What happens before tax preparation & compliance work begins?

We discuss your goals and records, confirm the engagement scope and fee in writing, and identify deadlines before substantive work starts.

How do you determine the fee?

Current catalog amounts and quote terms are listed in Published pricing above. We confirm the agreed work, responsibilities, and any quoted scope in writing before engagement.

What records should I prepare?

The records depend on your situation. We provide a focused request list after confirming the work and reporting period.

Preparing your individual or business tax return

We prepare tax filings from your records and review questions relevant to the returns in scope.

How it works

Identify the filing picture

Confirm the taxpayer, entities, jurisdictions, forms and filing deadlines involved.

Gather and review records

Organize prior-year returns, income records, deductions, source documents and supporting schedules.

Prepare, approve and file

Resolve open questions, review key items with you, obtain approval and provide the filed return with recordkeeping notes.

Which sounds like you?

Your return includes business or investment activity Your tax picture changed this year You have federal, state, or information returns to track You want help understanding items on the return You need an amended return or extension You have foreign reporting questions

What is included

Scope may include return preparation for the individual, business, state, international or specialized filings agreed for your engagement, follow-up on open items and a copy of the completed filing. The work and fee are determined by filing complexity and documents involved.

Individual return: $NaN.
Business return: $NaN.
Quarterly estimates: $NaN.

Records to prepare

Prior-year returns and notices relevant to the filing.
Income statements, information returns and business books.
Receipts, deduction support, basis records and transaction details.
Entity ownership, payroll, state activity and foreign account details when applicable.
Prior elections, carryforwards and supporting schedules.

Important limits

The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) is federal tax law; Treasury regulations explain its rules; IRS publications provide agency guidance. A deduction reduces taxable income, while a credit reduces calculated tax.

Basis is a tax amount tracked for an asset or ownership interest; a carryforward is an unused tax item carried to another year. Schedule K-1 reports an owner's share of an entity's tax items, and at-risk and passive-loss rules may limit the current use of losses.

Foreign bank account reporting (FBAR) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) have separate reporting rules. A controlled foreign corporation (CFC) can raise additional U.S. reporting and income-inclusion questions.

An extension extends filing time, not the time to pay tax. Filing obligations and tax outcomes depend on the applicable year, jurisdiction and verified facts; foreign reporting can carry separate requirements and penalties.

We provide tax preparation in Irving, TX for individuals and businesses across the DFW metro. Learn about year-round tax planning in Irving.

Individual returns

Form 1040 preparation can involve income schedules, deductions, credits, elections and loss limitations. Common schedules and forms include Schedules A, B, C, D, E and SE; Forms 8949, 4797, 6251, 8606 and 8960.

Schedule A: itemized medical, tax, interest and charitable deductions; Schedule B: interest and dividend income.
Schedules C, D, E and SE: sole-proprietor activity, capital gains and losses, rental or pass-through income, and self-employment tax.
Forms 8949, 4797, 6251, 8606 and 8960: securities transactions, business property sales, alternative minimum tax, nondeductible IRA and Roth conversion reporting, and net investment income tax.
Review applicable basis, at-risk and passive-activity loss limitations and retain supporting records.

Business returns

Business filings may include Forms 1120, 1120-S or 1065, shareholder or partner basis, allocations, compensation, Schedule K-1s, state filings and estimated-tax calculations. Corporate income tax is described in IRC § 11; entity treatment depends on facts and applicable rules.

Form 1120: corporate income and deductions; IRC § 11 states the 21% corporate rate. Other return items may include accumulated earnings tax under IRC § 531, personal holding company tax under § 541, and dividend timing.
Form 1120-S: built-in gains tax under § 1374, shareholder basis, reasonable compensation and distributions versus loans.
Form 1065: partner capital accounts, special allocations, guaranteed payments and hot asset analysis under § 751.
Schedule K-1 preparation and distribution, state filings and estimated-tax calculations may be included in the agreed scope.

State and multistate filings

Filing analysis may review physical or economic nexus, apportionment, sourcing, nonresident filings, pass-through entity elections and state-specific requirements. The Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision addressed economic nexus for sales tax; state income-tax rules are separate.

Nexus review may consider physical presence, economic thresholds after Wayfair, factor-presence standards and P.L. 86-272 solicitation protections.
Apportionment may use a single sales factor or property, payroll and sales factors, plus market-based or cost-of-performance sourcing and throwback or throwout rules.
Other state filing questions include composite returns, pass-through entity tax elections, credits and incentives, and combined or consolidated reporting.
IRC § 164(b)(6) limits the state and local tax deduction; review current-year rules and the Tax Strategy Finder at /tax-strategy-finder.

International reporting

Foreign accounts, assets, entities, income and investments may trigger separate reporting. Potential filings include FinCEN 114, Forms 8938, 3520, 8865, 5471, 1116 and 8621; obligations depend on ownership, thresholds and other facts.

FBAR (FinCEN 114) generally concerns foreign financial accounts exceeding $10,000; Form 8938 addresses specified foreign financial assets.
Other information returns can include Forms 3520 for foreign trusts and gifts, 8865 for foreign partnerships, and 5471 for certain foreign corporations.
CFC analysis may include GILTI under § 951A, Subpart F under § 951 and a possible § 962 election.
Form 1116 covers foreign tax credits; Form 8621 covers passive foreign investment companies, including QEF, mark-to-market and excess-distribution calculations.

Extensions and amended returns

Individual and business extensions may use Forms 4868 and 7004. An extension provides additional time to file, not to pay; estimates and underpayment rules require separate review. Amendments may use Forms 1040-X or 1120-X, and refund claims have statutory deadlines.

Form 4868 generally provides an automatic 6-month filing extension for individuals; Form 7004 is used for business entity extensions, subject to form-specific rules.
Tax is generally due by the original deadline; estimated payment and underpayment questions may involve IRC §§ 6654 (individuals) and 6655 (corporations).
Amendments may use Forms 1040-X and 1120-X; a superseding return may be filed before the original deadline, and a protective claim may preserve refund rights in some situations.
Missed deductions, filing status, credits or IRS adjustments can prompt review; IRC § 6511 generally sets a 3-year refund-claim period subject to its rules.

Specialized returns

Specialized work can include Forms 1041, 706 and 709; exempt-organization Forms 990 and 990-PF; and payroll Forms 941, 940, W-2/W-3 and 1099. Requirements vary by entity, estate, trust, organization and year.

Form 1041: distributable net income, trust accounting versus taxable income, beneficiary K-1s and generation-skipping transfer tax questions.
Form 706: asset valuation, portability, QTIP and marital deductions, and charitable deductions. IRC § 2010 states an applicable exclusion amount of $13.61 million in 2024.
Form 709: annual exclusion tracking, lifetime exemption, split-gift elections and valuation support. IRC § 2503 states an annual exclusion of $18,000 in 2024.
Forms 990 and 990-PF, unrelated business income tax under §§ 511–514, and payroll Forms 941, 940, W-2/W-3 and 1099 may require separate compliance.

Review and recordkeeping

A return review can include supporting workpapers, calculation checks, election documentation, carryforward tracking and e-file status. Keep source records, filed returns and supporting calculations for the applicable retention period.

A review sequence may include preparer completion, senior review, technical review of complex matters and manager or partner sign-off, as appropriate to scope.
Maintain workpapers, calculation trails, prior-year comparisons, election support and records of carryforwards.
Review diagnostics and cross-references such as K-1 information, filing status, forms and e-file rejections.