Handing your taxes to a CPA: what to send, what happens next and how long it takes

What to send and how long it really takes

A CPA needs your identifying information, last year's return, every income form you received, records for any deductions or credits you plan to claim, and, if you are self-employed or own rentals, a full picture of business income and expenses. How long the return takes depends mostly on two things: how complete your documents are when you send them, and when the last form arrives. A complete, organized upload early in the season moves quickly. A return waiting on a K-1 or a stack of uncategorized receipts takes as long as those pieces take.

We at Hockaday CPA in Frisco prepare individual and business returns from simple filings to complex ones, and the clients whose returns go smoothly are rarely the ones with the simplest situations. They are the ones who send everything at once and tell us early what changed. This guide covers what to gather, what happens at each step once you hand it over, and what decides the timeline. It is general information; your own preparer may ask for more based on your situation.

The core checklist for every household

The IRS publishes its own list of documents to gather before filing, and it is a good starting point for anyone. It begins with identity information and last year's return, then moves to income forms and records for deductions and credits. Keep everything in one place as it arrives in January and February, rather than searching for it in March.

If you are a returning client, much of this is already on file, and your accountant can tell you what is new this year. If you are switching from another preparer or from software, the prior-year return matters more than people expect: it carries depreciation schedules, carryovers and elections that the new return has to continue correctly.

• Social Security numbers or ITINs for everyone on the return, and your IRS identity protection PIN if you have one
• Last year's complete return, including all schedules
• W-2s for wages and any corrected W-2s
• 1099 forms: NEC and MISC for contract income, K for card and payment-app transactions, INT and DIV for interest and dividends, R for retirement distributions, G for government payments, and SSA-1099 for Social Security
• 1095-A if you had marketplace health coverage
• Records of digital asset transactions, even if no form was issued
• Bank account and routing numbers for a refund or payment

Records for deductions, credits and big events

The IRS checklist also includes records that support deductions and credits: childcare and dependent care expenses, mortgage and property tax records and charitable donation records if you itemize, HSA or FSA contributions, health care expenses if you itemize, retirement contributions and education expenses. If you are unsure whether something matters, send it. It takes us seconds to set aside a document we do not need and much longer to chase one we do.

Then there are the life events that need their own paperwork. If you sold a home, we need the closing statement and records of improvements. If you sold stock, the brokerage forms plus basis information for older lots. If you inherited property, documents that establish its value at the date of death. If you moved to Texas from another state, the dates of the move and income earned before and after. If a letter came from the IRS, the letter itself. Our guide on which tax records to keep and for how long explains why these documents matter long after the return is filed.

Additional items for business owners and landlords

If you are self-employed, the IRS list adds statements from banks, payment apps, card processors and online marketplaces, checks paid to you, receipts and mileage logs for travel and vehicle expenses, office expense records and records of estimated tax payments. In practice, the most useful thing a business owner can send is a reconciled profit and loss statement and balance sheet for the year, along with a list of equipment or vehicles bought or sold.

For rental property, we need rents received, expenses by category, any improvements with dates and amounts, and, the first year, the purchase closing statement. If you own part of a partnership or S corporation, we need the K-1, and if we also prepare the business return, we will produce it. If your books are not current, that is the first problem to solve; our guide on catching up a year of small business books explains how.

The one-page note that saves the most time

Forms tell us what happened. They do not tell us why, or what is missing. Before you upload anything, write a short note answering a few questions: Did anyone join or leave the household? Did you move, change jobs, start or close a business, buy or sell property? Did you receive income without a form, such as cash or payments from a relative? Did you make estimated payments, and when? Did you get any letters from the IRS or a state agency?

That note turns a guessing game into a straight line. It lets your accountant spot what should be there and is not, and it is the single biggest reason some returns move faster than others. If you are still choosing a preparer, notice whether they ask these questions; our guide on questions to ask a tax preparer covers what a careful one will want to know.

Ready to hand it over?

If you have the documents together, or even most of them, the next step is a free consultation. We will look at your situation, tell you what else we need and explain what the engagement involves before any work starts. You do not need a perfect folder to begin; you need a starting point.

From first call to filed return, step by step

Every firm works a little differently, but at our office the path looks like this. It is built so that you always know where your return stands without having to ask.

A word on how documents travel. A tax folder holds Social Security numbers, bank details and income for your whole household, which makes it exactly what identity thieves want. Email attachments sit in inboxes and sent folders indefinitely. A secure portal keeps everything in one protected place, lets you see what you have already sent, and gives your accountant one thread for questions instead of a dozen scattered messages. Whoever prepares your return, ask how they want documents delivered, and be cautious about sending a full tax packet as plain attachments.

• A free consultation by phone or at our office to understand your situation and scope
• Access to our secure client portal, where you upload documents and exchange messages
• An assigned accountant who reviews what you sent and lists anything missing or unclear
• Preparation of the return, with questions to you as they come up rather than all at the end
• Review of the finished return before it goes to you
• Your review and approval, then electronic filing
• A copy of the complete return for your records, and a conversation about next year when it helps

What actually decides the timeline

The biggest factor is the last document. A return cannot be finished until every piece is in, and some forms, especially K-1s from partnerships and trusts, often arrive late or are revised after they arrive. Brokerage forms are sometimes corrected in March. If you are waiting on any of these, it is often better to extend than to file and amend; our guide on extensions versus filing on time explains the trade-off.

The second factor is completeness. Each round of follow-up questions adds time on both sides. The third is timing: documents sent in February are handled before the April rush, while documents sent the week of the deadline compete with everyone else's. The fourth is complexity. A wage-earner's return and a return with a business, two rentals and a home sale simply take different amounts of work. None of these have anything to do with how quickly a preparer types; they have to do with how quickly the full picture comes together.

After you approve and sign

Once you approve the return, we file it electronically and you receive a complete copy. Keep it with the documents you used, because the return and its support belong together. If you owe, make sure the payment goes in by the deadline. If you are owed a refund, the IRS processes it on its own schedule.

The return is not the end of the conversation. With the full year in front of us, we can talk about estimated payments for the current year, whether your withholding still fits, how your records could be easier next time and, for qualifying family-owned and self-employed businesses, tax planning through our Optima Program. Our CPAs complete 40 hours of continuing education each year, which matters when the law changes between one filing season and the next.

Starting with our firm

Call our office or use the form on our website to schedule a free consultation. We will tell you what we need, set you up on the client portal and assign your accountant. Our team includes CPAs, an enrolled agent, tax accountants, bookkeepers and payroll specialists, so business and personal returns, books and payroll can all be handled in one place.

We serve individuals and business owners across Collin County and the Dallas area. Whether this is your first year with a CPA or you are switching from another firm, bring last year's return and your one-page note, and we will take it from there.

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