A complete tax preparer checklist for clients covers identification for everyone on the return, every income form you received, records backing any deductions or credits you plan to claim, cost basis for investments or property you sold, business or rental summaries if they apply, and foreign account details if you have them. Your 2025 federal return is due April 15, 2026, so pulling this together well before then gives your preparer time to catch deductions and credits that a last-minute appointment will miss.1Internal Revenue Service. IRS Announces First Day of 2026 Filing Season Work through the categories below and flag anything you’re still waiting on so your preparer can plan around it.
Identification and Basics
Bring Social Security Numbers or Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers for you, your spouse if you’re filing jointly, and every dependent, along with current dates of birth and your mailing address.2Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 857, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
If the IRS assigned you an Identity Protection PIN, hand over that six-digit number. Every person on the return who has an IP PIN needs theirs entered, or the IRS will reject the filing.3Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions About the Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN) Voluntary enrollees get a new PIN by mail each January.
A copy of last year’s return matters if your preparer is new to you, because it shows carryforward losses, prior depreciation schedules, and basis information they’d otherwise have to reconstruct. Mention any life change during the year: marriage, divorce, a birth or adoption, a move. For direct deposit, bring your bank routing and account numbers. The IRS can split a refund across up to three accounts.4Internal Revenue Service. Get Your Refund Faster: Tell IRS to Direct Deposit Your Refund to One, Two, or Three Accounts
Every Income Form You Received
Missing even one form can trigger an IRS notice months after you file. Employees receive Form W-2 from each employer showing wages and withholding; employers must send them by January 31, so contact payroll if yours hasn’t shown by mid-February.5Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement Bring every W-2, including short-term jobs.
Freelance and contract work generates Form 1099-NEC when a payer sent you $600 or more during the year.6Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Payments to Independent Contractors Payments through third-party platforms may also generate Form 1099-K; for tax year 2025, platforms report when your transactions exceed $2,500.7Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025) Freelance and gig income is reportable whether or not a form arrives, so keep your own records too.
Unearned income comes on several 1099s. Collect all of them:
- Form 1099-INT for interest from bank accounts and bonds.8Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-INT, Interest Income
- Form 1099-DIV for dividends from stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs.
- Form 1099-R for distributions from pensions, IRAs, 401(k)s, and annuities.
- Form SSA-1099 for Social Security benefits.
- Form 1099-G for unemployment compensation or state tax refunds.
Income from partnerships, S corporations, estates, or trusts arrives on a Schedule K-1 instead of a 1099, showing your share of the entity’s income, losses, deductions, and credits.9Internal Revenue Service. Partner’s Instructions for Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) (2025) K-1s tend to arrive late because the entity must file first, so tell your preparer if one is still outstanding.
Records for Itemized Deductions
Most filers take the standard deduction, but if your itemizable expenses beat it, Schedule A saves you money.10Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions Bring the records either way and let your preparer run the comparison.
State and Local Taxes
State and local income taxes, sales taxes, and real property taxes are deductible. For 2025, the cap is $40,000 for most filers, a significant increase from the $10,000 that applied in prior years, phasing back down toward $10,000 once adjusted gross income exceeds $500,000. Bring property tax statements and records of state and local income tax paid. If your state charges a vehicle registration fee tied to the vehicle’s value, the value-based portion may also be deductible.
Mortgage Interest
Your lender issues Form 1098 showing mortgage interest paid, including deductible points on a purchase. Refinanced during the year? You may get a 1098 from both the old and new lender. Bring them both. The deduction for private mortgage insurance premiums is not available for 2025 returns.11Internal Revenue Service. Publication 936 (2025), Home Mortgage Interest Deduction
Medical Expenses
Unreimbursed medical, dental, and vision expenses are deductible only to the extent they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.12Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 502, Medical and Dental Expenses If you had a major out-of-pocket year, give your preparer a summarized total rather than raw receipts. Only amounts your insurance didn’t cover count.
Charitable Contributions
Cash gifts of $250 or more need a written acknowledgment from the charity showing the amount and whether you got anything in return. Smaller cash gifts can be documented with bank statements or canceled checks. For non-cash donations like clothing, furniture, or stock, keep records of the item’s fair market value, your original cost, and a description. When total claimed value of non-cash property exceeds $5,000, you generally need a qualified appraisal, though publicly traded securities are exempt from that requirement.13Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions
Documentation for Credits You’re Claiming
Credits cut your tax dollar-for-dollar, so each one carries its own paperwork requirement.
Education
Colleges and qualifying postsecondary programs issue Form 1098-T showing tuition, which is required to claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit.14Internal Revenue Service. Form 1098-T Tuition Statement Student loan servicers send Form 1098-E for interest paid, which supports a separate above-the-line deduction.
Child and Dependent Care
Bring the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each care provider, including daycare centers, after-school programs, and babysitters. Some providers hesitate to share a TIN, so ask early.
Marketplace Health Coverage
If anyone in your household had marketplace coverage, you should receive Form 1095-A. It’s essential for reconciling any advance premium tax credit you received.15Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement Skipping it can hold up your return or produce a surprise balance due.
Energy and Clean Vehicles
Home solar, solar water heaters, or a small wind system installed during 2025 qualify for the Residential Clean Energy Credit at 30% of cost.16Internal Revenue Service. Residential Clean Energy Credit Bring the invoice and keep the manufacturer’s written certification, though it isn’t attached to the return.17Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 5695 (2025)
Bought a new or used clean vehicle? If you transferred the credit to the dealer at the point of sale, bring the seller report from IRS Energy Credits Online and the IRS acceptance confirmation.18Internal Revenue Service. Clean Vehicle Credit Seller or Dealer Requirements If you didn’t transfer it, your preparer needs the VIN, the date placed in service, and the purchase price.
Health Savings Account Records
If you contributed to an HSA through an employer or on your own, both contributions and distributions get reported. For 2025, the contribution maximum is $4,300 for self-only coverage and $8,550 for family coverage.19Internal Revenue Service. Rev. Proc. 2024-25 Your custodian issues Form 1099-SA for distributions.20Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-SA, Distributions From an HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Distributions used for qualified medical expenses are tax-free, but the form still needs to be on the return. Bring Form 5498-SA for total contributions.
Investment and Property Sales
This is where preparation most often falls short. Incomplete cost basis is the reason returns stall.
Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds
Brokerages send Form 1099-B for every sale, usually with cost basis when the shares were acquired after specific dates.21Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule D (Form 1040), Capital Gains and Losses When the broker reports basis to the IRS, hand the form to your preparer and confirm the numbers look right. When basis isn’t reported, such as for inherited stock or shares held for decades, reconstruct the original purchase price, acquisition date, and any reinvested dividends before your appointment.
Check your 1099-B for wash sale adjustments. If you hold accounts at more than one broker, one may not know about a repurchase at another, so cross-check your own records.22Internal Revenue Service. Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets (Form 8949)
Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets
The IRS treats virtual currency as property, so every sale, trade, or exchange is taxable.23Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2014-21 Starting with tax year 2025, some brokers and exchanges have begun issuing Form 1099-DA, though cost basis reporting on that form may be limited for assets acquired before 2026.24Internal Revenue Service. Form 1099-DA Keep your own transaction log regardless: acquisition date, cost, disposition date, and proceeds. For activity on decentralized platforms or between wallets, your records may be the only documentation that exists.
Real Estate
Sold a property? Bring the Closing Disclosure from the sale and Form 1099-S showing gross proceeds.25Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-S (04/2025) Your preparer also needs the Closing Disclosure from when you originally purchased the property, plus records of capital improvements, to establish basis.
If the property was your primary residence and you lived there at least two of the five years before the sale, you may exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 if married filing jointly.26Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 701, Sale of Your Home Documentation of ownership and occupancy periods supports the exclusion.
Stock Options
Exercised incentive or nonqualified options during the year? Bring the exercise confirmation showing grant date, exercise date, share count, exercise price, and fair market value at exercise. Some of this appears on your W-2; the exercise paperwork fills in what the W-2 doesn’t capture.
Self-Employment Summaries
Sole proprietors, freelancers, and gig workers report on Schedule C. What you hand over here determines whether you overpay.
Provide total revenue for the year with bank statements or payment processor records behind it.27Internal Revenue Service. What Kind of Records Should I Keep For expenses, a categorized profit-and-loss statement beats a folder of receipts. Group by type: advertising, supplies, travel, professional services, insurance, and so on.
For equipment, vehicles, or other business assets purchased during the year, your preparer needs purchase date, total cost, and a description to calculate depreciation or a Section 179 deduction.28Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 4562 (2025) If a personal vehicle was used for business, a mileage log with dates, destinations, and miles driven is what the IRS expects.
For a home office, the simplified method allows $5 per square foot up to 300 square feet, capped at $1,500.29Internal Revenue Service. Simplified Option for Home Office Deduction To use the actual-expense method, bring mortgage interest or rent, utilities, insurance, and maintenance for the year, plus square footage of both the office and the whole home.
If you made quarterly estimated payments, report the exact date and amount of each one. Bring 1040-ES vouchers or bank and IRS account records for electronic payments.30Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals Wrong numbers here mean a miscalculated balance due or refund.
Rental Property Records
Rental activity goes on Schedule E, and each property needs its own file.31Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule E (Form 1040), Supplemental Income and Loss Give your preparer a per-property profit-and-loss summary: total rents collected and expenses broken down by category, including mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, repairs, property management fees, and utilities you paid. If you bought a rental during the year, include the Closing Disclosure so your preparer can set up the depreciation schedule. Keep rental records separate from personal expenses.
Foreign Accounts and Assets
If the combined value of your foreign bank and financial accounts topped $10,000 at any point during the year, you must file FinCEN Form 114, known as the FBAR, by April 15.32FinCEN.gov. Reporting Maximum Account Value This goes to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, not the IRS, and is separate from your tax return. Give your preparer the institution name, account number, country, and highest balance for each account.
Form 8938 kicks in at higher thresholds. For unmarried filers in the U.S., that’s $50,000 on the last day of the year or $75,000 at any point during it. For married couples filing jointly, those figures double to $100,000 and $150,000.33Internal Revenue Service. Do I Need to File Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets Form 8938 covers a broader range of assets than the FBAR, including foreign stock holdings and interests in foreign entities.
Deadlines and Penalties for Filing Late
Your 2025 return is due April 15, 2026.1Internal Revenue Service. IRS Announces First Day of 2026 Filing Season Filing Form 4868 gives you an automatic six-month extension to October 15, but the extension covers filing only. Any tax owed is still due April 15, and interest runs from that date on unpaid balances.
Filing late without an extension carries a penalty of 5% of unpaid tax per month, up to 25%. Filing on time but not paying drops the penalty to 0.5% per month, and to 0.25% per month if you set up an approved payment plan.34Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty Even if you can’t pay the full balance, file on time.
If any document hasn’t reached you by mid-February, contact the issuer and tell your preparer what’s still outstanding. A preparer with complete records in February catches things a preparer scrambling with missing forms in April does not.