Tax Tips
Tax Preparation Checklist
Every document we need from you, grouped by situation — employment, investments, property, business and life changes.
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Tax tips & resourcesEverything you need to arrive prepared.
Checklists, deadlines and worksheets, written for people who do not do this for a living. All of it free, none of it behind a form.
2024–2025 Filing Deadlines
Individual, corporate, partnership and estimated-payment dates, plus the extension deadlines that people forget.
OpenRefund Estimator Worksheet
A plain worksheet for a rough refund or balance-due figure before your appointment.
OpenSmall Business Expense Guide
What is deductible, what is partly deductible, and what the IRS will ask you to substantiate.
OpenRecord Retention Schedule
How long to keep returns, receipts, payroll records and property documents.
OpenWithholding Review Guide
How to read your pay stub and adjust Form W-4 so next April holds no surprises.
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Before your appointment
Tax preparation checklist
Bring what applies to you. If something on this list is missing, come anyway — we will tell you exactly what to chase and from whom.
Personal
- Photo ID for you and your spouse
- Social Security cards for everyone on the return
- Last year’s federal and state returns
- Bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit
Income
- W-2 forms from every employer
- 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC for contract work
- 1099-INT, 1099-DIV and 1099-B for interest, dividends and sales
- 1099-R for retirement distributions, SSA-1099 for Social Security
- K-1 statements from partnerships, S-corps and trusts
- Rental income and expense records
Deductions and credits
- Form 1098 for mortgage interest and property tax records
- Charitable contribution receipts and acknowledgement letters
- 1098-T and 1098-E for tuition and student loan interest
- Medical expense totals if you expect to itemize
- Child care provider name, address and tax ID
- Form 1095-A if you bought coverage on the marketplace
Business
- Profit and loss statement and balance sheet
- Asset purchases with dates and amounts
- Mileage log and home-office square footage
- Payroll reports and 1099s issued
- Estimated tax payments made, with dates
Mark your calendar
Filing deadlines
Dates shift when they fall on a weekend or a federal holiday. These are the ones that matter for most filers.
- January 15Fourth-quarter estimated payment for the prior tax year
- January 31W-2s and 1099s furnished to recipients
- March 17Partnership and S-corporation returns, or extension
- April 15Individual and C-corporation returns; first-quarter estimate; IRA contributions
- June 16Second-quarter estimated payment
- September 15Third-quarter estimate; extended partnership and S-corp returns
- October 15Extended individual and C-corporation returns
- December 31Last day for most deductible transactions and retirement contributions
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