Tax Preparation Intake Forms & Client Questionnaires

Filing Status, Dependents, and the Information You Actually Need

Every tax return starts with the same question: what is the client's filing status? Single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household, qualifying widow(er) — each one changes everything downstream, from standard deduction amounts to eligibility for credits. A proper tax preparation intake form captures this up front, along with dependent information that goes beyond just names and dates of birth. You need Social Security numbers for every dependent, custody arrangements for divorced parents claiming children, and whether any dependent had income of their own. The client who casually mentions their 19-year-old is "still in college" needs to be asked whether that child filed their own return, had a summer job that generated a W-2, or received scholarship income that might be taxable. These details determine who claims the education credits, and getting it wrong triggers an IRS reject or, worse, a duplicate-dependent audit.

Income Sources: W-2s Are the Easy Part

W-2 wage earners are straightforward, but most clients today have income from multiple sources that they don't always think to mention. The tax and accounting questionnaire needs to systematically walk through 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC freelance income, 1099-INT and 1099-DIV investment income, 1099-R retirement distributions, 1099-K from payment platforms like Venmo and PayPal (now reporting at $600), rental income from properties, K-1 income from partnerships or S-corps, gambling winnings, Social Security benefits, and unemployment compensation. Then there are the sources clients forget entirely: jury duty pay, prize winnings, debt forgiveness that generated a 1099-C, or the crypto they traded on Coinbase without realizing every swap is a taxable event. A structured intake catches the freelancer who made $80,000 across four platforms and made zero estimated payments all year — you need to know that before April 15, not after.

Deductions, Credits, and Life Events That Change Everything

Beyond income, a thorough intake covers the deductions and credits that reduce tax liability. Mortgage interest (Form 1098), property taxes paid, state and local income taxes (up to the $10,000 SALT cap), charitable contributions with documentation for any single gift over $250, medical expenses exceeding the 7.5% AGI floor, student loan interest (1098-E), and tuition paid (1098-T). For self-employed clients, the intake needs to address home office deduction eligibility (exclusive and regular use test), health insurance premiums paid out of pocket, SEP or SIMPLE IRA contributions, vehicle mileage for business use, and qualified business income deduction under Section 199A. Life events matter enormously: marriage or divorce changes filing status mid-year, a new baby adds a dependent and may trigger the Child Tax Credit, a home purchase means itemizing might now beat the standard deduction, and retirement means new rules around RMDs and Social Security taxation. The client who retired in June, started drawing Social Security in July, and took a lump-sum pension distribution in September has a completely different return than someone who worked all twelve months.

Prior-Year Returns, E-Filing, and the Shoebox Problem

New clients transferring from another preparer need to provide their prior-year return or at minimum their prior-year AGI, which the IRS requires as an identity verification step for e-filing. Without it, the return gets rejected. Your intake should ask whether the client has a copy of last year's federal and state returns, whether they owe back taxes or are on an installment agreement with the IRS, and whether they've received any IRS notices (CP2000 underreporter notices are increasingly common). For direct deposit of refunds — or direct debit of balances owed — you need bank routing and account numbers. The bookkeeper and accountant intake form pairs well here for clients who also need ongoing bookkeeping alongside annual tax prep. And then there is the reality of the client who shows up on April 12 with a shoebox of receipts, no prior-year return copy, a vague memory of "some crypto stuff," and a W-2 that got sent to their old address. A structured intake form turns that chaos into a checklist.

Foreign Accounts, Crypto, and Compliance Triggers

Tax preparation has gotten more complex with the rise of cryptocurrency and international reporting requirements. Your intake must ask whether the client held, sold, or exchanged any virtual currency during the tax year — the IRS now puts this question on the front page of Form 1040. For clients with foreign financial accounts exceeding $10,000 in aggregate at any point during the year, FBAR filing (FinCEN 114) is mandatory, with penalties for non-compliance that dwarf the underlying tax. FATCA reporting on Form 8938 kicks in at higher thresholds. These are not obscure situations: the client with a Canadian bank account from when they lived in Toronto, the software engineer with stock options in a foreign subsidiary, the retiree with a pension from the UK — all potentially trigger foreign reporting obligations. HSA contributions and distributions need Form 8889, retirement plan contributions affect the Saver's Credit, and Roth conversions from traditional IRAs have their own tax treatment. A financial planning intake form is a natural companion for clients whose tax situation intersects with broader wealth management.

The complete tax preparation intake form set is available for $19.99 as an instant-download fillable PDF. The intake form alone is $14.99 and the client questionnaire is $9.99. Both are designed for CPAs, enrolled agents, and independent tax preparers who need a structured, professional way to gather client information before the first appointment — not during it.