Review that cannot be skipped
The preparer and reviewer are separate role fields, and the reviewer’s approval halts the checklist. A return cannot reach the client for signature until someone other than its preparer has approved it.
Tax Season Client Intake Checklist Template
Most of the stress in a tax season comes from clients whose returns are not finished but who nobody is actively chasing. One checklist per client makes it obvious who is waiting on whom.
This free tax season client intake checklist is for US accounting and tax practices preparing individual returns, with business returns handled the same way. Start one run per client per season. It covers the engagement letter and organizer, the document request built from last year’s return, the IP PIN, chasing missing documents, triage and preparation, an extension when one is needed, an independent review, the client’s Form 8879 signature, e-file acknowledgement and delivery. It is set up for 2026 returns filed in 2027.
What Changes Intake for the 2026 Tax Year
The organizer and document request you sent last year will miss things this year. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, added deductions that depend on documents and facts clients rarely volunteer, and broker reporting for digital assets moves into its second stage. The table lists the changes that affect what you ask clients for. Check the final IRS forms and instructions before the season opens; this is a starting point, not tax advice.
| Change | What it means for intake | Phase |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule 1-A deductions (2025 to 2028) | Ask every client about qualified tips, overtime, interest on a loan for a new personal vehicle, and whether anyone on the return is 65 or over | 1 |
| 2026 Form W-2 codes | New Box 12 codes report qualified tips (TP) and qualified overtime (TT), with a tipped occupation code in Box 14b; check them against what the client tells you | 3 |
| Form 1099-DA cost basis | Brokers reported gross proceeds only for 2025; for 2026 they also report basis for covered digital assets bought on or after 1 January 2026 and held in the same account | 3 |
| Form 1099-K threshold | Back to more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions, so many sellers get no form; the income is still taxable | 3 |
| Paper refund checks | The IRS began phasing them out on 30 September 2025, so collect current bank details for refunds and payments | 1 |
| Data security | The PTIN application asks preparers to confirm they know a written information security plan is required; review yours before clients start uploading | Timeline |
This page is about the firm’s workflow for each client. If you want a checklist for a business owner organising their own records before handing them to an accountant, use the Tax Preparation Checklist. Clients new to the firm should go through the Accounting Firm Client Onboarding Checklist as well, which covers acceptance and authority to act.
What the Tax Season Client Intake Checklist Covers
Seven phases follow one client from the engagement letter to the filed return. Phase 2 appears only for a new client, the business, rental and K-1 task appears only when that income exists, and Phase 5 appears only when the triage decides to extend. The reviewer’s approval halts the checklist before anything goes to the client.
Engage
Phase 1: Roll Over & Engage
Owned by the client manager. Scope DropDowns: Is this a new client? (Yes / No) and Does the client have business, rental or K-1 income? (Yes / No). Firm-wide readiness runs once, not per client; see the timeline below.
- Name the client manager, preparer and reviewer — the reviewer must be someone other than the preparer
- Answer the scope questions — is this a new client, and does the client have business, rental or K-1 income
- Send this season’s engagement letter — tax year, returns covered, fee, the date documents are due and what happens if they are late
- Send the organizer — pre-filled from last year, with questions on marriage, divorce, births, moves, home sales, new jobs and retirement
- Ask the new deduction questions — tips, overtime, interest on a new vehicle loan and age 65 or over, for Schedule 1-A
- Confirm bank details for refunds and payments — paper refund checks are being phased out
- Invite the client to the secure portal — and ask them not to send documents by email
New client
Phase 2: New Client Checks
Shown only when “Is this a new client?” is Yes. Owned by the client manager.
- Verify identity — the taxpayer, spouse and dependents and their taxpayer identification numbers; two forms of ID with name and current address if you do not know the client
- Get the last two years’ returns — and any IRS or state notices still open
- Get Form 8821 or Form 2848 signed — so you can pull transcripts and deal with the IRS
- Collect any section 7216 consents you need — before using or disclosing return information for anything beyond preparing the return
- Complete firm onboarding — conflict check, acceptance and engagement terms, using the onboarding checklist
Documents
Phase 3: Request & Track Documents
The business, rental and K-1 task shows only when the Phase 1 answer is Yes.
- Send the document request built from last year’s return — every employer, payer, broker and lender listed by name, so a missing form is obvious
- Flag what is new for 2026 — W-2 tip and overtime codes, cost basis on Form 1099-DA and the higher 1099-K threshold
- Request deduction and credit records — Forms 1098, 1098-T and 1098-E, property tax, charitable receipts, childcare and health coverage forms
- Request business, rental and K-1 records — profit and loss, mileage, rental income and expenses, asset purchases, and an expected date for each K-1
- Get the client’s IP PIN — a new one each year, retrieved by the client online from mid-January; a return without it is rejected
- Chase missing documents on a schedule — reminders, then a call, with outstanding items kept in a table in this task
- Confirm the document set is complete — or record what is missing and the decision: wait, estimate or extend
Prepare
Phase 4: Triage & Prepare
The triage task records Will the return be extended? (Yes / No); Yes shows Phase 5. Preparation tasks are assigned to the preparer.
- Triage the return — simple or complex, and decide whether it will be extended
- Place it in the preparation queue — by complexity, preparer and promised date
- Prepare the return from source documents — every figure traceable to a document in the portal
- Complete credit due diligence — Form 8867 when the return claims the earned income credit, child tax credit or American opportunity credit
- Compare with last year — explain large swings in income, deductions and the refund or balance due
- Prepare 2027 estimated tax vouchers — if the client will owe next year, with the dates and amounts
Extension
Phase 5: Extension
Shown only when “Will the return be extended?” is Yes in Phase 4.
- Estimate the tax due — from the documents you have and last year’s return
- Tell the client in writing that an extension does not extend payment — tax is due by 15 April 2027, and interest and penalties run on anything unpaid after that
- File the extension — Form 4868 by 15 April 2027 for individuals, Form 7004 for business returns
- Check the extension was accepted — and keep the acknowledgement with the file
- Set a new internal deadline — for the missing documents, well before 15 October 2027
Review
Phase 6: Review & Client Sign-Off
The approval is assigned from the reviewer field and halts the checklist until it is Approved.
- Review the return — figures to source, carryovers, elections, credits and state returns
- Clear the review notes — the preparer fixes each point and the reviewer confirms it
- Reviewer approval of the return — nothing goes to the client until it is Approved
- Send the return to the client — with a summary of the refund or balance due, payment dates and what changed from last year
- Collect the signed Form 8879 — before the return is transmitted; remote electronic signatures need identity verification
File
Phase 7: File, Deliver & Close
- Transmit the federal and state returns — after the signed Form 8879 is on file
- Check the acknowledgement — fix and resend a rejection within the perfection period, and tell the client within 24 hours if it cannot be fixed
- Confirm payments are scheduled — the balance due and next year’s estimated payments, with dates in the client’s calendar
- Deliver the final copies — through the portal, with payment vouchers and a note of anything to keep for next year
- Archive the file — Form 8879 kept for three years from the due date or the IRS received date, whichever is later
- Record notes for next season — what arrived late, what changed and what to ask earlier next year
The 2027 Filing Season at a Glance
Dates are for calendar-year 2026 returns filed in 2027. When a deadline falls on a weekend or legal holiday it moves to the next business day, so confirm each date against the IRS calendar before you print it in an engagement letter.
Oct to Dec 2026
Firm readiness
PTIN renewal usually opens in mid-October and every PTIN expires on 31 December. Update the IRS e-file application within 30 days of any change to principals, addresses or contacts. Review the written information security plan, update software and the portal, set this season’s fees, then send engagement letters and organizers.
January 2027
Forms arrive and filing opens
W-2s and Forms 1099-NEC are due to recipients by 1 February 2027, because 31 January falls on a Sunday. Clients can retrieve this year’s IP PIN online from mid-January. The IRS usually opens the filing season in late January; in 2026 it opened on 26 January.
February to March
Chase and prepare
Brokerage statements and corrected 1099s keep arriving, and K-1s often arrive late. Work the queue by completeness, not by arrival date, and make extension decisions early for anyone still waiting on a K-1.
15 March 2027
Partnerships and S corporations
Calendar-year Forms 1065 and 1120-S are due, or Form 7004 extends them to 15 September 2027. Partners and shareholders need their K-1s to finish their own returns.
15 April 2027
Individual deadline
Form 1040 returns and payments are due, along with Form 4868 for anyone extending. C corporation returns are due the same day. Tax owed is still due today even when the return is extended.
April to October
Extended returns and debrief
Extended individual returns are due by 15 October 2027. Hold a season debrief in May while it is fresh: which clients were late, which questions were missing from the organizer, and where review queued up.
Why Run Tax Season Intake in CheckFlow?
One run per client, every season
Start a run for every client from your client list through the API or Zapier, and schedule next season’s runs with recurrence. Due dates on each task show which clients are waiting on documents and which are waiting on you.
Only the steps this client needs
DropDowns show the new-client checks, the business and K-1 request and the extension phase only where they apply. The audit trail records when the engagement letter, the review and the Form 8879 were completed.
CheckFlow is not tax preparation software or a client portal for tax documents. It runs the intake and review workflow around those tools so nothing depends on someone’s memory in March. Firms that repeat the same work every season use it as recurring checklist software, and the same approach covers client onboarding for new clients.
If you file information returns for business clients, the 1099 Year-End Filing Checklist runs alongside January intake, and the Year-End Close Checklist gets the books ready first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a tax season client intake checklist include?
An engagement letter for the season, an organizer or questionnaire, a document request built from last year’s return, identity checks and the IP PIN, a way to track and chase missing documents, a triage and extension decision, preparation, an independent review, the client’s Form 8879 signature, transmission and acknowledgement, and delivery and archiving. New clients also need authority to act and prior-year returns.
When should we send organizers and engagement letters?
Most firms send them in December or early January, after the firm’s own readiness work and before W-2s and 1099s arrive. Sending them early gives clients time to collect documents, and a signed engagement letter with a document deadline gives you something to point to when papers arrive in April.
Does an extension give the client more time to pay?
No. Form 4868 gives an automatic six months to file, moving the 2026 individual deadline from 15 April to 15 October 2027, but tax owed is still due on 15 April. Interest and the late-payment penalty run on anything unpaid after that date, so estimate the liability and tell the client what to pay when you file the extension.
How long must we keep Form 8879?
The electronic return originator keeps the signed Form 8879 for three years from the return due date or the date the IRS received the return, whichever is later. Do not send it to the IRS unless asked, and do not transmit the return until the signed form is in hand.
What happens if an e-filed return is rejected?
Fix the cause, often a missing IP PIN or a wrong prior-year figure, and retransmit. A timely filed return or extension that is rejected can be corrected and resent within a five-day perfection period and still count as on time. If it cannot be fixed electronically, tell the client within 24 hours and explain the paper filing option.
Can UK practices use this for Self Assessment?
The workflow carries over, but the forms and dates do not. Online returns for the 2025/26 tax year are due by 31 January 2027, so UK firms run intake from the summer. Replace the IRS tasks with your own and keep the review approval.
Is CheckFlow free for this template?
14-day free trial, no card required. The Business plan is $10 per user per month after the trial. Full details at checkflow.io/pricing.