How Do I Find My Past Years' Income?

Upsolve's questionnaire will ask you to enter you income from the past two years. This information is eventually populated on a form called the Statement of Financial Affairs (SOFA), which is required to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Keep in mind that "income" includes:

• Employment or W2 income
• Business income (including income from gig work, contractor work, a 1099 position, or any other type of self employment)
• Alimony or child support
• Government benefits of payments such as Social Security,  unemployment compensation, TANF, Section 8, VA Disability payments
• Pension or retirement income (including early withdraws from a 401k or other retirement account)
• Interest income and dividends
• Money from lawsuits
• Royalties
• Gambling or lottery winnings

Where To Find Past Employment Income

The simplest way to find employment and business income from the past two years is by looking at your tax returns or an official IRS tax transcript, which you can get for free here.

If you have a complete tax return, you can find your employee income listed on line 1a of the "Income" section of Form 1040. This is typically the first form of the tax return.

The image above shows line 1a on a Form 1040. In this instance, this filer had $20,089 in employee income.

If you're looking at an IRS Form 1040 Tax Return Transcript, simple look under the section titled "Income" at the first line, which will say "Total Wages."

The image above shows the "Total wages" line in the Income section of an IRS transcript. In this case, the filer had $53,092 of employee income.

A Note for Upsolvers Who Are Married

If you are married and you filed your past taxes jointly as a married couple, your total wages on your tax form may reflect a combination of your and your spouse's W2 incomes. In this case, you may need to consult other records, such as your W2 for that year, to figure out what your individual employee earning were for that year.

Where To Find Past Business Income

You an also use your past tax returns or an IRS Form 1040 Tax Return Transcript to find past business income.

The bankruptcy forms specifically ask for gross business income. This is the amount of money you earned before expenses are accounted for. 

If you have your complete tax return, the easiest place to find your gross business income on a form called "Schedule C: Profit or Loss from Business," under Part I: Income, line 1, "Gross receipts or sales."

The image above shows this user had $11,784 in gross business income (gross receipts or sales) for the year this tax forms was filed.

If you have a tax transcript from the IRS, you can find your business income under a section titled "Schedule C - Profit or Loss From Business." It's the first line under Income, which is labeled Gross Receipts or Sales.

The image above shows this user had $18,000 in gross business income (gross receipts or sales) for the year this tax form was filed.

What if I Don't Have a Business?

Many users get confused about business income. Keep in mind that you do not have to have a formally or legally registered business to have business income. That's because gig work and contractor positions — such as driving for Uber, Lyft, Spark, or Amazon Flex — count as business income for both tax and bankruptcy purposes.

Business income also includes more formal business arrangements like sole proprietorships or freelance or consulting work associated with self-employment.

Note: If you own or have recently owned an LLC, corporation, or partnership, your case may involve business assets or debts that are legally separate from you, and these situations raise complex issues the software isn't equipped to handle — but sole proprietors and independent contractors can often still use the tool.

Where To Information on Other Forms of Income

Some sources of financial support that count as income in bankruptcy aren't listed on your tax forms, such as alimony, child support, some government benefits, and outside contributions from friends or family.

If you received any of this income or financial support in the last two years, you may need to do some digging into your personal records to find out how much you got for a given year. Here's where to look for each type.

Alimony and Child Support

If your payments come through the state, the simplest way to find your payment history is through your state's child support or disbursement portal, which usually lets you view and download a record of every payment you've received. If payments come to you directly, look through your bank statements for the deposits, or through payment apps like Venmo or Zelle if that's how you were paid.

Government Benefits

Where to look depends on the benefit:

• Social Security: Log in to your account at ssa.gov to download a benefit verification letter, or check the SSA-1099 form you receive each January.
• Unemployment: Your state's unemployment or workforce agency website usually has a payment history you can view or download.
• TANF, SNAP, or Section 8: Check your state benefits portal, or look for your award or approval letters, which state your monthly benefit amount.
• VA benefits: Log in to VA.gov to view your payment history or download a benefit letter.

Money From Friends or Family

This one can be trickier because there's often no official record. Start with your bank statements and payment app histories (Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and PayPal all let you export your transactions). If someone helped you with cash, you can estimate based on texts or simply ask them what they gave you.

Keep in mind that regular financial help counts as income even if the money never touched your bank account. For example, if a family member pays your car insurance or phone bill directly, that support should be included.

A Tip That Works for Almost Everything

Bank statements can often help you track down income of any kind. Most banks let you download 12–24 months of statements online for free. Scanning your deposits is a quick way to catch income you may have forgotten about — and you'll need submit recent bank statements to your trustee after you file your case anyway.