- 1Closed and reconciled books for the full tax year. Every account reconciled, every transaction categorized.
- 2Trial balance, profit & loss, and balance sheet. Generated from your accounting system, signed off by your bookkeeper or controller.
- 3Bank statements for December. Supporting the year-end balance.
- 4Loan amortization schedules. For any business debt, showing principal vs interest split.
- 5Fixed asset register. Additions, disposals, and depreciation schedule for the year.
- 6Payroll summary and W-2 / 1099 prep. Total wages, employer taxes, and contractor payments.
- 7Owner draws, distributions, and contributions. Clearly labeled.
- 8Inventory count and valuation. If applicable, with method (FIFO, average cost) documented.
- 9Any tax notices received during the year. IRS, state, local.
- 10Prior year tax return. If your CPA is new this year.
The documents your CPA actually needs
A complete tax prep package includes: prior year tax return, year-end trial balance, bank statements for December, credit card statements for December, merchant processor year-end reports (Stripe, Square, etc.), payroll provider annual summary (W-2s, W-3, 941s), 1099s received, W-9s for contractors paid over $600, and fixed asset additions with invoices.
For businesses with specific situations, also include: year-end inventory count if applicable, any equity transactions with documentation (option grants, share issuances, conversions), debt instruments and year-end balances, any insurance claims or settlements, and documentation of any unusual transactions that affected the books.
Providing these proactively saves significant back-and-forth. A CPA who asks for documents one at a time over six weeks takes longer and charges more than one who receives a complete package and works through it systematically.
Timing matters
Send the package by January 31 if you want the return completed by mid-March. Between February 1 and March 15, CPAs are fully booked and your return joins the queue behind earlier submissions. Delivering documents in March often means filing an extension.
If you file an extension, that is fine, many growing companies do. But the extension has to be filed by the original deadline, and you need to estimate and pay any expected tax liability with the extension. Work with your CPA in early March to file the extension properly, then aim for completion in April or May.
Build a recurring calendar: December 31 is fiscal year-end, January 1-15 is reconciliation and close work, January 15-31 is document gathering, February 1 is the send-to-CPA deadline. Following this cadence every year prevents the end-of-March scramble.
Questions to answer proactively
Your CPA will have questions. Answering them before they ask saves time. Typical questions include: did you have any major capital purchases (list them with amounts and dates), did you dispose of any assets, did you take on any debt, did you issue equity or options, did you change anything about the ownership structure, and are there any disputes or lawsuits in progress.
Also provide context on anything unusual in the books. A $100K wire transfer in March is a flag if there is no obvious business reason visible from the description. Providing a note ("$100K loan from member, documented in note receivable agreement") prevents the CPA from having to dig for explanation.
Related-party transactions deserve specific attention. Payments to the owner outside of salary, loans between the business and shareholders, management fees between related entities. Document these clearly, because the IRS looks at them closely and your CPA needs to handle them correctly on the return.
Set realistic expectations
Quality CPAs are in demand during tax season. A return that takes 20 hours in the middle of the year takes 30 hours during March because of the context-switching overhead. Expect pricing to be slightly higher for returns prepared during peak season. Early preparation can produce better pricing.
Communication cadence should be set up front. Agree on how often you will hear from the CPA, who initiates if questions come up, and what the turnaround time is on document requests. Without this, you can end up in a cycle where the CPA waits for your documents while you wait for an update.
Finally, plan for next year while doing this year. Ask the CPA what would have made this filing easier. Fix the issue in your bookkeeping or document organization going forward. Good CPAs appreciate clients who improve year over year and usually provide better service in return.