Sharing tax forms safely: W-2s, 1099s and P60s

Tax forms are some of the most requested documents in adult life. Landlords want proof of income, lenders want to check earnings, new employers and accountants want your history. They're also full of details a fraudster would love: your tax ID, your employer, your exact pay.

Who actually needs the full form

• Your tax preparer or accountant usually needs the complete form, including your full tax ID, to file on your behalf. Send it through their secure portal rather than plain email.
• A landlord or letting agent usually needs to see your name, employer and income. They rarely need your tax ID.
• A lender may need more, and may verify your income through official channels. Ask what they'll accept before redacting anything.

When in doubt, ask the recipient exactly what they'll check.

United States: W-2s and 1099s

These forms show your Social Security number or taxpayer identification number, your employer's details, and your earnings or payments.

• Your SSN may already be partly hidden. Starting with 2020 forms, IRS rules have allowed employers to truncate your SSN on the employee copies of Form W-2, showing something like XXX-XX-1234, though they don't have to. The final regulations keep the full number on the copy filed with the Social Security Administration.
• For non-preparers, hide the first five digits of your SSN, and consider hiding state ID numbers and control numbers.
• Keep your name, the employer's name, the tax year and the income boxes visible if income is what's being checked.

United Kingdom: P60s and payslips

A P60 summarises your pay and tax for the year. It shows your National Insurance number, your tax code and your employer's PAYE reference.

• For a landlord or letting agent, hide your National Insurance number. Ask whether a payslip or a letter from your employer would be enough instead.
• Keep your name, the employer and the pay figures visible.

How to hide it so it stays hidden

Use a tool that removes the details rather than drawing a box over them. A box drawn in a PDF editor often leaves the number in the file underneath. Then check: select all, copy, and paste into a plain text note. If you can read your tax ID, so can the recipient. Our guide to redacting a PDF properly walks through it.

Where Ombly fits

Ombly finds Social Security numbers, National Insurance numbers, account numbers and names on every page, lets you choose what to hide, and rebuilds the document from pixels on your own computer, so nothing is left to copy. Join the waitlist to try it first. For more documents, see what to redact, by document type.