Tax season for the 2026 tax year won’t officially open until early 2027, but the weeks before December 31 are actually the best time to set yourself up. A short year-end checklist now can turn a stressful scramble in March into a five-minute task once your W-2 arrives. Here’s what that looks like.

This article is written for J-1 visa holders who had a W-2 job (not a 1099/contract role) and worked more than 3 months in the U.S. If that’s not you, some of this may not apply.

The direct answer: before the calendar year ends, confirm your program dates, save your most recent pay stub, note which states you worked in, and make sure your current mailing address and email are correct with your employer so your W-2 actually reaches you in January.

Why year-end is the right time to prep

Once your J-1 program wraps up, you may leave the U.S., change addresses, or simply lose track of details that were easy to remember while you were still working. Doing a short review before December 31 — while everything is still fresh — means you’re not trying to reconstruct your work history from memory months later.

Confirm your mailing and email address with your employer

W-2s are typically mailed or made available electronically in late January. If you’ve moved, returned home, or changed your email since starting your job, your employer may not have a way to reach you. Before you leave your position or the country, confirm with your employer or HR contact exactly how and where your W-2 will be sent, and update your details if needed.

Save your final pay stub

Your last pay stub of the year usually shows year-to-date totals for wages and withholding — a useful backup if your W-2 is delayed, lost, or if you want to estimate your numbers early. Keep a digital copy somewhere you can access it after you’ve left the U.S., not just on a work computer or an account tied to your employer.

Log which states you actually worked in

If your J-1 program moved you between locations, or you held more than one job during the year, a simple note of which weeks you worked in which state makes state filing far easier later. This kind of detail is easy to remember in December and genuinely hard to reconstruct accurately by the time you’re actually filing.

Confirm your exact program dates

Your J-1 program start and end dates factor into your nonresident status calculation. Keep a copy of your DS-2019 or program paperwork somewhere accessible, rather than assuming you’ll remember the exact dates months later.

A simple year-end checklist

• Confirm your employer has your correct current address and email for W-2 delivery
• Save a copy of your final pay stub of the year
• Note which state(s) you worked in and roughly when
• Keep your DS-2019 or program dates paperwork accessible
• Bookmark or save a reliable resource for when filing season opens

What you can’t do yet — and that’s fine

You can’t file your actual return until your W-2 is issued, typically by the end of January. That’s normal, and there’s no benefit to guessing your numbers before then. The goal of year-end prep isn’t to file early — it’s to make sure nothing slows you down once your W-2 does arrive.

If you’re leaving the U.S. before filing season opens

Many J-1 participants finish their program and return home well before their W-2 is even issued. That’s completely normal — you can and generally should still file from abroad. Just make sure whoever is handling your former employer’s payroll knows how to reach you, since a W-2 that bounces back to an old U.S. address can add weeks of delay.

A note for first-year filers versus returning participants

If this is your first J-1 tax season, year-end prep is especially worth the extra effort — you won’t yet have a prior return to reference, so getting your own records organized matters more than it would for someone who’s filed before and can compare against last year’s paperwork. If you’ve filed a prior year already, pulling out that old return alongside your new notes can help you spot anything that changed, like a different employer, a new state, or a longer program this time around.

Getting ready for the actual filing

Whatever your specific question, the fastest way to a real number for your J-1 visa taxes is running your W-2 through the calculator rather than guessing.

This is general information, not personalized tax advice. Your exact situation depends on your visa history and paperwork — use the calculator for a number based on your own details, and consult a qualified tax preparer for anything beyond a standard return.

Key takeaways

• Confirm your W-2 delivery address and email before you leave your job or the country
• Save your final pay stub as a backup in case your W-2 is delayed
• Log which states you worked in while the details are still fresh
• You can’t file until your W-2 arrives, typically late January — prep now, file then