Personal Changes

Let us know if any of the following changed during the year:

• Residence address and/or mailing address
• Email address
• Phone number
• U.S. bank account
• Purchased or sold a home
• Legally married
• Number of dependents (e.g., additional children via birth/adoption, someone you care for in your home)

Tax Forms

Send us all tax forms you’ve received, including:

• Forms 1099 (NEC, MISC, DIV, INT, etc.)
• Form W-2
• Form 1042-S
• Form 1099-G — Includes unemployment received
• Form 1098 — Mortgage interest
• Form 1098-E — Student loan repayment interest
• Form 1098-T — Tuition payments
• K-1s
• SSA-1099 — Social Security

Business Expenses

If you own a business or work as an independent contractor/freelancer, we need your business-related expenses for the 2025 calendar year.

Estimated Taxes

Tell us what you paid in estimated taxes and when you paid them. We send the vouchers, but we don’t know if you actually pay them. Separate federal and state payments.

Retirement Plan Contributions

Let us know if you’ve already contributed, or want to contribute, to any retirement plan for 2025 — Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), or another qualified plan.

Unemployment Received

If you received unemployment benefits during 2025, most states won’t mail you Form 1099-G. You’ll likely need to download it from your state’s unemployment website and send it to us.

Foreign Income

Let us know if anyone outside the U.S. paid you during 2025 (deposited into your bank account), and whether you paid taxes to that country or had them withheld from your pay.

Foreign Bank Accounts

If your foreign bank accounts or other foreign financial accounts cumulatively reached a balance of at least $10,000 USD at any point during the year, we’ll need the following for all accounts:

1. Name of the financial institution or trust
2. Full address of the financial institution or trust
3. Account number
4. Highest balance the account reached during the calendar year
5. Total income earned from the account during the year, if any (e.g., interest, dividends, or sales)

Bank Statements

Download and save your bank and credit card statements every few months. If you close the account or replace your credit card, you may not be able to get them back.

Business Expenses — What to Include

Business owners are responsible for their own bookkeeping. When calculating your expenses, make sure you’re including the right amounts:

• U.S. Citizens, Green Card holders, and Resident Aliens: Any expenses incurred anywhere in the world from any bank account or credit card
• Nonresident Aliens (in the U.S. for less than 6 months during 2025): Any expenses from any bank account or credit card related specifically to your work in the U.S.

Delayed Refunds From Form 1042-S

If you were paid via Form 1042-S, the IRS has said it may take up to 6 months or longer to process your refund.

Estimated State Tax Vouchers

If we gave you state estimated tax vouchers, pay them before December 31st. This lets you take the deduction on your 2025 returns up to $40,000 (excluding individuals subject to AMT).

Extensions

• If you need us to prepare and file federal and state extension forms, a fee applies (see Fee Information below)
• If we don’t receive your confirmation about filing extensions by the due date, we can’t file them for you. Your returns will be considered late and penalties on taxes paid after this date jump to 5.5% per month

Foreign Corporations & Interest in Foreign Businesses

Tell us if you own a corporation outside the U.S. Special reporting is required.

Foreign Income & Taxes Paid

You may be entitled to a credit on your U.S. return for foreign tax you paid on income-related items. Let us know if you received income from a foreign entity during 2025, or paid foreign taxes or had foreign taxes withheld.

Gifts & Inheritances

Let us know if you received a gift or inheritance from a foreign individual or trust.

Income Fluctuation

If your income went up or down by more than 25%, tell us before December 31st so we can figure out whether adjustments are needed.

Freelance / Independent Contractor Income

If you’re an independent contractor or freelancer, you must report all income received during the calendar year regardless of whether you got a Form 1099 or Form 1042-S.

Non-U.S. Citizens

If you’re not a U.S. citizen or green card holder and didn’t receive payments for services performed in the United States during 2025, a tax return may not be required. But tell us regardless — you may still need to file if you were in the U.S. for at least 6 months during 2025.

Payments to Independent Contractors

If you paid any individual person or single-member LLC at least $600 during 2025 for their services, you must prepare, issue, and file a Form 1099-NEC by January 31st. Contact us if this applies to you.

Refund Status

If you’re owed a federal or state refund and it hasn’t arrived within 2 months after we file your returns (6 months if paid via Form 1042-S), check the status using the IRS Refund Status Tool. You can also read our guide on How to Track Your Tax Refund.

Refund Problems

If there’s a problem with your federal refund after filing, you’ll need to call the IRS directly. If you’d like us to call on your behalf, we charge a fee based on the time required at our standard hourly rate.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

If you’re at least 73 years old by the end of the year, let us know if you’ve already taken your RMD from your retirement plan(s), or if you’d like us to calculate it. Read more in our guide on Retirement Plan Distributions: When To Take Them.

Sales of Stock

Think about selling any securities that lost value before year-end. This lets you take a net capital loss deduction (capped at $3,000 net loss per year).

Tax Strategy Resources

We’ve published in-depth tax planning strategies on our website. Visit our Tax Strategy Guides for guides covering individual, life event, and business tax strategies — all with IRS source citations.

Virtual / Crypto Currency

Let us know if, at any time during 2025, you received, sold, exchanged, or otherwise acquired any financial interest in any digital assets or virtual currency (cryptocurrency).