Client forms

What to gather before your appointment

Find the situation that matches yours and work down the list. Clients get a personalised checklist inside the portal, built from their actual return — these general lists cover most people and are a good place to start.

Individual tax return

A standard Form 1040 with wages, interest and the usual credits.

Photo ID, and Social Security or ITIN cards for everyone on the return
Last year’s federal and California returns
Every Form W-2 you received
Forms 1099 — NEC, MISC, INT, DIV, B, R, G and K
Schedule K-1 from any partnership, S-corporation or trust
Form 1098 mortgage interest and your property tax statement
Form 1098-T tuition and Form 1098-E student loan interest
Form 1095-A if anyone was covered through the Marketplace
Childcare provider name, address and EIN, with amounts paid
Charitable donation receipts
Estimated tax payments made, with the dates they were paid
Bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit

Self-employed — Schedule C

Contractors, drivers, trades, salons, consultants — anyone paid on a 1099 or in cash.

All Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-K, plus a record of income not reported on a form
Bank and credit card statements for every account the business used
A profit and loss summary, or the bookkeeping file if you keep one
Mileage log, or total business and total annual miles for each vehicle
Home office measurements, and the rent, utility and insurance totals
Receipts for equipment and tools bought during the year
Amounts paid to subcontractors, with their Form W-9 on file
Health insurance premiums you paid yourself
City business licence and any professional licences

Business — entity return

Form 1065, 1120-S or 1120, with the California return that goes with it.

Prior-year business return and the depreciation schedule attached to it
Year-end profit and loss statement and balance sheet
Bank and credit card statements for every business account
Payroll reports — Forms W-3, 941, and California DE 9 and DE 9C
Forms 1099-NEC issued to contractors, with their W-9s
Loan statements showing year-end balances and interest paid
Invoices for assets bought or sold during the year
Inventory counts at the start and end of the year, if you carry stock
Owner contributions and distributions, by owner
Formation documents, EIN letter and any Form 2553 or 8832 already filed

Rental property

One unit or several, held personally or in an entity.

Closing statement for any property bought, sold or refinanced this year
Rent received, listed by property
Form 1098 mortgage interest for each property
Property tax and insurance statements
Repair and maintenance invoices, kept separate from improvements
Improvement and capital expenditure invoices
HOA fees, utilities and property management fees
Prior-year depreciation schedule
Days rented at fair market value and days of personal use, per property

First-time client

Bring these whatever your situation is — they let us quote accurately on the first call.

The last tax return you filed, federal and state, all pages
Any notice you have received from the IRS, FTB, EDD or CDTFA
The name of your previous preparer, if we will be requesting your file
A note of anything that changed — marriage, a birth, a move, a new business
For a business: formation documents, EIN letter and the most recent bookkeeping file

ITIN application or renewal

Form W-7 is filed with the return it belongs to, and the identification rules are strict.

A valid passport, or two other accepted identification documents, for each applicant
Original documents or copies certified by the issuing agency — plain photocopies are rejected
Proof of the reason the ITIN is needed, usually the tax return being filed with it
For a dependent: proof of residency, such as a school or medical record
Any previous ITIN letter, if this is a renewal
Your current mailing address — the IRS returns documents to it

Missing something? Come anyway.

A missing document is rarely a reason to delay. Much of what people cannot find — wage records, prior-year figures, payments already made — we can pull from an IRS transcript once you authorise us. Bring what you have and we will work out the rest.

Paperwork

The two documents we ask you for

We do not publish downloadable forms, because a blank PDF filled in by hand is slower and less secure than the alternative. There are only two things we need from you before work starts.

The engagement letter

A short agreement that states exactly what we are doing, what it costs, what we need from you and by when, and what we are not responsible for. You sign it electronically in the portal. Nothing chargeable starts before it is signed, and if the scope changes we re-quote rather than invoice you a surprise.

Your documents, through the portal

Your checklist lives in the portal and ticks itself off as items arrive, so you always know what is outstanding. Photograph documents straight from your phone camera — you do not need a scanner. Please do not email tax documents: email is not a secure channel for a Social Security number.

Form 8821 or 2848, when it applies

If we need to speak to the IRS on your behalf or pull your transcripts, you sign an authorisation — Form 8821 to let us see your account, Form 2848 to let us represent you. We prepare it and explain exactly what it does and does not allow before you sign.

Open the portal How the portal works

Let’s find out what you should actually be paying.

Thirty minutes with an Enrolled Agent, at no charge. Bring last year’s return and we will tell you plainly what we would do differently — and what it would cost.

Book a free consultation (818) 806-8131