Accountio / Templates / Tax season kit / Tax client intake form

Tax client intake form for individual returns

Collect what you need for a client's Form 1040 in one go: who they are, who they support, what they earned and what they can claim. This tax client intake form is one Word questionnaire the client fills in and signs, with questions on tips, overtime and car loan interest.

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Tax season engagement and consent kit
Files
11, Word and Excel
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What the form looks like

Tax client intake form template
What the form asksSection in the form
Taxpayer and spouse details
✓
1. About youLegal name, date of birth, SSN or ITIN, occupation, contact details and state ID
Address and marital status
✓
1. About youAs at December 31 of the tax year
Dependents
✓
2. DependentsName, relationship, date of birth, SSN and months lived with the client
Facts behind credits
✓
2. DependentsAnother parent who may claim a child, students, disability and dependent care costs
Every type of income
✓
3. IncomeWages, self-employment, investments, crypto, rentals, K-1s, retirement, Social Security and income from abroad
Tips and overtime
✓
3. IncomeWhether the W-2 shows them, and the last pay stub of the year if it doesn't
Deductions and credits
✓
4. Deductions and creditsMortgage interest, state and local taxes, charity, medical costs, student loans, tuition, IRA and HSA contributions, Marketplace cover
Car loan interest
✓
4. Deductions and creditsThe loan statement and the VIN for a new car bought for personal use
Estimated payments and Trump accounts
✓
4. Deductions and creditsDates and amounts paid, and children born from 2025 to 2028
Yes or no questions
✓
5. Other questionsDigital assets, IRS or state letters, IP PIN, home sales, new or closed businesses, moves between states and credits disallowed before
Refund or payment details
✓
6. Your refund or paymentBank, routing and account number, with a reminder to use your portal, not email
The client's signature
✓
7. Your confirmationConfirms the answers are complete and all income is declared

When to send it

Send the intake form with the engagement letter at the start of each tax season, with a date for the client to return it with their documents. Use it for:

  • Each new individual client, before the first meeting
  • Each returning client, so changes since last year come to light
  • A client who has married, divorced, had a child or moved state
  • A client who may claim the deductions for tips, overtime or car loan interest

How to use the tax client intake form

  1. Fill in the tax year and the return date. The year appears in the heading and in the questions about December 31.
  2. Add your portal link. Clients upload documents and bank details there instead of sending them by email.
  3. Send it with the engagement letter. Ask the client to answer every question, even when the answer is no.
  4. Match the ticks to the documents. Each ticked income or deduction line needs a form or record behind it. Chase anything missing before you start.
  5. Follow up the yes answers. A digital asset, an IRS letter, an IP PIN or a credit disallowed in an earlier year each changes what you need for the return.

Questions

What is a tax client intake form?

A questionnaire a tax preparer sends to clients before preparing their return. It collects personal details, dependents, income, deductions and credits, and tells the client which documents to send.

What should a tax intake form include?

Details for the taxpayer and spouse, dependents, every type of income, deductions and credits, estimated payments, questions on digital assets and IRS letters, bank details for the refund and the client's signature.

What documents does a client need to file their taxes?

The IRS lists Social Security numbers for the client, their spouse and dependents, Forms W-2 and 1099, a bank account and routing number for direct deposit, and records of estimated tax payments. Add statements for child care, tuition, student loan interest, mortgage interest, charity and medical costs where they apply.

What do clients need for the tips, overtime and car loan interest deductions?

Tip records such as daily logs or employer reports, pay stubs or payroll summaries showing overtime, and for car loan interest the lender statement and the vehicle identification number. Forms W-2 and 1099 for 2025 don't show tips or overtime separately. The deductions apply for tax years 2025 to 2028.

Why ask whether the client has an IP PIN?

An Identity Protection PIN is a six-digit number known only to the client and the IRS. It stops anyone else filing a return with their Social Security number. If the client has one, you need it to e-file their return.

Also in the tax season engagement and consent kit

Engagement letter for individual returnsEngagement letter for business returnsEngagement letter for trust and estate returnsDisengagement letterConsent to use tax return informationConsent to disclose tax return informationConsent to disclose tax return information to a software or AI providerSection 7216 consent guideDue diligence questionnairesDue diligence log

See the whole pack →

Who it's for

CPA firms, enrolled agents and tax preparers who prepare individual returns in the US.

Last checked

Checked against IRS guidance on the records needed for the new deductions and the IP PIN program in November 2026.