Tax prep. When you try to think back to the last time you did it, it all seems like a blur. What did you need to give your accountant again?
Was it W-2s that you need for each employee, or 1099s? What about the receipt for that falconry course you took earlier this year?
Generally speaking, your accountant needs two things from you during tax time.
First, they need your bookkeeping to be in order. Second, they need a bunch of personal and financial information.
Here’s a list of virtually everything small business owners need to hand over to an accountant—whether they’re filing as a sole proprietor, partnership, C corporation, or an S corporation.
What do I need to give my accountant for small business taxes?
You’ll need to provide your accountant with the following documents and records, regardless of what kind of business entity you operate.
Your previous year’s federal, state, and/or local tax returns
Provided you’ve filed them before, these will contain most of what your accountant will need to get things rolling, including:
Your legal name, Social Security number/Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, and date of birth
Your Employer Identification Number (aka “EIN,” which you can find on the IRS website)
Total amount of quarterly tax payments you made during the year, with dates
Last year’s adjusted gross income
Last year’s Self-Select PIN (your IRS password). If you forget what it is, visit the IRS’s Retrieve Your IP PIN page
State and local payroll taxes paid, which you can easily dig up if you use an online payroll provider
All your employee and contractor-related tax forms
You’ll need any payroll tax forms that apply to your business. So if you had employees during the tax year, then each worker gets a Form W-2 that lists wages, tips, and other compensation you paid them. Make sure to get those together well ahead of tax season. If you withheld taxes from an employee’s paycheck, you might also need to file Form 940 and Form 941.
If your business paid $600 or more to an independent contractor or professional (i.e., someone who worked for you or provided you with a service but is not an employee), you’ll also need to file a Form 1099-NEC for each one.
Financial statements
A business income statement lists all of your revenue and expenses over a certain period, and helps you figure out how profitable your company is. “Cost of goods sold” refers to how much it costs you to produce and deliver all of the products or services you sold that year.
If you’ve filed your taxes before, you’ve more or less assembled one of these, in the form of either a Schedule C, Form 1065, Form 1120, or Form 1120S.
A trial balance
A trial balance is a summary of all the business transactions your company made over the course of the year, organized by account type. Your bookkeeper can provide this for you.
All financial records relating to deductions
Each of these relates to a business tax deduction that you could potentially claim on your next return. Although your accountant might not end up needing them, make sure you’re holding onto them just in case:
Bank account and credit card statements
Legal and professional fees
Utility expenses
Travel expenses
Mileage records
Charitable contributions/donations
Education expenses
Energy efficiency property expenses
Foreign-earned income and taxes paid
Investments
Medical expenses
Moving expenses
Real estate taxes
Vehicle payments and taxes
If you’ve got these basics covered, you’re mostly there. But there are a few specific tax filing records your accountant will need, depending on your entity type.
If you’re a sole proprietor
“Sole proprietorship” is a fancy term for one person who owns a business and is on the hook for any company debts.
If you work alone, registered as a sole proprietorship with your state or county clerk, and never incorporated your company, you’re probably a sole proprietor.
If you run a single-member LLC and don’t elect to be taxed as a corporation, you’ll also file your taxes as a sole proprietor.
All proprietor-specific tax forms
Sole proprietors report their business earnings through Schedule C, which is attached to their personal tax return, Form 1040. If you filed these last year, make sure to give them to your accountant.
If you’re a partnership
Partnerships involve two or more parties working together to form and operate a business. The main types of partnerships are general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, and limited liability companies (that choose to be taxed as a partnership).
If you and at least one other person contribute money, property, labor, or skill to a business and expect some kind of return, have received an Employer ID Number from the IRS, and have never incorporated, you’re probably a partnership.
If you run a multiple-member LLC and don’t elect to be taxed as a corporation, you’ll also file your taxes as a partnership.
All partnership-specific tax forms
Partnerships file the U.S. Return of Partnership Income (or simply, Form 1065), and each individual member of the partnership also files a Schedule K-1, in addition to their personal income tax return (Form 1040).
All partnership-specific records and information
It can be easy to miss these if you have many partners to keep track of or do business in multiple states. Some records that people usually forget include:
List of all states where your business has nexus
Your partnership or operating agreement, bylaws, and any amendments you’ve made
Names, addresses, and the SSN/EIN of each partner for the tax year
Partner reports for owner contributions, withdrawals, loans, guaranteed payments, compensation, and benefits
If you’re a C corporation
A C corporation is a company that is taxed separately from its owners (aka “shareholders” or “stockholders”). If your company has filed Form SS-4 to obtain an employer identification number (EIN), has a board of directors, and holds regular shareholder meetings, it’s probably a “C corp.”
All C corporation-specific tax forms
C corps use Form 1120 to report their income. If you filed one last year, make sure to give it to your accountant.
All C corporation-specific records and information
These can be easy to miss, especially if you do business in multiple states. Some records that people usually forget include:
List of states and their ID numbers where your business has reporting requirements
Your articles of incorporation or bylaws, including any amendments
Each individual or entity owning 2% or more of a corporation’s stock, and their information (name, address, TIN, and percentage owned)
For multi-state businesses: report sales, payroll, and property values for each state
Granted credit certificates issued by federal or state taxing authorities
All asset records
Your accountant will likely provide you with all of these, but we’ll include them here just in case:
Prior year depreciation schedules that include: asset cost, date of acquisition, prior depreciation, and business use percentage
All assets acquired within the year with: date of purchase, cost, trade-in allowance, and business use percentage
Sales proceeds from any assets disposed of during the tax year, along with: date of purchase, cost, trade-in allowance, expenses of the sale, and accumulated depreciation
A good accountant makes all the difference at tax time. Don’t have one yet, and not sure where to look? Check out this guide to finding, hiring, and working with an accountant.
FAQs
What information does my accountant need if I have employees or contractors?
If you had employees during the tax year, you’ll share their names, addresses, and Social Security numbers, along with your full payroll tax records. You can typically retrieve those records from your payroll service provider, if you have one.
For independent contractors, share their names, addresses, and taxpayer IDs, along with payment reports from your accounting or payroll system. The reports should show the total amounts paid to each contractor during the year.
What tax forms do I need to give my accountant for my business structure?
You don’t need to prepare your business tax forms yourself. (That’s what your accountant is for!) Instead, you’ll give your accountant any records they need to create your return. Based on your business structure, these documents may include:
Sole proprietors: Profit and loss statement, expense records, and any 1099s you received
Partnerships: Year-end financial statements, partner ownership percentages, and records of partner payments or distributions
S corporations: Financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, and Schedule K-1s for shareholders), payroll reports for owner-employees, and records of shareholder distributions
C corporations: Financial statements (income statement and balance sheet), payroll records, and documentation of dividends or retained earnings
All business types: Prior-year tax returns, bookkeeping reports, and any IRS or state tax notices
Your accountant will use this information to create your tax documents. Typically, sole proprietors get a Schedule C, partnerships get Form 1065 and Schedule K-1, C corps get Form 1120, and S corporations receive a Form 1120S and Schedule K-1.
What information should I provide my accountant if my business has inventory?
Inventory can complicate your business taxes—but keeping organized records helps smooth out the process. Keep tabs on the following throughout the year, so you can hand them off to your accountant when tax season arrives:
Beginning and ending inventory counts or values for the year
Details about your accounting method (cash method or accrual method)
Purchase records (such as invoices or receipts) for products, raw materials, or supplies
Cost of goods sold (COGS) reports
Inventory write-offs for damaged, lost, or obsolete items
Reports from your inventory, POS, or ecommerce system
Your inventory valuation method (like FIFO, LIFO, or average cost), if you use one
What should I give my accountant if my business claimed deductions for a home office or vehicle use?
If you plan to claim the home office deduction, your accountant will need details on direct expenses (such as new furniture and decorations) and indirect expenses (such as rent, mortgage interest, property taxes, utilities, internet, and phone services). Your accountant also needs the square footage of your entire home and of your home office to calculate how much can be written off.
For vehicle use, provide a mileage log with dates, business purpose, and miles driven, along with receipts for gas, maintenance, insurance, and repairs. Good records make these deductions easier to support if questioned.
What digital records or accounting software access should I provide to make tax preparation easier?
Many accounting software providers, banks, and credit cards allow you to grant temporary or limited access to authorized users—like your accountant. With this feature, your tax professional can log in to your business accounts with their own credentials and gather the information they need to prepare your taxes. It generally speeds things up and reduces back-and-forth communication. A slightly more time-consuming—yet private—option is generating your own reports using your accounting software, or downloading reports like monthly credit card bills and bank statements.
What should I provide if my business received loans, grants, or outside investment during the year?
You’ll need to share documentation for any funding that came into your business. Depending on what you received, the documents may include business loan agreements, grant award letters, investment records, or some other form of proof.
Also, provide records of how you used the funds—anything from payroll reports to rent statements, utility bills, vendor invoices, or bank account statements showing the transactions. You’ll need to somehow show that the money went toward business expenses.
