The most common thing people say before a first appointment is some version of “I don’t think I have everything.” Almost nobody does, and it is almost never the obstacle they expect. A good preparer can work around gaps, request what’s missing from the relevant authority, and reconstruct more than you’d assume. Coming in with an incomplete pile is far better than not coming in.

That said, the more you bring, the faster the first meeting goes and the sooner you get a firm quote. Here’s what genuinely helps.

Start with last year’s return

If you take one thing, take this. A prior-year return is the single most useful document at a first meeting, and not because we’re going to copy it.

It tells us what your situation looked like, which states you filed in, what elections were made, and — most importantly — what carries forward. Capital losses, depreciation schedules, credits that weren’t fully used, basis in a business interest. These are the things that quietly go missing when someone changes preparers, and they can be worth a great deal over time.

If you can’t find it, say so. Transcripts can be requested, and they cover most of what we need.

Income documents

The forms reporting what you were paid. The exact set depends on your circumstances, but broadly:

  • Employment income statements from every employer you worked for during the year
  • Contractor and freelance income forms from clients who paid you
  • Interest and dividend statements from banks and brokerages
  • Investment sale summaries from any brokerage where you sold something
  • Retirement account distribution statements
  • Government benefit statements
  • Rental income records if you own property
  • Partnership or S-corporation statements if you hold an interest in a business

A practical note on investment sales: brokerage statements sometimes report the sale but not what you originally paid. That missing cost basis is a frequent source of overstated tax, and it’s worth flagging if you know a position was inherited, transferred between brokerages, or acquired a long time ago.

Deduction and expense records

What’s relevant depends heavily on your circumstances, and this is where a conversation beats a checklist. But commonly:

  • Mortgage interest and property tax statements
  • Charitable contribution receipts and acknowledgment letters
  • Medical expenses, if they were substantial relative to your income
  • Education costs and student loan interest
  • Childcare or dependent care expenses
  • Retirement account contributions made outside an employer plan
  • Business expenses if you’re self-employed
  • State and local taxes paid

Don’t sort these into categories before you come. Genuinely — a bag of receipts is fine. Sorting them into the wrong categories takes longer to unpick than starting from unsorted.

Identity and account details

Dull but necessary. Full legal names, dates of birth, and tax identification numbers for you, your spouse if filing jointly, and any dependents. Bank routing and account details if you want a refund deposited directly.

Bring these to the meeting rather than emailing them ahead. Tax identification numbers should never travel by plain email, and any firm that asks you to send them that way is telling you something about how they handle your data generally.

A list of what changed

This is the part people skip, and it’s the part that most often changes the outcome.

Write down anything significant that happened during the year. Moved house. Moved state. Got married or divorced. Had a child. A child started college, or finished. Started a business, or closed one. Bought or sold property. Retired. Inherited something. Had a substantial medical year. Started working remotely for an employer in another state.

Every one of those has tax consequences that aren’t visible on any form. The documents tell us what was reported. This list tells us what to ask about.

What you don’t need to worry about

Missing documents. Most can be requested, and transcripts cover a great deal of it.

Years you didn’t file. Bring it up. It’s common, it’s fixable, and it’s much better addressed voluntarily than left to be discovered.

Being disorganized. Genuinely not a problem. Sorting records is part of the work.

Whether your situation is “too simple.” If it is, we’d rather tell you that at a first meeting than take on an engagement you don’t need.

After the meeting

You should leave with a clear sense of what happens next, what’s still outstanding, and what it will cost. If any of those three are vague after a first meeting, that’s worth asking about directly before you commit.

This article is general information, not tax advice. Your circumstances determine what applies to you — get in touch if you’d like to talk about yours.