Free Tax Season Workflow Template
This tax season workflow template lays out every stage a return passes through, from organizer sent to return filed, with the owner and the internal due date for each. The full stage list is on the page, with a download.
This tax season workflow template lays out every stage a return passes through, from organizer sent to return filed, with the owner and the internal due date for each. The full stage list is on the page, with a download.
Last updated: September 2026
What is included in this template?
- A twelve-stage workflow from organizer sent through to filed and archived
- Owner and internal due date for each stage
- Entry and exit criteria so a stage cannot be skipped
- An extension branch that runs alongside the main path
- Review checkpoints that prevent returns bouncing between preparer and reviewer
- A weekly cadence for the season
When should you use it?
- In November or December, while there is still time to build it in your system.
- When returns are getting stuck in review and nobody can say how many.
- When staff are asking the same status questions in a group chat.
- As the basis for a debrief in May, comparing planned stages against what actually happened.
Section-by-section explanation
What each part is for, and the mistakes that show up most often when it is written badly.
Stages, not tasks
A workflow is a set of states a return can be in. Keep it to around a dozen. Firms that build forty-step checklists find that nobody updates step 27.
Two due dates per stage
An internal date and an external date. The statutory date is fixed; the internal date is the one you manage. Without it, every return is on time until suddenly none of them are.
Exit criteria
Each stage needs a condition that has to be true before it moves on. 'Documents received' should mean the request list is complete, not that an email arrived.
The extension branch
Extensions are not a failure state, they are a path. Decide the date on which a return moves to that path and let it happen automatically rather than case by case.
Review loops
Track review rejections. Two loops on the same return is a training signal; two loops on many returns is a process signal.
The full template
The complete text is below so you can read it before downloading. Replace everything in square brackets with your own details.
TAX SEASON WORKFLOW TEMPLATE Firm: [FIRM NAME] Season: [YEAR] Owner: [NAME] LEGEND Internal due = the date your firm works to External due = the statutory filing date Exit criteria = what must be true before the return moves on STAGE 1 — ENGAGEMENT LETTER SENT Owner: [ADMIN] Internal due: [DATE, e.g., December 15] Exit criteria: letter sent to every active return client STAGE 2 — ENGAGEMENT LETTER SIGNED Owner: [ADMIN] Internal due: [DATE, e.g., January 15] Exit criteria: executed letter saved to the client record Rule: no preparation work begins before this stage completes STAGE 3 — ORGANIZER / REQUEST LIST SENT Owner: [ADMIN] Internal due: [DATE, e.g., January 20] Exit criteria: request list issued with a stated return-by date STAGE 4 — DOCUMENTS OUTSTANDING (chase loop) Owner: [ADMIN] Reminder cadence: day 7, day 14, day 21, then escalate to [PARTNER] Exit criteria: every item on the request list received or marked not applicable Rule: a return does not enter preparation on a partial file STAGE 5 — READY FOR PREPARATION Owner: [MANAGER] Internal due: within 2 business days of stage 4 closing Exit criteria: assigned to a named preparer with a target date STAGE 6 — IN PREPARATION Owner: [PREPARER] Internal due: [NUMBER] business days from assignment Exit criteria: return complete, open questions logged, workpapers indexed STAGE 7 — OPEN QUESTIONS WITH CLIENT Owner: [PREPARER] Reminder cadence: day 3, day 7, then escalate Exit criteria: all questions answered Rule: log questions in one batch, not one email at a time STAGE 8 — IN REVIEW Owner: [REVIEWER] Internal due: [NUMBER] business days from receipt Exit criteria: reviewer sign-off, or documented review points returned Track: number of review loops per return STAGE 9 — REVIEW POINTS CLEARED Owner: [PREPARER] Internal due: 2 business days Exit criteria: every review point cleared and initialed STAGE 10 — SENT TO CLIENT FOR APPROVAL Owner: [ADMIN] Internal due: same day as sign-off Exit criteria: return delivered and e-file authorization requested STAGE 11 — E-FILE AUTHORIZATION SIGNED Owner: [ADMIN] Reminder cadence: day 3, day 7 Exit criteria: signed authorization on file, fee settled if payment precedes filing STAGE 12 — FILED AND ARCHIVED Owner: [ADMIN] Internal due: within 1 business day of authorization Exit criteria: acknowledgment received, copies archived, next-year job created EXTENSION BRANCH Trigger: complete records not received by [DATE, e.g., March 20 for business returns / April 1 for individuals] Step E1 — Estimate liability from available information — Owner: [PREPARER] Step E2 — Advise client of payment due with the extension — Owner: [MANAGER] Step E3 — File extension — Owner: [ADMIN] — External due: [March 15 / April 15] Step E4 — Re-enter at stage 4 with a revised internal due date of [DATE] Note: an extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay KEY EXTERNAL DATES January 31 — Forms W-2 and 1099-NEC to recipients and to the agencies March 15 — Forms 1065 and 1120S, or extension April 15 — Form 1040 and Form 1120 (calendar year), or extension; Q1 estimate June 15 — Q2 estimate September 15 — Extended Forms 1065 and 1120S; Q3 estimate October 15 — Extended Form 1040 [Confirm current-year dates; weekend and holiday shifts apply] WEEKLY SEASON CADENCE Monday 8:30am — 20 minutes: returns stuck more than [NUMBER] days at any stage Wednesday — reviewer capacity check for the week ahead Friday — count of returns filed, in review, and awaiting client Every Friday in March — decide the extension list for the following week DEBRIEF QUESTIONS (complete in May) 1. Which stage held returns longest? 2. How many returns took more than one review loop, and why? 3. Which clients were chased more than three times, and what did that cost? 4. Which internal due dates were unrealistic? 5. What are the three changes for next season?
Download the editable copy
Enter your work email and the plain-text file downloads straight away. Have your own counsel review any engagement or disengagement letter before you send it to a client.
How Remindoo automates this
A template is a document. The reason firms still miss the thing the document describes is that nobody owns the follow-up. This is where software helps.
- Build the stages once as a job template so every return follows the same path without anyone maintaining a tracker.
- Set internal and external due dates on each stage so the firm manages the date it controls.
- Automate the chase loop at stage 4 and the authorization chase at stage 11 with a fixed reminder cadence.
- Watch stage counts through the season, so 'returns stuck in review' is a number on a dashboard rather than a feeling in March.
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Frequently asked questions
What stages should a tax season workflow have?
Around twelve: engagement letter sent and signed, organizer issued, documents outstanding, ready for preparation, in preparation, open questions, in review, review points cleared, sent for approval, authorization signed, filed and archived, plus an extension branch.
What are internal versus external due dates?
The external date is statutory, such as March 15 or April 15. The internal date is the one your firm works to, set far enough ahead to give the reviewer real time. Managing only external dates means every return is on time right up until none of them are.
When should returns move to the extension path?
On a fixed date you decide in advance, not case by case in the final week. Many firms use around March 20 for business returns and the start of April for individuals, then work the extension list as a batch.
How do you stop returns getting stuck in review?
Measure it. Track days in review and the number of review loops per return. One return with three loops is a coaching conversation; many returns with three loops means the preparation stage has no real exit criteria.
Stop maintaining templates by hand
Remindoo turns documents like this into recurring work with owners, internal due dates and automatic client follow-up. Per client, unlimited users.