Tax Season Email Template: Kickoff Messages for Clients | HelloBooks Tax season kickoff email templates: what to send in January, how to set expectations on documents and timing, and how to keep the message compliant.
The kickoff email sets the tone for the whole season. Send it before the forms arrive, tell clients exactly how to get documents to you, and give them a date to aim for.
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Smarter accounting for growing businessesHi {first_name},
Your forms will start arriving over the next few weeks. Your personal checklist is attached, based on last year’s return.
Please send everything by {firm date} so we can finish before the deadline without an extension.
Sent to clients of {Firm name} · {street address} · Manage email preferences
Clients need three things from the first email of the season: what to send, how to send it and by when. Anything else belongs in a later message.
IRS Tax Tip 2025-10 says taxpayers need all their year-end income documents to file a complete and accurate return, and lists the common ones: W-2, 1099-MISC, 1099-INT, 1099-NEC, 1099-G and 1095-A. Ask clients to send the full set rather than a first batch.
For clients whose books you keep in HelloBooks, the kickoff list can be much shorter. Bank activity, categorised expenses and contractor totals are already in the ledger, so the email asks only for what the books cannot show, such as W-2s and brokerage forms.
Email marketing · document requests
Document collection · playbook
For CPA and EA firms · email
Every federal change for the 2025 and 2026 seasons
General information for tax and accounting professionals, not legal advice. Rules are summarised from the primary sources listed on the date shown; read the current text before relying on it.
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