How tax preparers request a bank statement from clients
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask self-employed clients for all twelve monthly statements of the account where business income lands, January through December of the tax year, as PDFs from online banking. You use them to total gross receipts for Schedule C, compare deposits with any 1099-NEC or 1099-K, and confirm the estimated tax payments the client made.
Why tax preparers need a bank statement
A sole proprietor’s income is whatever came in, not only what a 1099 reports, and the bank account is often the only full record. Deposits let you build gross receipts for Schedule C and spot income no form covers. The same statements show the quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS and the state, which you credit on the return; a payment the client forgot is money left on the table.
What exactly to ask for
Every monthly statement for the tax year, January to December, for each account used for the business, and for the personal account if business money passed through it. Full PDFs from online banking, all pages, not screenshots of a transaction list.
What to check when it arrives
- Twelve consecutive months with no gap, and the closing balance of one month matches the opening balance of the next.
- Transfers between the client’s own accounts and loans are set apart, so they are not counted as income.
- Each estimated tax payment to the IRS or the state is identified with its date and amount.
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: Your business bank statements for the year
Hi [Client name],
To prepare your self-employment income, I need your bank statements for every month of the year, January to December, for each account where business money comes in or goes out.
The PDF statements from your online banking are best, all pages. Screenshots of transactions are harder to work from and can miss items.
I will use them to total your income and to find every estimated tax payment you made, so you get credit for each one. Could you send them by [date]? If you use more than one account and are unsure which ones I need, just ask.
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 bank statement, an unreadable or blurry scan or a copy where one of these is missing or cut off: the account holder, the statement period. 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.