Intake starts before the client uploads a W-2. The office first decides whether it can accept the work, how the client will send information, and who may see it. A generic upload link with no scope check can pull a firm into work it cannot competently complete.

This guide covers professional client files. A consumer collecting documents for a personal return needs a different checklist.

Pre-screen without collecting a return

Ask enough to decide whether the inquiry fits the practice. Avoid requesting complete tax documents during a marketing call.

  • Tax years involved and whether any filing deadline or notice response is pending.
  • States and localities connected with residence, work, property, and business activity.
  • General return type, such as individual, sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, estate, or trust.
  • Major complexity markers, including businesses, rentals, digital assets, foreign matters, multiple states, basis reconstruction, amended returns, or examinations.
  • Whether another preparer, spouse, guardian, fiduciary, or representative is involved.
  • How the person found the office and whether a conflict or independence check is needed.

Decline or refer work outside the written scope before asking the prospect to upload sensitive records. Record only the minimum information needed for that decision.

Open the engagement before the document request

The signed engagement should identify the client, covered returns, tax years, states, fees, client duties, office duties, deadlines, added work, cancellation terms, and the limits of post-filing support. Resolve who the client is when spouses, businesses, trusts, or family members are involved.

Record authorization for any person who may communicate with the office. A relative who scheduled the appointment does not automatically have permission to receive tax information.

Give the client the firm's secure upload instructions, privacy material, retention policy, payment terms, and a named route for corrections. Do not combine optional marketing consent with a required preparation authorization.

Verify identity and taxpayer numbers

Publication 1345 tells Electronic Return Originators to confirm identities and taxpayer identification numbers to help protect e-file from fraud. It advises asking taxpayers not known to the ERO for two forms of identification, with photo identification preferred, that include the taxpayer's name and current or recent address.

The office procedure should cover:

  • Taxpayer and spouse identity checks.
  • SSN, ITIN, or ATIN transcription checks for people listed on the return.
  • Current address, date of birth, and contact details.
  • Identity Protection PIN collection when applicable.
  • Remote identity verification and escalation for mismatched or altered documents.
  • Who may override a failed check and what evidence is recorded.

Do not keep extra identity copies merely because the scanner is open. Follow current requirements and the firm's documented retention rule.

Build a return-specific document request

Start with the prior return as context, never as proof that the same facts continue. Ask about changes in address, marital status, dependents, custody, education, work, business, property, debt, health coverage, retirement, and states before sending a document list.

The request may include wage and income forms, estimated-payment records, business books, basis records, closing statements, dependent and residency evidence, education documents, charitable records, and notices. Name the tax year beside every request. A file labeled "tax documents" can mix years without anyone noticing.

Track each item as requested, received, unreadable, incomplete, superseded, or accepted. Do not mark an item complete because an empty or partial file was uploaded.

Record the interview, including contradictions

The organizer is a starting point. Compare answers with documents, prior-return context, and other facts the preparer knows. Put open questions in a visible queue. Examples include an address that conflicts with claimed residency, a business with no records, a dependent claimed by another person, or an income form with a different taxpayer number.

For each follow-up, record the question, the answer, who provided it, when it was received, and any document relied upon. If the response does not resolve the issue, stop that position or the return. Software acceptance is not a factual conclusion.

Route covered returns through paid-preparer due diligence

Current Form 8867 instructions apply specific due diligence requirements to listed credits and head-of-household filing status. The preparer must complete the form when required, calculate or retain the required worksheets, keep copies of documents relied upon, and preserve records of additional questions and answers.

Create a workflow flag from the return facts. Do not wait for the final diagnostic to reveal that the file needs due diligence records. Confirm the current form, instructions, covered benefits, and retention period for the filing year.

Use a ready-for-preparation gate

A preparer should know why the file moved out of intake. Require a dated handoff showing:

  • The signed engagement covers the requested work.
  • Identity and taxpayer-number checks passed or have an approved resolution.
  • Required documents are present and readable.
  • Missing items and unresolved facts remain visible.
  • Due diligence, state, foreign, business, and review flags are assigned.
  • The return remains within the preparer's and firm's scope.
  • The target date is realistic given the open items.

Preparation may begin with open items if the office allows it, but the file should never look complete while those items remain unresolved.

Keep e-file authorization at the end of review

After preparation and quality review, give the taxpayer a complete return to examine and resolve client questions. Form 8879 is an e-file declaration and signature authorization. The IRS requires the ERO to receive the completed form before transmission or release for transmission.

Do not ask a client to sign a blank authorization or reuse one after the return changes beyond the rules governing the authorization. Confirm the current form and e-file handbook for the filing year.

Keep intake data out of unrelated marketing

Internal Revenue Code section 7216 and its regulations govern a preparer's disclosure and use of tax return information. Exceptions and consent rules are specific. A client email address collected during preparation is not an unrestricted marketing asset.

Map every vendor and intended use of return information. Have qualified counsel review disclosures, consents, and marketing uses against the current rules. Keep marketing systems separate from tax work unless the approved process permits the use.

Primary source notes

Common questions

What readers ask next

What should a tax preparer collect from a new client?

Collect only what the accepted work and current rules require. The file commonly needs identity and taxpayer-identification checks, signed engagement terms, prior-return context, current source documents, interview answers, and authorizations. The exact list depends on the return.

Should clients email Social Security cards and tax documents?

A tax practice should use the secure collection method defined in its information security program. Ordinary email can expose sensitive attachments through compromised accounts, forwarding, and unmanaged storage. Give clients a clear portal or in-person alternative.

Is a tax organizer enough for due diligence?

No. An organizer can gather facts, while a paid preparer still has to identify incomplete, incorrect, or inconsistent information, ask reasonable follow-up questions, and keep required records for returns covered by due diligence rules.

When should the client sign Form 8879?

The return must be complete and the taxpayer must review it before signing the e-file authorization. The IRS states that the ERO must receive the completed Form 8879 before transmitting or releasing the return for transmission.