Tax season is the most exhausting period of the year, because it involves gathering loads of paperwork, and sorting through endless documents. On the other hand, a slightly more organized data collection process can make tax seasons less stressful.
A tax return documentation questionnaire for businesses is a great shortcut to gathering information from your clients. In this post, we’ll show you a comprehensive questionnaire template with 40 questions.
Let’s get it going!
Short on time? Get our built-in questionnaire now
Are you tired of chasing clients for key information? Join a growing number of accountants worldwide who are using Content Snare’s tax return documentation questionnaire template.
Differences in business tax return documentation by country
Before we list the questions, it’s important to note that business tax return requirements vary across countries. The reason is obvious — each tax authority has its own rules and documentation needs.
For instance, businesses in the United States submit Internal Revenue Service forms such as Form 1120 (for corporations) or Schedule C (for sole proprietors) along with records of income, expenses, and assets.
On the other hand, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requires detailed reporting for GST, income, and employee superannuation contributions. That’s why you’ll need to check local regulations to stay compliant.
Here are a few helpful information resources:
- United States: IRS - Business Taxes
- United Kingdom: UK Business Tax and VAT
- Canada: Canadian Business Taxes
With that said, let’s take a look at our questionnaire template for business tax return documentation.
40 questions to include in your tax return documentation form template
The following list of questions focuses on Australian tax forms for businesses. You can access this questionnaire for free through Content Snare’s library of templates. Over there, you’ll also find tax return templates for businesses in the UK and the US.
| Note: We’ll add screenshots from our built-in questionnaire template to show you what it looks like in practice. |
Basic information
It all starts with a few simple questions about your client. If you’ve already worked on tax returns with them, you could perhaps leave out this section.
1. Company name
2. Address
3. Email
4. Phone
5. Website
6. Industry
7. Business structure
Note: This can be LLC, corporation, sole proprietorship, and similar.
Trading entities
This section gathers details about your client’s financials. That includes income, expenses, and major transactions. The goal is to collect the right information for accurate reporting of revenue and deductions for tax purposes.
Bank information
8. Upload bank statement(s)
Please attach a copy of each bank statement showing the closing balance on 30 June.
9. Upload credit card statement(s)
Please attach a copy of each credit card statement showing the closing balance on 30 June.
10. Upload statements for other accounts / business loans / overdraft
Please attach a copy of the statement(s) held by your trading entity showing the closing balance as of 30 June (e.g. Paypal, Wise).
Cash on hand
11. Were all receipts (including cash) deposited in your bank account as of June 30?
Answers: Yes or No.
12. Please provide the amount of cash on hand as of June 30
13. Please confirm the amount of petty cash as of June 30.
Fixed asset changes
14. Did you purchase, sell, or trade in any office equipment, computer equipment, plant, vehicle, property, or similar during the relevant financial year?
If yes, please upload copies of invoices for these assets.
15. Did you have any hire purchase and/or lease arrangements for the year?
If yes, please upload copies of these arrangements and include details of payments made.
Bad debts
16. Have you identified any debts that you consider to be bad?
Answers: Yes or No.
17. Have you recorded the write-off in your General Ledger system?
Answers: Yes or No.
18. Please provide details of invoices to be written off below.
Payroll tax return and other documents
19. Please upload a copy of the annual payroll tax return for the relevant financial year.
20. Please upload a copy of your Workcover Declaration for the relevant financial year.
21. Please upload copies of annual insurance statements for policies such as keyman insurance, buy-sell insurance, etc.
General ledger file — year end actions
22. Have you finalized the June quarter Business Activity Statement?
Answers: Yes or No.
23. Have you finalized the payroll?
Answers: Yes or No.
24. Have you recorded closing balances as of 30 June for any inventory / stock / work in progress in your General Ledger File?
Answers: Yes or No.
25. Have you locked your general ledger file for the relevant financial year?
Answers: Yes or No.
Inventory
26. Did you have any stock as of June 30?
If yes, what was the stocktake figure?
Salary records
27. Did you have any employees that you paid salary/wages to during the financial year (July 1 to June 30)?
Answers: Yes or No
28. Please upload a one-page summary from your payroll system showing the annual gross salary/wages paid to each employee along with all deductions made.
29. Did you pay any super contributions in excess of the 11.5% super guarantee for any employee, shareholder or director?
If yes, please provide further details about super contributions.
Investments
You should also gather investment-related information (stocks, bonds, etc.). This is necessary for calculating gains, losses, and potential tax implications.
30. Did you make or sell any investments during the relevant financial year (e.g. shares purchased, term deposits)?
If yes, please upload third-party confirmation of any investments made during the relevant financial year.
31. Please upload documentation for new loans drawn-down during the relevant financial year (i.e. loan agreements).
32. Please upload statements/schedules showing payments made, interest paid for the relevant financial year, and the loan balance for all investment loans as of 30 June.
33. Please upload copies of any rental statements for the relevant financial year, summary of expenses incurred in relation to the rental property, etc.
34. Did you acquire a new rental property or dispose of an existing rental property this financial year?
If yes, please upload files such as purchase / sale contract, settlement statements, etc.
35. Have you kept a logbook for your business vehicle this year?
Answers: Yes or No
36. How many business-related kilometers did you travel in the relevant financial year?
Note: Maximum 5,000km.
37. Please upload copies of annual insurance statements for policies such as life insurance, TPD, income protection, trauma, and private health.
38. Upload other documents you feel are relevant to your tax affairs.
Additional matters
These questions focus on any other relevant information that may affect your client’s tax return and financial health in general.
39. Please review your PreFill Reports as this information is what the Tax Office is expecting to be reported on your personal Income Tax Return.
Note: Please explain if any items are incorrect.
40. Please advise if your bank account or personal details (email, address, or similar) have changed since we last prepared your income tax return.
Send a questionnaire for tax documents with Content Snare
Content Snare is an online form builder with dozens of accounting and bookkeeping questionnaire templates.
With our platform, you can send the first tax return documentation request to your client in a matter of minutes. Alternatively, customize the prebuilt questionnaire to perfectly suit your style or local regulations.
Related: How Content Snare helped Northwest Accountancy gather client info more efficiently
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as Content Snare features make it very easy for your client to deliver the requested documents. We are talking about the following features:
- Page, section, and field instructions for clarifying your requests
- In-form conversations for potential client inquiries or questions
- A generous file size limit of 16GB per document
- Integrations with all of the major accounting and bookkeeping toolsÂ
You’ll also love how Content Snare automatically reminds clients to fill out the forms based on the schedule of your liking. Thanks to these (and lots of other) functionalities, many accounting firms successfully overhauled their information-collection process.
If you’re interested in seeing Content Snare in action, just sign up for a 14-day trial. It’s totally free — no credit card info required, no strings attached.