Our firm utilizes “ProSystem fx Tax” software (a CCH Wolters Kluwer application) for preparing the tax returns of our clients. This application provides a questionnaire that can help you identify essential information to be reported on your 2015 income tax returns.
I recommend completing this form prior to submitting information to your tax preparer. This exercise can increase the likelihood of efficiently assembling the data necessary to prepare a complete return, which can improve effectiveness in tax preparation for you at a lower fee cost.
| Personal Information | Yes | No |
| Did your marital status change during 2015? | ||
| Are you legally married? | ||
| If Yes, do you and your spouse want to file separate returns? | ||
| If Yes, will you file a joint federal return and be required to file single state returns? | ||
| If No, are you in a domestic partnership, civil union, or other state-defined relation | ||
| relationship? | ||
| Did you address change during 2015?? If yes, please provide details. | ||
| Can you or your spouse be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer? | ||
| Dependents | ||
| Were there any changes in dependents from the prior year? (Note: Include non-child | ||
| dependents for whom you provided more than half the support) | ||
| Did you pay for child care while you worked or looked for work? | ||
| Do you have any children under age 18 with unearned income more than $1,000? | ||
| Do you have any children age 18 or student children, aged 19 to 23, who did not provide | ||
| more than half of their cost of support with earned income and that have unearned | ||
| income of more than $1,000? | ||
| Did you adopt a child or begin adoption proceedings during 2015? | ||
| Purchases, Sales & Debt | ||
| Did you have any debts canceled, forgiven or refinanced during 2015? | ||
| Did you start a new business, purchase a new rental property, farm or acquire any new | ||
| interest in any partnership or S-Corporation during 2015? | ||
| Did you sell an existing business, rental property, farm or any existing interest in a | ||
| partnership or S-Corporation during 2015? | ||
| Did you sell, exchange or purchase any real estate in 2015? If so, please attach the | ||
| closing statements. | ||
| Did you withdrawal any amounts from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or | ||
| Roth IRA to acquire a principal residence? | ||
| Did you receive grants of stock options from your employer, exercise any stock options | ||
| granted to you or dispose of any stock acquired under a qualified employee stock | ||
| purchase plan? | ||
| Did you pay any student loan interest in 2015? | ||
| Are your total mortgages on your first and/or second residence greater than $1,000,000? | ||
| If so, please provide the principal balance and interest rate at the beginning of the year | ||
| Did you have an outstanding home equity loan at the end of 2015? If so, please provide | ||
| the principal balance and interest rate at the beginning and end of the year. | ||
| Did you take out a home equity loan in 2015? | ||
| Are you claiming a deduction for mortgage interest paid to a financial institution and | ||
| someone else received the Form 1098? | ||
| Did you or your mortgagee receive any mortgage assistance payments? | ||
| Did you engage in any put option or call option transactions? If yes, provide details. | ||
| Did you close any open short sales during 2015? | ||
| Did you sell any securities not reported on your Form 1099-B? | ||
| Sale of Your Home (Principal Residence) | ||
| Did you sell your home (i.e., principal residence) in 2015? | ||
| If Yes, did you receive Form 1099? | ||
| If Yes, did you own and occupy the home as your principal residence for at least | ||
| two (2) of the five (5) year period prior to the sale? | ||
| Did you ever rent out this property? | ||
| Did you ever use any portion of the home for business purposes? | ||
| Have you or your spouse sold a principal residence within the last two (2) years? | ||
| At the time of the sale, the residence was owned by: ___Taxpayer ___Spouse ___Both | ||
| Itemized Deductions | ||
| Did you contribute property (other than cash) with a fair market value greater than | ||
| $5,000 to a charitable organization? | ||
| Did you incur any casualty or theft losses during the year? | ||
| Did you make any large purchases, such as motor vehicles and boats? | ||
| Did you incur any casualty or loss attributable to a federally declared disaster? | ||
| Severance/Retirement | ||
| Did you retire or change jobs in 2015? | ||
| Did you receive deferred, retirement or severance compensation? | ||
| If Yes, enter the date received (Mo/Da/Yr). ________ (Date) | ||
| Did you or your spouse turn age 70 ½ during the year and have money in an IRA or | ||
| other retirement account while not taking any distribution? | ||
| Gifts | ||
| Did you or your spouse make any gifts, including birthday, holiday, anniversary, | ||
| graduation, etc., with a total (aggregate) value in excess of $14,000 to any individual | ||
| during the year? | ||
| Did you or your spouse make any gifts to a trust for any amount during the year? | ||
| Do you or your spouse have a life insurance trust? | ||
| Did you assist in the purchase of any asset (i.e., auto, home, etc.) for any individual | ||
| during the year? | ||
| Did you forgive any indebtedness to any individual, trust or entity during the year? | ||
| Did you or your spouse make any gifts of difficult-to-value assets (such as non-publicly | ||
| traded stock) to any person regardless of value? | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||
| Did you or your spouse have any transactions pertaining to a medical savings | ||
| account (MSA) during 2015? If you received Form 1099-SA, please provide. | ||
| Did you or your spouse have any transactions pertaining to a health savings account | ||
| (HSA) during 2015? If you received Form 1099-SA, please provide. | ||
| Did you or your spouse contribute to a Roth IRA or convert an existing IRA into a | ||
| Roth IRA? | ||
| Did you or your spouse roll into a Roth IRA any distributions from a retirement plan, an | ||
| annuity plan, tax shelter annuity or deferred compensation plan? | ||
| Did you or your spouse make a qualified charitable distribution from an IRA during | ||
| January of 2016 that was treated as though it were made in 2015? | ||
| Did you withdrawal any amounts from your IRA to pay for higher education expenses | ||
| incurred by you, your spouse, your children or grandchildren? | ||
| Did you withdraw amounts from a Coverdell Education Savings Account or Qualified | ||
| Education Program (Section 529 plan)? If Yes, please provide Form 1099-Q. | ||
| Did you or your dependents incur any post-secondary education expenses, such as | ||
| tuition? | ||
| If you or your spouse are self-employed, are you or your spouse eligible to be covered | ||
| under an employer’s health plan at another job? If Yes, how many months were you | ||
| covered? _____ (No. of Months) | ||
| Did you move to a different home because of a change in the location of your job? | ||
| Did you pay in excess of $1,000 in any quarter, or $1,800 during the year for domestic | ||
| services performed in or around your home to individuals who could be considered | ||
| household employees? | ||
| Did you receive unreported tip income of $20 or more in any month of 2015? | ||
| Did you or your spouse receive distributions from long-term care insurance contracts? | ||
| If Yes, please provide Form 1099-LTC. | ||
| Were you or your spouse a grantor or transferor for a foreign trust, have an interest in or | ||
| a signature or other authority over a bank account, securities account or other | ||
| financial account in a foreign country? | ||
| Did you or your spouse own any foreign financial assets? | ||
| Did you create or transfer money or property to a foreign trust? | ||
| Did you purchase a new alternative technology vehicle, including a qualified plug-in | ||
| electric drive motor vehicle in 2015? | ||
| Did you use gasoline or special fuels for business or farm purposes (other than for a | ||
| highway vehicle) during the year? If Yes, provide the gallons used for off-highway | ||
| business purposes. | ||
| Have you received a punitive damage award or an award for damages other than for | ||
| physical injuries or illness? | ||
| Were you notified by the IRS or other taxing authority of changes in prior year returns? | ||
| Did you lose your job during 2015 because of foreign competition and pay for your own | ||
| health insurance? | ||
| Did you install any alternative energy equipment in your residence such as solar water | ||
| heaters, solar electricity equipment or fuel cells? | ||
| Did you install any energy efficiency improvements, or energy property in your | ||
| residence such as exterior doors or windows, insulation, heat pumps, furnaces, central | ||
| air conditioners or water pumps? | ||
| Have you been an identity theft victim and have you contacted the IRS? If Yes, please | ||
| furnish the 6-digit identity protection PIN issued to you by the IRS. ______ | ||
| Did you engage in any bartering transactions? | ||
| Did you have any work outside of the U.S. or pay any foreign taxes? | ||
| Did you or your spouse serve in the military or were you or your spouse on active duty? | ||
| Did you or your spouse claim a homebuyer credit for a home purchased in 2008? | ||
| Did you have healthcare coverage (health insurance) for yourself, your spouse, and any | ||
| dependents during 2015? |
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.