Updated on September 14, 2026 by David Korpel

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The IRS Tax Compliance Report is a simpler way to prove you are current, without sharing your full return.

If you have ever applied for a business loan, bid on a contract, or gone through a licensing or vendor approval process, you know the drill. Somebody asks for your last two or three years of tax returns. You dig them up, send over documents packed with your income, your deductions, your dependents, and everything else, and hope the person on the other end handles them carefully.

The IRS now offers a better option. It is called the Tax Compliance Report, and you can download it yourself from your IRS online account in a couple of minutes. This summary explains what the report is, what it shows, how to get it, and why it should replace many of those full-return requests.

What the report is

A Tax Compliance Report is an official IRS document that confirms whether you have filed your required federal tax returns and paid what you owe. That is the whole purpose. It answers the one question a lender, agency, or business partner needs: Is this person or business current with the IRS?

There are two versions:

• Letter 6201 for individuals and sole proprietors, pulled from your IRS Individual Account
• Letter 6574 for businesses (corporations, partnerships, and other entities), pulled from your IRS Business Tax Account

The IRS also mentions a third document, Letter 6575, a tax certificate for federal contract awards. It shows whether a business has a seriously delinquent tax debt and is only relevant if you are pursuing federal contracts.

Why this matters for small business owners

The big win here is privacy. A full tax return tells the reader far more than they need. The compliance report gives them the compliance answer and nothing else.

It does not show your income, your dependents, or your filing status.

It does show:

• Your compliance status. One of three labels: Compliant, Noncompliant, or Compliance Issue (more on these below).
• Your filing history. Which returns have been filed. For sole proprietors, it will also flag any delinquent employment or excise tax returns.
• Any balance owed. Either a dollar amount of federal tax due or a statement that nothing is owed.
• Late items, if any. Late payments in the past four tax years, returns not filed or filed late in the past six years, and any civil fraud penalties assessed within the past five years.

A few other advantages worth knowing:

• It covers more years than a transcript. A traditional transcript is one year at a time. The compliance report gives a multi-year view of your filing and payment record in one document.
• It is easy to read. The status sits right at the top. No one has to decode transcript codes.
• It is available anytime. You do not have to request it and wait. Log in and download the current version whenever you need it.

Understanding the three status labels

• Compliant. All required returns are filed, all taxes are paid, and nothing is overdue. This is what you want a lender to see.
• Noncompliant. You have an overdue return or an unpaid balance as of the report date. Keep in mind that recent activity takes time to post. Payments take about two weeks, and returns take roughly four to six weeks to show up. If you just filed or just paid, wait before pulling the report.
• Compliance Issue. You are current, but something is worth noting. This includes being on an installment agreement, having a history of late filing or late payment, having a balance under administrative or judicial review, or having received a civil fraud penalty in the past, even if it was paid in full.

If your report comes back with anything other than Compliant and you are not sure why, send it to us before you share it. Often it is a timing issue or something we can clear up quickly.

How to get your report

Individuals and sole proprietors (Letter 6201)

1. Sign in to your IRS Individual Online Account at irs.gov, or create one if you have not already.
2. Go to the Records and Status tab and select Tax Records.
3. Select Tax Compliance Report and download the PDF.

Businesses (Letter 6574)

4. Sign in to your IRS Business Tax Account at irs.gov, or create one.
5. Go to the Tax Records tab.
6. Download the Business Tax Compliance Report.

If you have never set up an IRS online account, plan on 10 to 15 minutes for identity verification the first time. After that, getting the report takes about a minute.

Digital authentication: what it is and why the business version is different

This is what makes the individual report especially useful. When you download Letter 6201 from your Individual Account, the PDF includes an IRS-issued digital certificate embedded right in the file. A bank, agency, or anyone else who receives it can confirm the document is real and hasn’t been altered. That’s much stronger proof than a copy of a tax return, which anyone with a PDF tool could edit.

One important limitation: as of now, digital authentication is only available for the individual report. You can download the business version, Letter 6574, from your Business Tax Account; it is still an official IRS document, but it doesn’t yet include the embedded certificate. Some lenders or agencies may accept it as is, while others may want additional documentation for business entities until the IRS adds authentication to the business version. We expect that to come, but there is no announced date.

A couple of practical notes on the authenticated report:

• Some browsers and phone PDF viewers will not display the authentication message. That doesn’t mean the report isn’t authenticated. Save the original file and open it in Adobe Reader on a desktop computer to see the certificate details at the top.
• Only the original downloaded PDF carries the certificate. A screenshot, a scan, or a file made with Print to PDF loses it. Always forward the original file exactly as you downloaded it.

How to use this going forward

The next time someone asks for copies of your tax returns to confirm that you are in good standing with the IRS, ask whether a Tax Compliance Report will work instead. In most cases, it gives them exactly what they need with far less of your private information attached, and it is easier for them to verify.

There will still be situations where a full return is legitimately required, such as an underwriter who needs to analyze your actual income or cash flow. But for good-standing checks, licensing, vendor onboarding, and similar requests, the compliance report should become the default.

If you would like help setting up your IRS online account, reading your report, or resolving anything that shows up on it, reach out to us, and we will walk you through it.

About The Author

David Korpel

After graduating from college, David jumped right into public accounting, where he first met Mike. This experience established a well-rounded technical foundation. He gained a wealth of experience traveling the country performing audits, reviews, compilations, and tax engagements before joining up with Mike again as ENGAGE’s first employee.

As Chief Operating Officer, Dave is in charge of keeping our client relationships as fun, informative, educational, and productive as possible. He aims to be supportive, informative, proactive, and trustworthy. Whether wearing his bookkeeping, tax, forensic accounting, or social media hat, his focus consistently remains on adding value for our clients. He is inspired by the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of clients. His passion for helping small business owners make sense of their numbers and remove any stress and anxiety related to their financials and taxes is second only to the love for his family.

Dave’s wife, Laura, son Lincoln, and daughter Luna are his motivation every day to grow, learn, and love what he does. They live in Skippack, PA and can often be found hiking on another new trail in the area or walking into town for a bite to eat. And boy, are they a hungry bunch!