An annual workflow
Pick a day each year and the clients it covers. The workflow creates every request from your template at 08:00, as drafts to check or sent, which asks you to confirm first.
Set up recurring document collectionUse case
Every client's tax forms, before 15 April.
W-2s, 1099s, 1098s and K-1s from every individual client. Send one checklist before the forms arrive, and let reminders chase each one in, well before the 15 April deadline.
Last updated · Facts checked
How it works
One season, four steps.
The same way of working for every Form 1040 client, from W-2 employees to investors and retirees.
-
1
In December
Send every client one list.
Create each client's request from your individual return template, or let a workflow on an annual schedule create them all on the day you choose.
Set up recurring document collection -
2
From their phone
Clients upload as forms arrive.
Each client gets a private link. They upload a PDF or take a photo of each form, with no account or app, and come back to the same link for the rest.
Copy or share the client link -
3
Through the season
Reminders, then a final one.
By default, reminders go out 3 and 7 days after sending, then a final reminder 3 days before the due date. Each lists only what's outstanding.
How automatic reminders work -
4
As forms arrive
Approve, or ask again.
Approve each form, or ask for a replacement with a note, such as the corrected 1099-DIV. Approving the last one completes the request.
Review and approve uploads
Create each client's request from your individual return template, or let a workflow on an annual schedule create them all on the day you choose.
for Daniel M. · Due 1 Mar
Private upload link · what Daniel M. seesNo account needed
N
Northstar Accounting
Documents requested for
Due 1 Mar
Upload a few, leave some missing, then see what the reminders do.
Default schedule
Features
What gets the forms in on time.
A template for each kind of client
Keep a list for W-2 employees, investors and retirees. Each request gets its own copy to tailor.
Create a templateYour date, not the IRS's
Every request has the due date you set. It shows how long is left, turns amber in the last three days and red once it's overdue.
Due dates and overdue requestsA final reminder
The last step of the default schedule goes out 3 days before the due date and names it. On Growth and Pro, change the days or add steps.
Change your reminder scheduleSee who hasn't started
The Overview's Needs your attention list flags overdue requests and clients with nothing uploaded a week after you sent the link, with whether they opened it.
A link, not an account
Clients upload through a private link in any browser, on any device: a PDF from their bank, or a photo of a form.
How client links are protectedA season, start to finish
In December, send every individual client their request from your Form 1040 template, with the due date set to your own deadline. Or set up a workflow on an annual schedule: on the day you choose, it creates a request for each client you pick, as drafts to check or sent straight away.
From late January, the forms arrive and clients upload them from their phones: a W-2 as a PDF, a photo of a 1099-INT. Progress is saved, so they come back to the same link when the brokerage statement turns up in February or the K-1 in March.
Through the season, reminders do the chasing. Each one lists only what's still missing, and they stop once it's in. The last step of the default schedule is a final reminder, 3 days before the due date, which names the date.
In the busy weeks, the Overview's Needs your attention list shows who hasn't started: clients with nothing uploaded a week after you sent the link, and whether they've opened it. Send any of them a reminder now, with your own message.
Example checklist
Most clients need only some of these, so remove what doesn't apply before you send. The Form 1040 document checklist covers each item in more detail.
Income
- W-2 from each employer
- 1099-INT, 1099-DIV and 1099-B
- 1099-NEC, 1099-K or 1099-MISC
- 1099-R and SSA-1099
- Schedule K-1 from each partnership or S corporation
Deductions and credits
- Form 1098 mortgage interest and property tax bills
- Charitable donation receipts
- Childcare costs, with the provider's details
- Form 1098-T or 1098-E
- Form 1095-A, for Marketplace health insurance
About the client
- Last year's tax return
- Photo ID
- IP PIN letter, if the IRS sent one
- Estimated tax payments made
About the deadlines
For 2026 returns, the IRS deadline for calendar-year individuals is 15 April 2027, with an automatic six-month extension available on Form 4868. An extension gives more time to file, not to pay. Most W-2s and 1099s reach clients by the end of January, brokerage statements by mid-February, and Schedule K-1s from partnerships and S corporations by 15 March.
Check When to file and Publication 509, Tax Calendars on IRS.gov for the full rules (checked on 24 October 2026). State deadlines vary. This page isn't tax advice, and GarnerDocs doesn't know anyone's deadlines: every due date on a request is one you set.
What GarnerDocs doesn't do
GarnerDocs collects the documents. You prepare the return. It doesn't read figures from forms, connect to the IRS or your tax software, collect e-signatures or file anything.
When a client's documents are in, download them as a ZIP. Files are kept for the retention period you choose, then deleted.
Questions
Forms arrive from January to March. Can clients upload them in pieces?
Yes. Clients come back to the same link as each form turns up, and their progress is saved. Reminders ask only for what's still missing, so a client waiting on a K-1 isn't asked again for the W-2 they already sent.
What if a client doesn't have one of the forms?
They tap "I don't have this" under it and say why, such as "No brokerage account this year". Reminders stop asking for it while you decide, and you either agree it isn't needed or tell them why you still need it.
Can I use different lists for employees, investors and retirees?
Yes. Make a template for each kind of client and pick the right one when you create a request. You can still add, remove or rename documents for one client without changing the template.
How do I handle a married couple filing jointly?
Add the household as one client, with the email address of the person who gathers the paperwork, and put both spouses' forms on the checklist, such as a W-2 from each employer.
What if a client only has a phone?
That's enough. They open the link from the email on their phone and upload each form, or take a photo of it. If they stop halfway, the same link takes them back to where they were.
Related
-
For tax preparers and advisors
Individual returns, business returns and one-off advice work: send each client one checklist and a private link, and let reminders chase their forms up to your own deadline.
-
Checklist
Form 1040 document checklist for 2026 returns
The documents to ask for on a 2026 Form 1040, by income and deduction, with key IRS dates and a plain-words version for clients.
-
Workflows
Set up recurring document collection
Monthly, quarterly or annual requests from a template, sent or saved as drafts.
-
Compare
GarnerDocs vs email attachments
Email is free, and every client already knows how to attach a file. Here's what it costs you in chasing time and risk once you collect from more than a few clients.
Spend less time chasing. More time doing the work that matters.
Make document collection the easiest part of working with your clients.
Start your free trial
No credit card required.