Help center/Money and paperwork Works today

Get ready for tax time

Your assistant helps you make a checklist and gather your papers before you see your tax preparer.

Suggested tools

You can set these up yourself. Get the app, follow the steps, then copy the prompt.

• IRS checklist of what to bring

  Free

  The official IRS list of papers to gather before someone prepares your taxes.

  Open the website

  1. Open the IRS page. There is a Spanish version at the top.
  2. Copy the link and text it to your assistant.
  3. As you find each paper, text your assistant to check it off. Do not send photos of the papers or any Social Security number.

  Copy this prompt and give it to your assistant

  • Here is the IRS checklist: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/checklist-for-free-tax-return-preparation Turn it into my tax checklist. I will tell you when I find each paper. Do not ask me for my Social Security number.

    Copy

  It is a general list. Your tax preparer may ask for more, and their list is the one that counts.

• IRS free tax help site finder (VITA and TCE)

  Free

  An IRS page that finds a place near you where trained volunteers prepare taxes for free.

  Open the website

  1. Open the site finder and type your ZIP code. You can also call 800-906-9887.
  2. Pick a site and make your appointment yourself.
  3. Text your assistant the date, the time and the address.

  Copy this prompt and give it to your assistant

  • I have a tax appointment on [date] at [time] at [place]. Add it to my tax checklist and tell me what is still missing before that day.

    Copy

  The sites have income limits and are mostly open from January to April. Your assistant does not book the appointment or prepare the return.

• IRS Free File

  Free if your income is under the IRS limit (the page shows $89,000 today)

  The official IRS page that lists free tax software for people under an income limit.

  Open the website

  1. Open the IRS Free File page and read who can use it.
  2. Use it yourself, on the IRS site and the partner's site. Your assistant does not go there with you.
  3. Before you start, ask your assistant what is still missing from your checklist.

  Copy this prompt and give it to your assistant

  • I plan to do my own return with IRS Free File. Look at my tax checklist and tell me which papers I still need to find before I sit down. Do not tell me how to fill out the return.

    Copy

  Your assistant does not fill out or file the return and cannot say if you qualify. The income limit can change each year.

What to text

• Help me get organized for tax time. I own a small cleaning business. Make a checklist of papers to gather.

  Copy

• I found my mileage notes and my supply receipts. Check them off.

  Copy

• What is still missing from my tax checklist?

  Copy

• Write questions I should ask my tax preparer.

  Copy

• Make a summary of my receipt log for last year by category.

  Copy

Steps

1. Text what kind of work you do and ask for a checklist of papers to gather.
2. Show the checklist to your tax preparer, or ask them for theirs. Their list is the one that counts.
3. As you find each paper, text "check off" and the name of the paper.
4. Ask "What is still missing?" once a week until it is done.
5. Ask for questions to bring to your preparer.

Example conversation

Make it stick

• Start a month early. Ten minutes a week is easier than one long night.
• Keep receipts all year with Keep my receipts. Tax time gets much shorter.