Personal Changes

Please inform us 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 have 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 are an independent contractor/freelancer, we need your business-related expenses for the 2025 calendar year.

Estimated Taxes

Tell us what amount of estimated taxes you paid and when they were paid. Although we provide you with the vouchers, we do not know if you pay them. Please separate by federal and state estimated payments.

Retirement Plan Contributions

Let us know if you have already contributed, or would like to contribute, to any retirement plan for 2025 — such as a Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), or other qualified plan.

Unemployment Received

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

Foreign Income

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

Foreign Bank Accounts

If you had foreign bank accounts or other foreign financial accounts that cumulatively reached a balance of at least $10,000 USD at any point during the year, we will need the following for all of your 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 amount of income earned from the account during the year, if any (e.g., interest, dividends, or sales)

Bank Statements

We strongly suggest you download and save your bank and credit card statements every few months. You may not be able to retrieve them if you close the account or replace your credit card.

Business Expenses — What to Include

Business owners are generally responsible for their own bookkeeping. When calculating your business expenses, ensure you are including the proper 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 incurred 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 announced that it may take up to 6 months or longer to process your tax refund.

Estimated State Tax Vouchers

If we provided you with state estimated tax vouchers, we encourage you to pay them prior to December 31st. This will enable you to take the deduction on your 2025 tax returns up to $40,000 (excluding individuals subject to AMT).

Extensions

• If you need us to prepare and file federal and state extension forms for you, a fee applies (see Fee Information below)
• If we do not receive your confirmation regarding filing extensions by the due date, we are not permitted to file them for you. In this case, your returns will be considered late and penalties on taxes paid after this date increase to 5.5% per month

Foreign Corporations & Interest in Foreign Businesses

You must inform us if you are an owner of a corporation outside of the U.S., as special reporting is required.

Foreign Income & Taxes Paid

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

Gifts & Inheritances

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

Income Fluctuation

If your income has increased or decreased by more than 25%, inform us prior to December 31st so we may preemptively determine if adjustments are needed to optimize your tax returns.

Freelance / Independent Contractor Income

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

Non-U.S. Citizens

If you are not a U.S. citizen or green card holder and did not receive payments for services performed in the United States during 2025, a tax return may not be required. However, please inform us regardless, as you may still need to file if you were living 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. Please contact us if this applies to you.

Refund Status

If you are owed a federal or state tax refund and it is not received within 2 months after we file your returns (6 months if paid via Form 1042-S), please 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 is a problem with your federal tax refund after filing, you will need to call the IRS directly. If you would like us to call the IRS on your behalf, we charge a fee relative to the time required at our standard hourly rate.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

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

Sales of Stock

Consider selling any securities that sustained a loss prior to year-end to maximize your net capital loss deduction (limited to $3,000 net loss per year).

Tax Strategy Resources

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

Virtual / Crypto Currency

Please 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).