How CPA firms request a copy of last year’s tax return from clients
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask a new business client for their complete prior-year Form 1040 as filed, with every schedule and form attached, not the summary pages. For the owner of a pass-through business, the 1040 holds what the business return feeds and what carries forward: suspended losses, basis history, estimated payments applied and qualified business income items.
Why CPA firms need a copy of last year’s tax return
Income from a partnership, S corporation or Schedule C business lands on the owner’s 1040, so the prior-year individual return is where you find what carries into this year: losses suspended under the basis, at-risk or passive activity rules, capital loss and charitable carryforwards, any qualified business income loss carryforward, and overpayments applied to this year’s estimated tax. It also shows how the prior preparer treated the owner’s compensation and any rent the business pays the owner.
Client guide: where to find a copy of last year’s tax return
What exactly to ask for
The full prior-year Form 1040 as filed, with Schedules 1, C, E and SE where present and attached forms such as 8582, 7203, 4562 and 8995 or 8995-A, plus the state return. Ask for the prior preparer’s PDF copy with worksheets: carryforward worksheets are not filed with the IRS, so a transcript will not show them.
What to check when it arrives
- The copy is the filed version, signed or with the e-file acceptance, not a draft.
- Carryforward amounts on Forms 8582 and 7203 and the capital loss worksheet are present, so you can bring them into this year.
- K-1 income on Schedule E matches the business returns for the same year, which flags an amended return nobody mentioned.
Email to send your client
Replace the bracketed parts. The same text fits in the message of a DokuTrak request (up to 1,000 characters).
Subject: Last year’s personal return, the full copy
Hi [Client name],
Welcome aboard. Before I start on this year, I need a full copy of your personal tax return (Form 1040) for last year, as it was filed.
Please send the complete PDF from your previous preparer, with every schedule and form, not only the first two pages. The later pages carry amounts that roll into this year, such as losses you could not use yet and payments applied forward.
If your previous preparer gave you a version with worksheets, that is the best one. Could you send it by [date]? If you only have a paper copy, a clear scan is fine, and I can tell you what to ask your former preparer for.
Thank you, [Your name]
Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.
- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not a copy of last year’s tax return or an unreadable or blurry scan. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.