Many situations require documentation of your income, including buying a house and getting a loan. That income might include income reported on any of the 1099 forms, such as interest income or income from freelance work. The IRS recommends contacting the 1099 form issuer if you need an exact copy before you request a copy of your tax return and incur a fee. If that's not possible, the route you take to get past-year forms from the IRS depends on whether you need just the information on the form or if you need an exact copy. If you need the information, order a free tax return transcript by any of three methods. For exact copies of your 1099 forms, you need to order a copy of your tax return, which comes with all the attachments.