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Lesson 1 of 4 · 5:01
Adding Forms – Return Navigation
Move around a return and add forms using the Form Finder, the left-hand menu and the Summary/Print 1040 view.
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Written instructions
Finish Basic Information and click Continue
After Filing Status, Personal Information, Dependents / Qualifying Person and IRS Identity Protection PIN are done, click Continue.
The left-hand menu is your roadmap. Each Continue moves you down it in order: Federal Section, Health Insurance, State Section, Summary/Print, E-file.
Find a form with the Form Finder
Click the Form Finder box at the top left and type a form number or part of its description (for example, child). Pick the form you want from the list of matches to open it.
Work through the Federal Section
Continuing out of Basic Information opens Federal Section → Income. The subsections follow the order of the 1040: Income, Deductions, Other Taxes, Payments & Estimates, Miscellaneous Forms.
Click Begin next to a form (such as Form W-2) to open it.
Jump between sections from the left menu
When you are done with a form, click any other section or subsection in the left menu to go there. You do not have to click through every screen in order.
Clicking a top-level section such as Health Insurance collapses the Federal Section and opens the one you picked. Forms you add are listed under their subsection (for example, a W-2 under Income), so you can click straight back to them.
Open Summary/Print
Click Summary/Print in the left menu at any time to open the Tax Return Summary. Use the Summary View / 1040 View toggle to switch between the line-item summary and the actual Form 1040. Which view opens first is a setting.
Click blue values to open the source form
In the 1040 view, anything shown in blue is a link. Click it to open the form that feeds that line, either to add a form or to confirm an amount you entered has carried to the right line.
Move between pages and schedules
The 1040 view is split into pages. Use the Form 1040 page numbers at the top or bottom to move between the 1040 and its schedules. Blue values on the schedules link back to their forms too.
- These are three of the five ways to add forms (Form Finder, the left menu, and Summary/Print). The other two are covered in the next lesson.
- Use Summary/Print to check that amounts from your forms are landing on the correct 1040 line.
Lesson 2 of 4 · 4:38
Add Bank Product – E-file Page
Choose the return type or bank product, confirm fees and complete the e-file page so the return is ready for submission.
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Written instructions
Open the E-file page
Once the return is complete (including the Health Insurance questions and any state return), click E-file in the left menu. The E-File page opens with collapsible sections, starting with Return Type.
Choose the Federal Return Type
Under Return Type, open the Federal Return Type drop-down and pick how the client will be paid:
- Bank products from the processor set in your office setup (in this office, SBTPG RT Check, SBTPG RT Direct, SBTPG Green Dot Prepaid Visa Card, SBTPG WalMart Direct2Cash). RT Check means the check is printed in the office.
- E-file: Paper Check or E-file: Direct Deposit: no bank product, so you collect your fees directly from the taxpayer (cash, check or credit card). Direct Deposit is an IRS direct deposit.
- Paper Return with Direct Deposit and Paper Return for paper-filed returns.
Verify the fees
In Tax Preparation and E-File Information, check the Fees: Calculated Prep Fee, Preparer Fee, Electronic Filing Fee (if your office charges one) and Total.
Depending on how your office is configured, you may be able to override the Preparer Fee, adjust it only within limits, or not change it at all.
Enter the client's email and continue
Enter the taxpayer's address in Primary Client Email, then click Next.
Complete the taxpayer ID information
In Bank Application Information, contact details pull over from the client information screen. Under Taxpayer ID Information, fill in:
- Id Type (for example, Driver's License) and Id Number
- Issue Date and Expiration Date (or check No Expiration date)
- Issue State, Citizenship and Country
Copy From State ID applies only to states that ask for the driver's license on the state return, such as New York.
Confirm you examined the ID
Check Verify ID to confirm you personally examined an unexpired, government-issued photo ID. When you copy the client's ID, make sure it is not expired. Click Next.
Accept the 7216 disclosure
In Bank Account/Product, check the 7216 Disclosure.
Answer your office's questions
Open Questions and answer any custom questions your office has added. Some are for the preparer (for example, whether you made copies of the client's Social Security card and birth certificate); others are for the taxpayer (for example, a satisfaction question).
Save to go to the Submission page
Click Save. The return moves to the Submission page, covered in the next lesson.
- The bank products listed depend on the bank processor selected in your office setup.
- Citizenship is a required question for SBTPG bank products.
Lesson 3 of 4 · 3:43
Submission Page – Mark For Review
Use the Submission page to deliver the return, capture the taxpayer's signature and either mark the return ready for review or complete and transmit it.
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Written instructions
Print or email the return
On the Submission page, choose a copy option (such as One Copy - Federal and State) and click Print Return. To send it instead, click Email Return.
Use the customer portal
Customer Portal sends the client an invitation to create a portal. If the client already has a portal, click Send Tax Return Documents to Customer Portal to send the return to them for signature.
Verify the information
Scroll through Preparer Information, ERO Information and Client Information and confirm everything is correct.
Capture the taxpayer's signature
Under Electronic Signature, click Sign next to Taxpayer Signature. Have the taxpayer sign with a signature pad or the mouse, then click Save Signature (or Clear Signature to redo it).
Signing here overwrites any Customer Portal signature. If the client already signed in the portal or the phone app, that signature appears here automatically. Once saved, the button changes to Change Signature.
Check the estimated refund
Under Tax Preparation Charges, click View Estimated Check Refund to see the refund broken down after bank and preparer fees, then click Close.
Record a referrer
If your office tracks referrals, use Referrer Name (Lookup) or Add New Referrer.
Set the Return/Transmit Status
What you see under Return/Transmit Status depends on your permissions:
- If your returns are reviewed by someone else, check Ready For Review.
- If you are allowed to e-file (for example, an office owner, manager or senior preparer), check Is Complete and click Save And Transmit Return when it is ready to send.
Checking one box disables the other.
Tag the return and save
Check any Return Tag(s) that apply to this client, then click Save And Exit Return.
- You may not see Is Complete at all; marking returns complete is often limited to senior staff.
- Marking a return Ready For Review is the common workflow when an owner or senior preparer checks returns before they are e-filed.
Lesson 4 of 4 · 4:46
Review Return Work Flow
Find returns marked for review, check them, and pass or fail them so the preparer is notified automatically.
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Written instructions
Find returns waiting for review
When a preparer marks a return Ready For Review, Review Returns on the main menu turns green. You can also click Client Search and set Filter by Status to Review on the Office Client List; those clients show a Review status.
Open the return
Click Select next to Review Returns. The list shows each return waiting for review, with its preparer and when review was requested. Click Select next to the client to open the return.
Check the scanned documents
Open the client's Scanned Documents and confirm the required copies are there, such as the Social Security card and driver's license.
Review the return and fees
Look over the return, then on the E-File page confirm the fees are accurate and everything is complete. Click Save to reach the Submission page.
Make a review decision
Scroll to Return/Transmit Status. With Ready For Review checked, you will see Approved and Failed buttons and the status Not yet reviewed.
Fail the return with a reason
Click Failed and type what needs fixing in Reason why return failed review. For example, say that the ID copies are missing and should be added to the scanned documents. The status changes to Failed. Click Save And Exit Return.
Preparer: read the notification
The preparer gets a message in the Message Center on the main menu: SYSTEM NOTIFICATION - RETURN FAILED REVIEW, with the client name and your reason. The client's status on the Office Client List also shows Failed.
Preparer: fix and resubmit
The preparer opens the return, makes the changes (for example, uploads the missing documents to Scanned Documents), clicks Continue through to the Submission page, checks Ready For Review again and saves. The return goes back into the reviewer's queue.
Approve the return
When everything is in order, click Approved. You can then transmit the return, and the preparer receives an approval notification.
- Write a specific reason when you fail a return. The preparer sees exactly what to fix without a phone call.
- The Message Center highlights in green when there is a new message, the same way Review Returns does.