Tax season is decided months before it starts. The firms that get through it calmly aren’t working harder in March; they did the setup in October and November, sent document requests on a schedule, and knew exactly which clients were waiting on what.
This checklist works back from your main filing deadline. Dates differ by country (for example, US individual returns are usually due in mid-April, Canadian personal returns at the end of April, and UK Self Assessment online returns on 31 January), so shift the months to fit your own deadline. Always check this year’s official dates with your tax authority.
How to use this plan
Think of the season in four phases. Count backwards from your main filing deadline:
| Phase | When (before the deadline) | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Prepare | 5–6 months | Systems, pricing and client list ready |
| 2. Request | 3–4 months | Every client knows what to send and by when |
| 3. Collect and work | 1–3 months | Documents in, returns moving, nobody forgotten |
| 4. Finish and review | Final month and after | File, extend where needed, learn for next year |
The months below assume a mid-April deadline. Move them if yours is different.
October–November: prepare
Decide who you’re working with this year
- List every client from last season, with the services they bought and how difficult they were to complete.
- Decide who to keep, who to reprice and who to let go. A client who sent documents in April last year will do it again.
- Set a cap on new clients for the season, based on last year’s capacity, not on hope.
Update pricing and engagement letters
- Review your fees against the time each return actually took.
- Update engagement letters for the new season: scope, fees, the document deadline, and what happens if documents arrive late (an extension, a later slot, or a rush fee).
- Send engagement letters for signature early, so nothing starts without one.
Get your systems ready
- Roll your tracker over to the new year: one row per client, per document, with a date requested and a status.
- Check your tax software subscription, licences and logins for every staff member.
- Set up or tidy your client upload method (one shared folder or portal per client, not email attachments).
- Prepare templates: the document request email, the reminder email, the “we’re missing these items” email and the extension notice.
December: build the request list for each client
- For each client, list exactly which documents you’ll need, based on last year’s return plus anything that changed (new job, house sale, new business, new dependants).
- Group clients by complexity, so simple returns can be finished early and complex ones get the right slot.
- Book any planning calls with business clients before the year ends, while there’s still time to act.
- Block your own calendar: peak weeks, review time, and at least one admin day a week.
The free document request checklist has the standard monthly, onboarding and year-end items to start each client’s list from.
January: send requests
- Send every client a personal checklist with a clear deadline. Specific dates get responses; “as soon as possible” doesn’t.
- Log every request in your tracker with the date sent.
- Remind clients that year-end forms (employer, bank and investment statements) usually arrive through January and February, and ask them to forward each one as it comes.
- Start the simple returns as soon as their documents arrive.
February–March: collect, chase and work
- Once a week, chase overdue items. Send one grouped reminder per client listing everything still missing, not one email per document. Our guide on how to stop chasing clients for documents shows the exact routine.
- Review the tracker weekly: how many clients are complete, waiting, or not started.
- Phone anyone who hasn’t responded to two emails. A short call fixes most silences.
- Watch for clients who will need an extension and tell them early, in writing.
- Keep a running list of questions for each client and send them together, not one at a time.
Final month: finish and file
- Freeze new work in the last two to three weeks, except for clients already booked.
- Prioritise by deadline and completeness: finish anything with all documents first.
- File extensions (or your country’s equivalent) for anyone still missing information, and confirm in writing what you still need.
- Send each client a short completion note with what was filed and what happens next.
After the deadline: review
- Record how long each return actually took, and adjust next year’s pricing.
- Note which clients were late, which documents were always missing, and which reminders worked.
- Update your request templates and checklist with what you learned.
- Take a real break before extension season.
Tools that make this easier
You can run the whole season from a spreadsheet: one tab for clients, one for documents with dates, and a weekly list of what’s overdue. That’s exactly what the Client Onboarding & Document Tracker does, with the reminder message written for you. Bigger firms often use practice-management software such as Karbon, TaxDome or Financial Cents, and an AI assistant can prepare the weekly reminder drafts for a person to approve, as described in how an AI assistant for accounting firms runs your daily work.
If you’re onboarding new clients this season, start them on the right foot with the 10-step client onboarding checklist.
This guide covers running the practice, not tax law. Rules differ by country and change often, so check anything technical with your local tax authority or professional body.
