Tax Transcript vs. Tax Return Copy
They can describe the same tax year without being the same record.
Fast answer
A tax transcript is generated by the IRS from tax-account or return information. It is not a photocopy of the return that was filed. A copy of a tax return is the return itself as filed, obtained through the IRS copy-request process. The IRS offers several transcript types because different transcripts answer different questions.
What a tax return transcript shows
The IRS describes a tax return transcript as showing most line items from an originally filed Form 1040-series return and accompanying forms and schedules. It generally does not show later changes made after the original filing. Other transcript types, such as a tax account transcript or wage and income transcript, contain different information.
What a copy of the return is
A return copy is a copy of the tax return as filed, including attachments available through the IRS copy process. The IRS directs people who need an actual copy of the original return to Form 4506 rather than the ordinary Get Transcript process.
Why an organization may ask for one or the other
A lender, school, government program, accountant, court, or other organization may need particular information rather than the full filed return. In some situations an IRS transcript is enough; in others the organization may specifically request a return copy. The organization asking for the record is the useful source for what it wants, while the IRS is the source for what each transcript or copy product contains.
“Transcript” is not one product
The IRS offers multiple transcript types. A tax return transcript, tax account transcript, record of account, wage and income transcript, and verification of non-filing letter are different records. If instructions simply say “IRS transcript,” the next useful question is which transcript type the instructions name or what information the institution using the document is trying to verify.