UPLOAD: How To & Checklist of common documents.


Click on this link for INSTRUCTIONS to organize your own documents to avoid additional fees. Read disclaimer before proceeding.

Our team can organize and rename your documents for your convenience adding 550 to your total invoice.

CHECKLIST

□ Economic Impact Payment if received (Tax years 2020 and 2021 ONLY)

  • The total amount of Federal stimulus payment. Exact amount required. You can find it in your IRS account here: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payments

  • The total amount of California stimulus payment. There is no direct link to find out the exact amount received. Check your bank statements for exact amounts received.

□ California Middle Class Tax Refund 1099Misc (Tax year 2022 ONLY)

□ A valid and current form of ID for both you and your spouse. Identification card, driver's license, or passport.

  • REQUIRED!!! If married filing separate: Spouse full name, social security number, and gross income for the year. If that information is unobtainable please inform us before scheduled appointment. We will assist you in obtaining the required information needed.

  • REQUIRED!!! If married filing jointly and spouse cannot be at appointment: For security reasons, we would need open communication with your spouse via phone call or video call. We may request to verify spouse identity with a social security card, driver’s license, and a third form of qualified verification; as well as sending us a picture with all 3 forms of verification held next to the face along with a printed piece of article from a known media company or newspaper visibly stating the current date. 

□ Advance Child Tax Credit - Letter 6419 Tax Year 2021 ONLY

□ Dependent(s) valid social security card and at least one additional form of verification as listed below. NO PROOF. NO CLAIM. NON-NEGOTIABLE.

  • If someone else is also eligible to claim your dependent(s), please bring supporting documents to show that you are the one to claim your dependent. Documents may include but not limited to dependent(s) medical records, school records, mail, court ordered custody documents, log of days dependent(s) lived with you, payment records for dependent(s) needs, and anything can prove your right to claim your dependent(s) on your tax return based on the IRS "tie-breaker" rules.


□ Dependent Care Credit Requirements:

  • Name of school, full name of caretaker, organization, etc.
    Full social security number or EIN Employer Identification Number of care provider
    Phone number
    Total amount paid to each school/caretaker/organization
    Address of organization


□ Estimated Taxes paid throughout the year.

  • Provide dates and amounts paid.
    You may get a refund if overpaid or reduce the balance of your tax return.


Income/Tax/Credit documents (most common ones):

□ 1095A ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY if applicable or the IRS will not process your return!!! 
Individual or shared/family health insurance provider documents thru Covered California/Marketplace is a REQUIREMENT!
NOTE: If 1095(s) not provided upon initial appointment, additional rates apply for IRS correspondence. 

□ 3895 (if Covered California) California health insurance tax form ABSOLUTELY - MANDATORY for tax year 2021 only.

□ 1095B/1095C - Employer health coverage. Penalties may apply if you did not have health coverage 12 months of the year.

□ W2 - One from each employer you worked for. Expect your W2(s) in January thru February if by mail. In most cases your employer/HR have them ready for you immediately electronically.

□ W2G - Income from gambling

□ 1098 - Mortgage interest statement. Refinanced loans or loans sold from one lender to another will have separate 1098 forms. Be sure to have all of them uploaded to get the best deduction possible on your tax return.

□ Total Principal Paid to mortgage in tax calendar year. Sometimes it is already reported on your 1098(s) while other times it is not reported at all. Knowing how much you paid to your principal can sometimes help lower your taxes.

□ 1098E - Student loan interest you paid

□ 1098T - REQUIRED for credits on tax return! Qualified school and/or tuition deductions including all supplies purchased for school (for both you and/or your dependents). Total all school related expenses (not including tuition stated on 1098T) such as books, stationary, equipment, tools, accessories, supplies, licenses, subscriptions, software, apps, etc. for additional school credits.

□ 1099INT - If you received interest from a bank account or other asset trading platforms.

□ 1099Misc/1099NEC - from rental property and/or contract jobs such as DJ, carpentry, sales bonuses, web design, self-employed, prizes you may have won at work, and other one time services you may have provided throughout the year. You may receive a 1099 all the way up to mid February.

□ 1099B / 1099 Consolidated - One from each company you invested in stocks and bonds with. It shows the details of your trades and dividends throughout the tax year. 
NOTE: If company stocks such as ISO or ESPP are exercised and/or RSU vested utilizing ‘sell to cover’ tax option, a 1099B or 1099 Consolidated will still be issued and required to be reported on your tax return. You can find your 1099 and Stock Trade Supplemental forms to report any adjusted Cost Basis on your brokerage platforms. Additional rates may apply if not provided upon initial appointment.

□ Crypto Reports - Fully summarized crypto reports can be found on your trading platforms. If they are not summarized, there are plenty of apps out there that can do it for you. You will need to do your own homework since different apps work well with different platforms. Our team can also summarize it for you at our bookkeeping rate of 150 per hour.

□ 1099G - State tax refund, unemployment, and paid family leave.

□ 1099K - Payments from a third party credit card processing company.

□ 1099R - Distribution/rollover from your 401k and/or pensions

□ 1099S - Sale of home proceeds IRS tax document. Ask your real estate agent or title company that helped you sell your home. There are scenarios where you would not receive one.
Non-negotiable Uploads:
1. Original purchase closing statement
2. Sale closing statement
3. Total amount spent in renovations throughout ownership

□ SSA-1099 - Report of social security benefits you received for the tax year.

□ Form 5498 - Contributions made to your IRA accounts. It also shows any rollovers or converted accounts that happened throughout the year (example: 401k to traditional IRA or Traditional IRA to Roth IRA).

□ Form 1099SA - Distributions from Health Savings Account.

□ Form 5498SA - Contributions and fair market value of Health Savings Account.

□ Schedule K-1 - These usually show up late and many times after the tax season. These are issued if you are a partner of an LLC, S corporation, estate, trust or invested in a Limited Partnership or exchange traded funds. You may file an automatic extension If you are expecting these to show up after the current tax season deadline.

FinCEN - Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Filing Requirements

□ Foreign Bank Accounts and Assets over $10,000 (required by law)

  • Type of each asset

  • Name and address of bank or company where assets are held

  • Total amount of assets held in each account converted to USD

□ All LLC and S Corp entities are required to file a FinCEN report starting 2024 and on. If you have setup any corporations as an individual or partner, it is imperative to let us know. Penalties will be harsh if not filed on time.


EXPENSES: Individual / Business/ Rental Property

□ Calculated YEAR END total of gross receipts/gross income for your business. Note that this is the amount of income before expenses are factored in.
  *If it is not totaled, bookkeeping services may be needed before filing your tax return at an hourly rate.

□ Categorized list of your work/business expenses that were not reimbursed by your company or partnership. We do not need your receipts. It is your duty to keep records of your statements and receipts for verification purposes in the event that you should be audited. If you do not know where to start and require bookkeeping help, please let us know in advance. Totaled summaries only.
*If it is not totaled, bookkeeping services may be needed before filing your tax return at an hourly rate.


□ Sale of Home. Include purchase settlement paperwork, selling settlement paperwork, expenses to sale of home, total remodeling or renovation since purchase of home. We only need total amounts. Keep details and receipts for reference if the IRS requests for an audit.

□ Rental property information, rental income, and qualified rental property expenses. Rental property information includes your property purchase price, closing costs, renovation costs, etc. so we can determine the depreciation of your rental property as a deduction.

  • COPY and PASTE spreadsheet provided to Excel or Google Sheets
    Rental Property Expense Spreadsheet

  • For multiple rental properties, please separate each location/property documents and expenses (such as real estate tax, mortgage interest, supplies, repairs, etc.) and package them as such for ease of preparation.
    *If multiple properties are not organized per property, we will apply an additional prorated hourly on final invoice. Refer to Standard Rates.



INVESTMENT INCOME

□ Gains from stocks.

  • It is your duty to keep track of your cost basis. Most often times, the company you use to trade your stocks (such as Ameritrade and Etrade) will not have the cost basis in the detailed summaries. Cost basis is the sum you put into the trade and is to be subtracted from your gains for the correct amount of taxation to be reported on your tax return. It is always an advantage to know your cost basis so that you do not overpay in taxes on your distributions. Client is FULLY RESPONSIBLE for their own cost basis. We love to help you lower your taxes on your returns. It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to find cost basis for our team to file. We will file what you give to us.


□ Stock trade online logins. Please have login information ready at time of appointment. We may need it for additional information.

□ Crypto Reports - Fully summarized crypto reports can be found on your trading platforms. If they are not summarized, there are plenty of apps out there that can do it for you. You will need to do your own homework since different apps work well with different platforms. Our team can also summarize it for you at our bookkeeping rate of 150 per hour.

□ IRA Contributions. The amounts contributed may reduce your tax liabilities or add to your cost basis.



ITEMIZED DEDUCTIONS

□ Donations. Receipts from organizations you donated to throughout the year which may include cash/non-cash goods to churches and other qualified organizations

□ Taxes paid can be used as a deduction:

  • If you owed tax on your state tax return the previous year and have paid it, that amount can be used as a tax deduction on your federal return this year.

  • Car registration fees

  • Real Estate tax

  • Personal property tax

  • Sales tax paid on all purchases throughout the year. This is a huge tax advantage for those who live in states without state income tax or for those who did not withhold much tax on their state income. Income tax or sales tax… you may only choose one tax to deduct from these 2 options.


□ Qualified medical expenses.
  *A list of these expenses is available on the IRS Web site, IRS Publication 502, “Medical and Dental Expenses."

□ Gambling losses may offset your gambling winnings to reduce tax liability. Keep track of your losses in a journal if necessary (highly recommended).


□ Car mileage log for commute and business use and car maintenance expenses if car is used for work/business purposes. Add that to your expense spreadsheet. Tolls and parking paid for work is also qualified as a deduction.


□ Alimony. It is a requirement to file any alimony paid or received.

  • We need from payer of alimony:

  • Recipient full name

  • Recipient Address

  • Recipient Social Security Number

  • Amount paid to recipient


□ Please bring anything you feel may help reduce your tax liabilities that we have not already mentioned here.

PRIOR YEARS INFORMATION AND CARRYOVER DATA

□ Previous 2 years of your tax returns (only if you did not file with us previously).

□ If you have a sole proprietorship LLC, the state of California will need you to file that even though it is "not considered" a corporation on the federal level. Please bring all information and documents regarding your LLC including the SOS number (Secretary of State number).