Updated
This checklist is for tax year 2026 returns filed in 2027, for individual clients with or without a Schedule C business. It's built on the IRS "Gather your documents" list and the 2026 thresholds, and it's written so the client can work through it themselves. Copy it, delete what doesn't apply, and pre-fill what you already know from last year.
How should a firm use this checklist?
Send it once, early, with the engagement letter and the document deadline, and ask the client to return it with their documents through your one upload channel. Pre-filled checklists get better responses: "Last year you had a 1099-INT from Ally" prompts a specific search. For the reminder calendar around it, see getting clients to send tax documents on time.
What personal information do you need from the client?
- Full legal name as recorded with the Social Security Administration, for the client, spouse and each dependent
- SSN or ITIN for each person on the return
- Dates of birth; current address; phone and email
- Filing status changes in 2026: marriage, divorce, death, new dependent
- Bank account and routing numbers for a refund or payment
- IRS Identity Protection PIN, if the IRS issued one
- Copy of the 2025 return, including last year's AGI, if we didn't prepare it
- Any IRS or state letters received in 2026
Which income documents should clients send?
- Forms W-2 from every employer, including corrected W-2s
- Form 1099-NEC from each client who paid you. For payments made after December 31, 2025, payers generally issue one at $2,000 or more (it was $600), so expect fewer forms for small jobs. Income is reportable either way.
- Form 1099-K from payment apps and marketplaces. For 2026, these are generally required only when payments exceed $20,000 and transactions exceed 200; card processors have no threshold.
- Form 1099-MISC (rents, royalties, other income)
- Form 1099-INT and 1099-DIV for interest and dividends
- Form 1099-B and consolidated brokerage statements; note that these often arrive later and may be corrected
- Form 1099-DA or records of digital asset transactions
- Form 1099-R for retirement distributions; Form SSA-1099 for Social Security
- Form 1099-G for unemployment or state refunds; Form W-2G for gambling winnings
- Schedules K-1 from partnerships, S corporations, estates or trusts
- Records of income with no form: cash, checks, payment-app transfers
What business records do Schedule C clients need?
- Business name, EIN if any, and a one-line description of the business
- Bank and card statements for every business account, January through December 2026
- A list of all income by source, or the invoices and deposits that show it
- Receipts for every lodging stay, and for travel, meals and gifts of $75 or more (IRS Publication 463 generally doesn't require documentary evidence below $75, except lodging)
- A one-line business purpose for each trip, client meal and gift, and who attended each meal
- Software, subscriptions and professional dues, with annual renewals
- Purchases of equipment, computers or furniture: date, cost, what it was
- Contractors paid: name, total paid in 2026, W-9 on file, whether you issued a 1099-NEC (due Feb 1, 2027)
- Business insurance, licenses and professional fees
- Inventory or cost-of-goods records, if you sell products
- Loans used for the business, with interest statements
- Sales tax collected and paid, if any
What vehicle records do you need?
- Make, model and date placed in service for each vehicle used for business
- Total miles driven in 2026, and business miles from a log
- Business miles split at July 1, 2026. For tax year 2026 the IRS business rate is 72.5 cents a mile through June 30 and 76 cents from July 1
- If using actual expenses: fuel, repairs, insurance, registration, lease or loan interest
- Parking and tolls for business trips
What do you need for a home office?
- Square footage of the office and of the whole home
- Confirmation the space is used regularly and only for business (IRS Publication 587)
- Rent or mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, utilities and repairs for the year, if using the regular method; the simplified method uses $5 per square foot, up to 300 square feet
What about estimated payments, health insurance and retirement?
- 2026 federal and state estimated payments, with dates and amounts. The federal due dates were Apr 15, Jun 15 and Sep 15, 2026, and Jan 15, 2027
- 2025 overpayment applied to 2026, if any
- Form 1095-A for Marketplace coverage; the IRS says to wait for it before filing
- Forms 1095-B or 1095-C, if received
- Self-employed health insurance premiums paid, and whether you or your spouse were eligible for an employer-subsidized plan in any month (relevant to Form 7206)
- HSA or FSA contributions
- Retirement contributions: IRA, SEP, SIMPLE or solo 401(k), with amounts and dates
What deductions and credits should the checklist cover?
- Mortgage interest and property tax records
- Charitable donations, with receipts
- Childcare or dependent care expenses, with provider name and tax ID
- Education expenses and Form 1098-T; student loan interest statements
- Medical expenses, if the client may itemize
What questions should you ask every client?
- Did anything change in 2026: job, business, address, family, health coverage?
- Did you start, close or sell a business, or buy or sell property?
- Did you receive any income without a form?
- Did you buy a vehicle or any equipment over a few thousand dollars?
- Did you travel for business? Which trips, and were any combined with vacation?
- Did you pay anyone to work for your business?
- Did you use digital assets?
- Did you have a financial interest in, or signature authority over, any account outside the US in 2026?
- If we didn't prepare last year's return: depreciation schedules and any carryovers (capital loss, net operating loss, charitable, home office).
- Do you expect a big change in 2027 we should plan for?
If a client can't answer the business questions without a box of receipts, the shoebox client guide covers what to do next.
Where Reapt fits
The business sections of this form are the ones clients find hardest to answer, and with Reapt those expenses arrive organized and explained, every number traced back to its source. The rest of the form is still yours to collect; see client expense prep for CPA firms.