PingtailThis page shows how a tax season runs with Pingtail: one tax return checklist per client in January, each upload checked as it lands, reminders for the forms still missing, and a dashboard in February that tells you who is ready. Tax season is a document problem before it is a tax problem: the return cannot start until every form is in, and most clients send them in pieces, over weeks.
The tax return checklist you send in January
You create one request per client for the tax year, from a ready-made checklist. Add or remove items, and save your own version as a template for next year.
- United States: individual tax return (Form 1040). W-2 forms, the 1099 family, Schedule K-1, Form 1098, 1098-T and 1098-E, Form 1095-A, property tax bills, donation receipts, last year's return and a photo ID. Employers and payers normally issue W-2 and most 1099 forms by the end of January, and the return is normally due in mid April. Check the current rules for your client.
- United Kingdom: Self Assessment. The UTR, P60, P45, P11D, self-employment records, dividend vouchers, rental income, bank interest, pension contributions and payments on account. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April, and the online return is normally due by 31 January after the tax year ends.
- India: income tax return for individuals. PAN, Aadhaar, Form 16, Form 26AS, AIS and TIS, bank statements for the year, investment and insurance proofs, rent receipts and a capital gains statement. The financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March, and the due date for individuals who do not need an audit is normally 31 July. Check the current rules for your client.
Every item tells your client what to send, for which year, and where to find it. There are also checklists for US business tax returns and UK year-end accounts.
The items clients forget
These are on the checklists by name, so your client sees them before they think they are finished.
- The 1099-K from a payment app or an online marketplace.
- The Schedule K-1, which often arrives later than everything else.
- Form 1095-A for Marketplace health insurance.
- Estimated tax payments already made, with dates and amounts.
- In the UK: payments on account, and the P11D for benefits in kind.
- In India: the AIS, which may show income the client did not mention.
Yes or no questions that decide what you need
Some documents are only needed if something happened. The Form 1040 checklist asks four required yes/no questions: did you sell a home or other property, did you sell, trade or spend any crypto, any new dependents, did you move to a different state. The Self Assessment checklist asks whether the client sold or gave away any assets. The India checklist asks about foreign income or assets. A "yes" tells you early that you need more, and you add those items to the request.
What happens when a client sends last year's form
The most common wrong file in tax season is last year's form. Tom Reed searches his downloads folder for "W-2" and sends the first result. Each upload is checked at once, on the same page. If the tax year in the document is not the year you asked for, the page tells Tom and asks him to look again, while the right file is in the same folder. The check never rejects: he can answer "This is correct, send it anyway", and the file reaches you with a flag. More on upload checks.
Which clients still owe which forms?
By February you have many open requests. The dashboard shows five counters: open requests, to review, overdue, not opened yet, and completed in the last 30 days. "Not opened yet" is the useful one in tax season: those clients have not looked at the email at all, and a phone call now is worth more than a fourth reminder later. When a client is complete, you export one zip with files renamed to your own pattern.
"Time for a call" before the deadline
Reminders go out on day 3, 7 and 12 by default and list only the missing required items. For tax season you can set a longer schedule, with up to six reminders. After the last one, reminders stop and your firm gets a "time for a call" email. Send requests early enough that this email arrives weeks before the filing deadline, not days. See how reminders work.
Many tax firms would rather set a deadline than chase for longer. Add a cut-off notice to the request: one last email, on a day you choose around the due date, telling your client that after that date you will go ahead with what you have, with the list of what is still missing. Then reminders stop and the request is marked "Cut-off passed". The chasing log shows every message you sent and when, to print or download as a CSV.
Year-round uses
- W-9 collection. A business client needs a signed Form W-9 from each contractor before it can prepare 1099-NEC forms, normally due by the end of January. The W-9 checklist asks for the signed form and asks whether the contractor is a foreign person, in which case a Form W-8BEN is requested instead.
- Quarterly estimated taxes. The checklist asks for the profit and loss report for the quarter, bank statements, and payments already made. US estimated payments are normally due in April, June, September and January. On a paid plan the request can recur every quarter.
What it is not: tax software
Pingtail collects documents. It does not prepare or file returns, offer e-signature or take payments. If you need all of that in one product, a practice management suite is the better choice.
See also new client onboarding and pricing.