A Spanish bank asks for "your tax returns for the last two years". A consulate asks for "proof of income". A local accountant asks for "the tax return". The three phrases sound like the same thing and can point to three different IRS documents, each containing something different.
This guide is for working out which one you are actually being asked for, before you pay to translate the wrong one.
First: what exactly does the recipient want
Before you look at anything from the IRS, get in writing what the body receiving it requires. Their literal list, if you can. Vague wording is resolved by asking, not by interpreting.
The reason is financial. A sworn translation is quoted on the specific document, and a full 1040 with its schedules is nothing like a two-page transcript in length. Ordering first and asking afterwards is the expensive route.
And there is a prior distinction worth not skipping: the blank form is not your return. The IRS publishes its templates and instructions, in Spanish in several cases, which leads people to think the document is already translated. What a Spanish body wants to see is not the template — it is your filed return, with your name, your tax year and your figures. That comes in English.
1040, tax return transcript and tax account transcript
The three get confused because all three "come from the IRS" and all three concern your income. What changes is who writes them and what they record.
| Document | What it is | What it shows | Who produces it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form 1040 | Your income tax return as you filed it | Income, deductions, resulting tax, with its schedules | You (or your preparer) |
| Tax return transcript | An IRS-issued summary of what you filed | The main line items from that year's return | The IRS |
| Tax account transcript | The state of your tax account | Activity: payments, adjustments, later amendments | The IRS |
Three useful things follow.
First: if what you are asked for is proof of what you declared, the filed 1040 or the tax return transcript answer that; the tax account transcript does not, because it speaks to account activity.
Second: an IRS-issued transcript has one advantage over a copy of your own 1040 — the administration issues it, not the taxpayer. Some recipients find that more than enough; others want the full return with schedules. Do not guess which.
Third: the names are close enough that confusion is the norm. Check on irs.gov which transcript types exist at the moment you request one, because the catalogue and the ways to obtain them change.
And keep it separate from the other US tax document frequently asked for in Spain: the tax residency certificate. The difference from Form 6166 is substantive — it proves residency, not income — and both turn up in similar files, which explains a good share of the mix-ups.
Where these documents end up
Knowing the destination helps you anticipate the level of detail that will be demanded.
In a property purchase with financing, the bank is assessing capacity to pay and usually wants several tax years, not one. What paperwork moves in that transaction, in documents for buying property in Spain.
In a visa or residence application, what you are evidencing is sufficient financial means, and the consulate publishes its own list. That list overrides any general guide, including this one.
In a Spanish tax procedure, what matters is that the document says precisely what the body needs to read — and that is where the fidelity of the translation is the value.
What to send for a quote
A reliable quote needs to see the document as you will submit it. Gather this:
- The right tax year. Not "the latest one": the year you were asked for. Two years means two documents.
- Every page, plus any schedules requested. A 1040 usually travels with schedules. If the recipient asks for them, they belong in the quote; if not, do not translate them.
- Legibility. A PDF downloaded from the IRS is ideal. A photo of a screen with glare means asking you to confirm figure by figure, and a tax figure is not something to guess.
- Matching names. The name on the document should match your identification. If the 1040 is a joint filing and the procedure is individual, say so when asking for a quote: it changes what has to be explained.
Here is how a header reads, with entirely fictional data: Form 1040 · U.S. Individual Income Tax Return · Tax year 2025 · Name: Jordan A. Fictitious · Filing status: Single. Four lines and you know which document it is, which year, whose, and under which status it was filed. If your document does not let someone read those four things, a recipient may well reject it before even looking at the figures.
When a sworn translation is required
When the Spanish body asks for one, which it normally will if the document arrives in English. In that case what you need is a sworn translation from English into Spanish signed by a translator accredited by the MAEC.
What does not pay off is assuming equivalences. Not every US tax certificate works for every Spanish procedure, and a flawless translation of the wrong document is still the wrong document. Confirm what they want first; then have it translated properly.
Send us the complete document for the year you were asked for, the body it is going to and your deadline, and we will give you the exact price and turnaround.