In one paragraph: send each client a short numbered list of yes/no questions that apply to them, each with a one-line "why we ask", grouped as: everyone (other income, pensions, charity, asset sales, family changes), their client type (sole trader, landlord, director; or Schedule C, rental, K-1), and anything that changed this year. Put a records-due date at the top, worked back from the filing deadline by your prep time, and end with a checklist of what to send for each "yes". Aim for 15 to 25 questions for a simple client.
Jump to: Free questionnaire builder · What makes one work · UK questions · US questions · What clients forget · The records-due date · Cover email · Your review checklist · FAQ
Free builder: a tailored questionnaire in a minute
Tick what applies to the client, set the deadline and your prep time, and get the numbered questionnaire, the document checklist and a cover email to copy or download. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
The questions are prompts, not tax conclusions: you decide what's claimable. Delete anything that doesn't fit the client, and check thresholds and dates against gov.uk or irs.gov before you send it. US dates are federal; state returns vary.
What makes a year-end questionnaire actually come back
- Only what applies. A landlord with no business doesn't need eight questions about stock and mileage. Every irrelevant question makes the relevant ones easier to skip.
- Yes/no first, detail only on a yes. "Did you pay into a personal pension yourself?" gets answered. "Please provide details of all pension arrangements" doesn't.
- One line of "why we ask". Clients answer questions they understand. "HMRC already gets figures from your bank" explains why the savings account matters.
- Number everything, so replies can say "yes to 4 and 9, attached".
- A date with a reason. "By Friday 4 December, so we can prepare it and check it with you before Christmas" beats "as soon as possible".
- Say what good enough looks like. A photo, an app download, a screenshot of the HMRC account.
- Don't collect sensitive numbers by email. Questions by email are fine; NI or Social Security numbers, full account numbers, passwords and ID go through a portal or the phone.
UK Self Assessment: the questions by client type
For the 2025/26 return (tax year 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026), due online by 31 January 2027.
| Section | Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone | Income we haven't seen: a job (P60/P45), savings interest, dividends, pensions, foreign income | HMRC already holds employer, bank and pension figures, so a missing source is the usual reason for a letter |
| Everyone | Online selling or services through a platform | Platforms have reported sellers' income to HMRC since 2024. The first £1,000 of trading income is covered by the trading allowance |
| Everyone | Personal pension contributions and Gift Aid | Higher and additional rate taxpayers claim the extra relief on the return |
| Everyone | Sold or gave away property (not the main home), shares, crypto or business assets | Capital Gains Tax. UK residential property sales need a separate report and payment within 60 days of completion |
| Everyone | Child Benefit received, and income possibly over £60,000 | High Income Child Benefit Charge: 1% of the benefit for every £200 over £60,000, all of it over £80,000 |
| Everyone | Student or postgraduate loan; payments on account already made; HMRC letters | Repayments collected through the return; credit for what's paid; letters that change the return |
| Sole trader | All sales included (cash, card, online); purchases over £500; vehicle miles; working from home; stock and unpaid invoices at the year end; CIS statements; loans | Card-machine and platform data are compared with returns; capital items and mixed use are treated differently; CIS tax already taken counts towards the bill |
| Landlord | Rent per property and agent statements; mortgage interest; larger jobs (repair or improvement?); empty or family-use periods | For residential lets, finance costs get a basic rate tax reduction rather than a deduction; improvements aren't allowable as repairs |
| Director | Dividends paid; money taken or put in that wasn't salary, dividends or expenses; benefits (car, health insurance); Companies House changes | Dividends go on the personal return; the director's loan account can mean extra company tax; benefits may need reporting |
If a client's qualifying income is over £50,000, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax already applies from April 2026, so the next year looks different. See our MTD for Income Tax guide.
US Form 1040: the questions by client type
For the 2026 tax year, filed by April 15, 2027 (an extension moves the filing date, not the payment date).
| Section | Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone | Every W-2 and 1099 (NEC, INT, DIV, R, G, SSA-1099) | The IRS matches each form against the return |
| Everyone | Paid through apps or marketplaces | A 1099-K is required over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions, and some platforms send one below that; business income counts either way |
| Everyone | Sales of shares, crypto or property (1099-B, 1099-DA) | Form 8949 and Schedule D |
| Everyone | Estimated payments (federal and state) with dates; dependants, childcare and education; Marketplace cover (1095-A); mortgage interest, property tax, charity; IRA, HSA, retirement withdrawals | Credits, the itemize-or-standard decision and penalties all hang on these |
| New for 2025 to 2028 | 65 or over; tips; overtime; interest on a loan for a new personal vehicle | Schedule 1-A deductions: an extra $6,000 per person 65+, up to $25,000 of qualified tips, up to $12,500 ($25,000 joint) of qualified overtime, up to $10,000 of car loan interest (new vehicle, final assembly in the US, no leases). They phase out at higher incomes, and W-2s may not show tips or overtime separately |
| Schedule C | All sales included; equipment and vehicles bought (date in use); business miles; home office area; contractors paid; self-employed health insurance | Contractors paid $2,000 or more in 2026 ($600 in 2025) may need a 1099-NEC by January 31 and a W-9 on file |
| Rental | Rent and days rented per property; personal-use days; 1098s, property tax, insurance, repairs, management | Schedule E, and personal use changes the rules |
| K-1 | Who sends each K-1 and when; S-corp owner's W-2 | K-1s often arrive in March, so the records-due date for these clients may need to move |
The things clients forget (ask every time)
- The second income. A small rental, a side business, online selling, a few hundred pounds or dollars of savings interest.
- The pension top-up paid from their own bank account, not through payroll.
- The sale. Shares from an old employer scheme, crypto swapped for other crypto, a buy-to-let sold in the summer.
- The family change. A move, a marriage or separation, a baby (UK Child Benefit charge; US dependants and credits).
- The vehicle bought on finance, and the finance agreement that goes with it.
- The letter. An HMRC or IRS notice that arrived in May and has been on the fridge since.
- US 2025 onwards: tips, overtime and new car loan interest, which only show up if you ask.
The records-due date: work it back from the deadline
Deadline minus the time you need to prepare, review and get the client's approval, moved back to a weekday. The builder above does this for you.
| Deadline | Prep time | Records due |
|---|---|---|
| UK SA online, Sun 31 Jan 2027 | 8 weeks | Fri 4 Dec 2026 |
| UK SA online, Sun 31 Jan 2027 | 6 weeks | Fri 18 Dec 2026 |
| UK SA, collect through tax code, Wed 30 Dec 2026 | 4 weeks | Wed 2 Dec 2026 |
| US 1040, Thu Apr 15, 2027 | 6 weeks | Thu Mar 4, 2027 |
Then chase on a schedule. Our records-chasing guide has five dated chasers and a planner that puts them in your calendar.
The cover email
Short, with the date and the reason, how long it takes, and an offer of a call. The builder fills in the client's numbers; this is the shape:
Subject: Your tax return: 17 questions and a records date (Friday 4 December 2026) Hi Sam, It's time to get your return ready. The filing deadline is Sunday 31 January 2027, and so we have time to prepare it, check it with you and file it calmly, please send everything by Friday 4 December 2026. The questionnaire below only has questions that apply to you. Most are yes or no, and each says why we ask. If the answer is yes, the list at the end says what to send. It should take about 30 minutes. Photos and app downloads are fine. Please don't email passwords, full account numbers or ID documents: send those through our secure portal or tell us by phone. If something's changed or you're not sure what applies, reply and we'll book a quick call. Thanks, Priya
Text version, for clients who don't open email:
Hi Sam, it's Priya. Your tax return questions are in your inbox: 17 quick ones, about 30 minutes. Could you send them back with the documents by Fri 4 Dec? Reply here if you'd rather do it on a call.
Your review checklist when it comes back
- Every income source from last year is here this year, or the client has said why not.
- Turnover roughly agrees with bank receipts, platform reports (HMRC digital platform data, 1099-K) and any VAT returns.
- Capital items are separated from everyday costs; personal and mixed-use items are adjusted.
- Payments on account or estimated payments agree with the HMRC or IRS account.
- Losses brought forward and capital allowance pools or depreciation are carried over.
- Any HMRC or IRS letters have been dealt with.
- The client has approved the return in writing before you file, and you've kept the approval.
Get ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude to write each client's pack from your notes. The Bookkeeper Skills Pro pack includes year-end-pack, which takes "sole trader plumber, bought a van on finance, had a baby, records via WhatsApp" and writes the tailored questionnaire, the checklist, the records-due date and the cover email, plus a review checklist for you. Pro also has engagement letters, onboarding, month-end close and fee reviews.
For the chasing afterwards, the free records-chaser skill writes the numbered "what we still need" list and the dated follow-ups. Set-up takes about 3 minutes, no coding.
FAQ
What should a year-end client questionnaire include?
Only the questions that apply to that client: everyone gets income they might have missed, pensions, charity, asset sales and family changes; then add sections for their type and this year's events. Make them yes/no first with a one-line reason, number them, and end with a checklist of documents for each yes and a records-due date.
When should clients send their records for the 31 January deadline?
Work back from the deadline by the time you need to prepare the return and get it approved. With 6 to 8 weeks, that's early to mid December. Many practices ask for everything by 30 November, and clients who want an underpayment collected through their tax code need the online return filed by 30 December.
What do clients most often forget?
A second income source, personal pension contributions and Gift Aid, sales of shares, crypto or a second property, Child Benefit when income is over £60,000, and life changes such as moving, marrying or having a child. In the US, add late 1099s, estimated payments, Marketplace cover and, from 2025, tips, overtime and new car loan interest.
What are the new US deductions for 2025 to 2028?
An extra $6,000 deduction for people 65 and over, up to $25,000 of qualified tips, up to $12,500 ($25,000 joint) of qualified overtime, and up to $10,000 of interest on a loan for a new, US-assembled personal vehicle. They're claimed on Schedule 1-A whether or not the client itemizes and phase out at higher incomes. Check the eligibility rules on irs.gov.
Should I send the same questionnaire to every client?
No. Keep one master list and delete what doesn't apply per client. A tailored 15-question list gets answered; a generic 60-question one gets half-filled and returned in February.
Is it safe to send a questionnaire by email?
The questions are fine by email. Ask clients not to email passwords, full account numbers, National Insurance or Social Security numbers or ID documents; collect those through a secure portal or by phone. If you use an AI app to draft packs, give it a first name or client code and the facts, not identifiers.
This page is general information written by an AI agent and checked against gov.uk (Child Benefit charge, Capital Gains Tax on property, rental income, trading allowance, pension relief, Self Assessment) and irs.gov (Form 1099-K, Tax Tip 2026-12, fact sheet FS-2026-05) on 26 October 2026. It is not tax advice, and thresholds and dates change: check the current rules before relying on them. If you spot an error, please open an issue.