June; transcript in mid to late June |
| Balance due left unpaid (either way) | Processed in mid-May; transcript by late May |
The account transcript for a year can be pulled before you file it, which is a useful way to confirm the estimated payments the IRS has credited before you enter them on the return.
Reading the account transcript: the codes that matter
Each line on an account transcript carries a three-digit transaction code, a date and an amount. The IRS's internal code manual, Document 6209, defines several hundred; a handful explain almost every refund question. The titles below are the manual's own; the plain-English meaning is ours.
| Code | IRS title | What it usually means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 150 | Return filed & tax liability assessed | Your return posted. The amount is the tax your return reported. |
| 806 | Credit for withheld taxes and excess FICA | The federal tax withheld from your W-2s and 1099s. |
| 766 | Generated refundable credit allowance | A refundable credit added to your account. |
| 768 | Earned income credit | The earned income credit you claimed, as allowed. |
| 570 | Additional liability pending and/or credit hold | A hold. The IRS is reviewing something, and any refund waits until the review ends. |
| 571 | Reversal of TC 570 | The hold has been released. |
| 290 | Additional tax | An adjustment after review. Posted with $0.00, it often just clears a hold without changing your tax. |
| 846 | Refund of overpayment | Your refund was issued. The line shows the date and amount. |
| 898 | Treasury Offset Program offset | Some or all of the refund went to a debt such as overdue child support or a federal student loan. |
| 971 | Miscellaneous transaction | An action whose meaning depends on the description beside it, very often a notice mailed to you. |
The sequence people hope to see after filing is 150, then 806 and any credit codes, then 846. A 570 with no 846 after it means the refund is held; the IRS releases it after an adjustment (a 290 or a 291) or a 290 for $0.00 when nothing needs changing, and a 571 confirms the hold is gone. If a 570 sits for weeks, watch your mail: the IRS usually writes when it needs something from you.
Transcript, Where's My Refund, or a copy of the return?
For a refund, start with the IRS's Where's My Refund tool; it updates daily and needs nothing but your Social Security number, filing status and the exact refund amount. The account transcript is the second step, when the tool's message is vague and you want to see exactly what has posted. To estimate the refund before you file, the refund estimator works it out from your income and withholding, and the refund schedule turns a filing date into a likely deposit date.
Key takeaways
- Transcripts are free summaries of IRS records; a copy of the actual return is a separate, paid request.
- Return transcript for lenders and aid offices, account transcript for refunds and balances, wage and income transcript for missing W-2s and 1099s.
- Online is immediate; mail and phone (800-908-9946) take 5 to 10 calendar days and go to the address on file.
- An e-filed return's transcript appears 2 to 3 weeks after filing; a paper return's, 6 to 8 weeks, or mid to late June if you paid a balance with it.
- 846 means the refund was issued; 570 means it is held; 571 means the hold was released; 898 means part of it paid a debt.
Sources
- IRS: Transcript types for individuals and ways to order them: last reviewed 10-Mar-2026
- IRS: Get Transcript (online account, by mail, 800-908-9946): last reviewed 27-Jun-2026
- IRS: Transcript availability (when the current-year transcript can be requested): last reviewed 02-Sep-2026
- IRS Document 6209, Section 8A: Master File transaction codes (titles of TC 150, 290, 570, 571, 766, 768, 806, 846, 898, 971): page read 2 Oct 2026
- Taxpayer Advocate Service: Understanding tax account transcripts, part one (refund holds released by TC 290, 291 or a $0 TC 290): updated November 17, 2025
- Taxpayer Advocate Service: Decoding IRS transcripts, part two (transaction codes): updated September 30, 2025