TAX PREPARATION INVOICE TEMPLATE
Free tax preparation invoice template
A tax preparation invoice that bills by the form: the federal return with each schedule on its own line, the state and city returns, the 1099s you filed for the client, an amended or prior-year return, and monthly bookkeeping apart — with your PTIN and EIN at the top and the balance due before you e-file. Free in Word and PDF, for tax preparers, enrolled agents and small accounting practices.
Word and PDF · Free · No email, no sign-up
The short answer
A tax preparation invoice bills by the form: the federal return as a base line, each schedule that added work on its own line — Schedule C, E, D — the state return and any city return, and the extras: 1099s filed, an extension, an amended return, a response to an IRS letter.
Around it go your business details with your PTIN and EIN, the client and the tax year, an invoice number, the date and the due date — most preparers collect before the return is e-filed — and the bookkeeping or payroll you do for the same client, kept apart on its own line.
Finish with how to pay, what the client should keep, and what's next — the quarterly estimate dates, the documents due for next season — so the client who paid for a return stays a client for the year.
FREE TEMPLATE · WORD AND PDF
The tax preparation invoice template, filled in
Below is the template filled in for Northbank Tax & Bookkeeping, a fictional tax preparation business, so you can see every line in use. The downloads are the same invoice with [bracketed] lines to replace — free, no email address, no sign-up.
![Free Tax Preparation Invoice Template — the blank fill-in invoice as it downloads, with [bracketed] lines to replace](/invoice-templates/tax-preparation-invoice-template-preview.png)
Example · fictional business
Northbank Tax & Bookkeeping Columbus, OH (614) 555-0151 · hello@northbanktax.example PTIN P00000000 (example) · EIN 00-0000000 (example) | INVOICE |
Bill to Owen Delaney Delaney Landscape Design (sole proprietor) Columbus, OH | Engagement 2025 federal and state returns, extended to Oct 15 — Form 1040 with Schedule C, SE and E Monthly bookkeeping — September 2026, 2 accounts reconciled Documents received Sep 22 · draft reviewed with you Oct 8 |
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form 1040 — federal individual return Includes e-filing and a PDF copy | 1 | $225.00 | $225.00 |
| Schedule C and Schedule SE — landscape design business Income and expenses from your bookkeeping; home office and vehicle worksheets | 1 | $175.00 | $175.00 |
| Schedule E — rental property, 1 unit Depreciation schedule carried forward | 1 | $85.00 | $85.00 |
| Ohio IT 1040 and school district return E-filed with the federal return | 1 | $95.00 | $95.00 |
| Columbus city income tax return Net profit from Schedule C | 1 | $60.00 | $60.00 |
| Monthly bookkeeping — September 2026 Bank and card accounts reconciled, categorized, monthly report sent Oct 3 | 1 | $300.00 | $300.00 |
| Subtotal | $940.00 | ||
| Sales tax (if your state taxes tax preparation) | $0.00 | ||
| Total | $940.00 | ||
| Balance due | $940.00 | ||
Payment
Due by Oct 13, ahead of the Oct 15 extended deadline. Pay by bank transfer, card or check. We e-file the day the balance clears and send you the IRS and state e-file confirmations.
What's next
Keep the PDF of the return with your records for at least three years. Your 2026 quarterly estimate for Q4 is due Jan 15, 2027; we'll send the voucher in December with the document checklist for next season.
Every figure on the example is an example, not a price guide — use your own rates. The Word file is a standard .docx you can edit in Word or any app that opens Word documents; the PDF prints as-is if you'd rather fill it in by hand.
Invoices and a website, one place
Start your tax preparation website — invoicing is built in
Add your business name and your town, and Zarla builds your tax preparation website from this one line. The same dashboard sends invoices like this one, with a pay-now button once you're on a paid plan.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.
LINE BY LINE
What goes on a tax preparation invoice
Every line on the template, in order, and what to write on it.
| The line | What to put there |
|---|---|
| Business name, contact, PTIN and EIN | Your trading name, phone, email and address, your PTIN — the IRS requires every paid preparer to hold one and include it on each return — your EIN, and your credential if you hold one: enrolled agent, CPA, or the Annual Filing Season Program record. |
| Invoice number, dates and the tax year | A number that never repeats, the invoice date, the due date — before e-filing is the norm — and the tax year with whether this is the original, an extended or an amended return. |
| Bill to and the engagement | The client (and their business if it's a sole proprietorship), then the engagement: the returns and schedules, any bookkeeping or payroll for the period, and the dates the documents came in and the draft was reviewed. |
| The federal return | Form 1040 as the base line with e-filing and the PDF copy included — the price every client compares to the chain down the street. |
| Each schedule that added work | Schedule C with SE, Schedule E per property, Schedule D, a Form 2441 or 8829 — one line each, with what it covered. The client sees why a business return costs more than a W-2 return, line by line. |
| State, city and school district returns | Each on its own line. Ohio has city income tax and school district returns on top of the state return; most states have only the one. |
| 1099s, extensions, amended returns, letters | The 1099-NECs you prepared for the client's contractors, the extension, an amended or prior-year return, a response to an IRS notice — each dated and on its own line, so the return's price stays the price. |
| Bookkeeping and payroll | Monthly bookkeeping or payroll for the same client on its own line with the period and what was reconciled. Year-round work and the seasonal return never blur together. |
| Tax, total and how to pay | Sales tax where your state taxes tax preparation (almost none do), the total in bold, the due date, how to pay, and when you'll e-file. |
| What's next | The record-keeping period, the next quarterly estimate date, when the document checklist for next season arrives — the note that turns a return into a year-round client. |
STEP BY STEP
How to fill out a tax preparation invoice
Five minutes after the client reviews the draft, before you e-file.
Put your details, PTIN and EIN at the top
Business name, phone, email, address, your PTIN, your EIN and your credential if you hold one. Save the file once with these filled in.
Number it, date it, set the due date and the tax year
The next number in your series, today's date, a due date before e-filing, and the tax year with original, extended or amended.
Name the client and the engagement
The client and their business, the returns and schedules, any bookkeeping period, and the document and review dates.
Bill the federal return, then each schedule, state and city
Form 1040 as the base line, one line per schedule that added work, each state, city and school district return.
Add 1099s, extensions, letters and bookkeeping, then total it
Each extra on its own dated line, bookkeeping by the month, tax only where your state charges it, and the total in bold.
Write what's next and send it with the draft
Record-keeping, the next estimate date and next season's checklist in the note, then email the PDF with the draft return — and e-file the day the balance clears.
How tax preparers get paid faster
Collect before you e-file. It's the norm in the trade and clients expect it: the invoice goes out with the draft, the balance clears, the return is transmitted the same day and the e-file confirmations follow. A return filed before it's paid is the one that's still unpaid in June.
Bill by the form, and show it. “Form 1040” at your base price, then “Schedule C and SE”, “Schedule E — 1 unit”, the state and city returns, one line each. The client who sees why a business return costs $640 pays it; the one who sees “tax return — $640” compares it to the chain's advertised price.
Keep bookkeeping on its own line. The monthly reconciliation that feeds the return is year-round revenue and the return is seasonal. Shown separately, the client understands both prices — and the return gets cheaper to prepare every year the books are clean.
Put the PTIN on everything. In the US the IRS requires anyone paid to prepare federal returns to hold a Preparer Tax Identification Number, renew it by December 31 every year and include it on each return they prepare. Your PTIN at the top of the invoice tells a new client you're registered before they ask — and an enrolled agent or CPA credential beside it tells them what else you can do for them.
Tell the client what's next on the invoice. The next quarterly estimate date, how long to keep the return, when your document checklist arrives — three lines that make the September invoice the start of next season instead of the end of this one.
Offer a card and bank transfer. Most returns are paid the day the draft is approved; a payment link in the email and bank details in the note mean it clears that afternoon rather than at the next appointment.
Tax depends on the state. In the US tax preparation and bookkeeping are untaxed services in almost every state — Hawaii, New Mexico and South Dakota, which tax most services, are the exceptions worth checking — so the example shows no tax amount. Check your state's revenue department or your accountant, which may well be you.
Outside the US. The invoice itself has rules: in Australia a GST-registered business issues a tax invoice showing its ABN, in New Zealand a GST-registered business shows its GST number, and in the UK and EU a VAT-registered business shows its VAT number and the VAT charged. Confirm the details with your accountant.
Send it from Zarla and get paid online
A Word template is a fine way to start. The catch is everything after you hit send: chasing the payment, remembering who's paid, and typing the same customer and the same line items again next month.
If you build your tax preparation website with Zarla, the invoice tool is in the same dashboard. Pick the customer, add the job's lines, and send it. On a paid plan, with your Stripe account connected, the invoice carries a pay-now button: your customer pays online by card, and the invoice marks itself paid when the money arrives. Customers you've invoiced are saved, so next time is two taps.
Want to see the website first? Browse tax preparation website templates or see how Zarla builds tax preparation websites. Still setting up? Read how to start a tax preparation business and write your tax preparation business plan.
The whole paper trail of a job, step by step: how to write a quote, then how to write an invoice, then how to write a receipt — with a free receipt template. For any other trade, start from the free invoice template. Either side of it, two more free templates in Word and PDF: a price list template for the services you sell and a work order template for the crew.
Heading into the holidays? Our free gift certificate template covers the customers who want to give your work as a gift, and the holiday hours sign template covers the door, your website and your Google profile.
Tax preparation invoices: common questions
Your business name, contact details, PTIN and EIN, and your credential if you hold one; the client and their business; an invoice number, the invoice date, the due date and the tax year; the engagement with the returns, schedules and any bookkeeping period; Form 1040 as the base line; each schedule that added work; state, city and school district returns; 1099s, extensions, amended returns and letter responses; bookkeeping by the month; tax where your state charges it; the total; how to pay; and what's next.
Before e-filing, almost always: the invoice goes out with the draft for review, and the return is transmitted the day the balance clears. Bookkeeping and payroll clients are billed monthly, in advance or on the first; extensions and letter responses are billed when done.
By the form is what most preparers do and what clients understand: a base price for the federal return, a price per schedule, a price per state or city return, and an hourly rate only for the open-ended work — reconstructing records, answering an IRS letter. Either way, each line says what it covers.
In the US the IRS requires every paid preparer to hold a PTIN and include it on each return they prepare; it isn't required on the invoice, but putting it there — with your EIN and your credential — tells a new client you're registered and shows them where to look you up in the IRS directory of preparers.
On the same invoice when the periods line up, as its own line: “Monthly bookkeeping — September 2026 — bank and card accounts reconciled, report sent Oct 3” at your monthly rate. The return's lines stay the return's price, and the client sees the year-round work that made the return straightforward.
If you're searching from Australia or New Zealand: a tax invoice is the GST invoice a registered business must issue, showing its ABN or GST number and the GST charged — and this template's tax line and business-details block handle that once you add the registration number. In the US there's no such document; a tax preparer's invoice is an ordinary invoice for preparing a return, which is what this page is. Either way, confirm the details with your accountant.
Yes. The tax preparation invoice template on this page downloads free as a Word document and a PDF — no email address, no sign-up. Edit it in Word or any app that opens Word documents, or print the PDF and fill it in by hand.
Not from a Word file — your customer still has to pay you some other way. To take the payment on the invoice itself, send it from invoicing software. If your tax preparation website is on Zarla, the invoice tool is in the same dashboard: on a paid plan, with Stripe connected, each invoice carries a pay-now button and marks itself paid when the customer pays by card.
Send invoices from your own tax website
Add your town and your business name, and Zarla builds the site from that one line — with invoicing in the same dashboard.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.