Send requests to your clients (to Review, to Sign, to Sign e-file Authorization, and Document Requests)

When you send a request for your client to upload, sign, or review a document, it is called a
Requested Item
and appears in the Requested Items section of your client’s Documents page.
Not all states have adopted the IRS eSignature guidelines. DE, MD, NY, and WV require an e-file authorization form similar to IRS Form 8879, but they don’t allow eSignature. All other states either allow eSignature on their e-file authorization form or don’t require a separate e-file authorization form.
Documents that were digitally signed or reviewed by a client are stamped on the 1st page of the document. The IRS requires e-signed records to be tamper-proof once they’ve been signed and reviewed. To ensure a document is legally binding, SurePrep will secure the document in read-only mode. This is a cautionary measure to ensure that digitally signed/reviewed documents can't be tampered with or additional pages are not attached to the signed/reviewed document later. These signed/reviewed documents can still be viewed in read-only mode.

Send document requests to your clients

Follow these steps to add a request to a client’s profile:
  1. Sign in to TaxCaddy.
  2. On the
    Overview
    screen, select a client tile to view the client profile.
  3. Select
    Documents
    , then select
    Requested Items
    .
  4. Select the
    Tax Year
    .
    If you've created a 1041 tax return profile for this client, select the relevant tax return from the
    TAX RETURN
    dropdown menu.
  5. Select
    ADD NEW REQUEST
    .
  6. Select either
    Review
    ,
    Sign
    ,
    E-file
    , or
    Upload
    .
    Select request type
    Description
    Review
    Client marks the document as reviewed using the
    Mark Reviewed
    button.
    Available for 1040 tax return type.
    Sign
    The client or their spouse marks the document as signed using the
    Sign & Accept
    button, then enters their first name as a signature. Regular signed documents are not compliant with IRS for e-file authorization. Use the
    E-File
    option to e-file a document.
    Available for 1040 and 1041 tax return type.
    E-file Authorization
    Similar to the
    Sign
    request, except the client must confirm their identity using KBA (Knowledge-Based Authentication).
    The client marks the document as signed using the
    Sign
    , then
    Accept
    button. Enter their first name as a signature, then provide information to confirm their identity using KBA.
    If you have specified that the document requires the spouse's signature, the spouse is prompted to verify their identity using the same KBA process and may complete their signature process at the same time as the taxpayer. If either the taxpayer or spouse fails the identity verification, both will be required to sign the document manually.
    Your client is only prompted to complete KBA verification once per session, so they can sign other documents requiring it without completing the KBA process again. With e-file authorization, signed documents are IRS compliant for e-file.
    Available for 1040 tax return type (1041 Coming Soon).
    Upload
    You can use this to request that your client uploads a document. A new item appears in the client's
    Requested Items
    tab under
    Document Requests
    . Clients upload the requested document to fulfill the request.
    Available for 1040 & 1041 tax return type.
    Select signature type
    If you selected either the
    Sign
    (either 1040 and 1041 tax return types) or
    E-File
    (only available for 1040 tax return types) option from the available request types, there are 3 different types of signature requests that you can issue to your clients:
    • Taxpayer Only
      : Only require the signature of your client (the main account holder) to complete this request.
    • Spouse Only
      : Only require the signature of your client's spouse to complete this request.
    • Taxpayer (and Spouse if applicable)
      : Require the signature of both your client and their spouse to complete this request.
    Select the type of signature request that you would like to send to your client's account from the
    Select Signature Type
    dropdown menu.
    Once you've made your selection for this request, select
    NEXT
    .
    Fillable Form
    If you select
    Review
    or
    Sign
    , you can make the Review/Signature form be fillable. Select
    Fillable Form
    to mark the uploaded PDF as a fillable form.
  7. Select
    NEXT
    to continue. Select
    CANCEL
    to close without making a request.
  8. You'll see the
    Document Request
    window if you selected
    Upload
    , select a year and category for the document. Once the taxpayer uploads a document, it'll appear in this category.
  9. After selecting a category, select
    Add New
    to create a new subcategory.
  10. Select the
    Save
    icon to save the subcategory name.
    Once you have selected a subcategory, select
    Done
    .
  11. If uploading a document for your client to
    Review
    ,
    Sign
    , or
    Sign E-file Authorization
    , select a file to upload from your device.
  12. In the upload window, select
    Close
    .
  13. Requests will appear under
    To Review
    ,
    To Sign
    , or
    Document Requests
    depending on the type of request. Your client receives a notification when they receive new requested items from you.
  14. When a client receives a document to sign or review, they can mark it as reviewed or sign it depending on what type of request you sent. If it has fillable fields, they can fill out the form as well. When they select or tap out of the field, the form will automatically be saved.
    There are multiple ways your clients can address a document request.
    - Upload requested items.
    Mark the request as
    ALREADY PROVIDED
    .
    Mark the request as
    DOESN'T APPLY
    .
    Reply with an amount(s).
    Complete a fillable PDF Form.
    You can send your clients an option to complete an upload request by filling a PDF form.

Send request from client profile vs client management

Sending documents from the client profile can be useful when you need to request a specific item from that client only. However, if you have a generic document template that needs to be reviewed or signed by multiple clients then it is beneficial to send those documents in bulk at once rather than uploading them individually in each client profile.
On the
Client Management
screen, you can also auto-generate a document request list (DRL) for a client by using the proforma data in the tax application.

Notes

  • Your client's spouse can sign the documents using your client's TaxCaddy account. Alternatively, your client can add their spouse as an additional user, then the spouse user will sign documents from their own TaxCaddy account.
  • When a client completes an
    E-File
    request, only 1 digital stamp is applied to each PDF. If you use a single PDF for both federal and state e-file Authorizations, only a single stamp will be applied.
  • You can delete a signature request if it is incomplete (for example, not signed by the taxpayer or their spouse). Select
    Delete
    from the document's menu.

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