Capability template for finance and accounting

Year-end tax packet for the accountant

Once the year's books are closed, the owner or bookkeeper hands the accountant one packet: the documents asked for and what is still missing, every contractor paid over the reporting line with missing tax forms flagged, the year's estimated tax payments, and the questions to ask. It works out no tax.

The outcome

Tax season starts with one organized packet instead of a month of emails back and forth. Your accountant gets the year's headline figures from the closed books, each item from their request letter marked as ready, partly ready or still missing, the contractors paid for services that year with their totals, and the estimated tax payments as you made them. Every assumption the packet relies on is printed on it, so your accountant can see exactly how each figure was put together.

The gaps surface while there is still time to close them. A contractor with no tax details form on file, two payee names that may be one person, a payment made through a platform, a confirmation you cannot find, a document that will arrive after your accountant's date: each is on the page with the facts beside it, and each becomes either an action for you or a question for your accountant.

The packet is not tax advice. It works out no tax owed, no estimated payment and no deduction, and it says nothing about how any item should be treated. Those are your accountant's calls, and the packet sets them out as questions. If a letter from a tax authority is open, the work stops and that letter goes to your accountant first.

Who starts the work, and when

The owner or the bookkeeper starts it once the year's books are closed and the year-end bank and card accounts are reconciled, usually in the first weeks after the year end, and when the accountant's request letter arrives. It runs again as missing documents and tax details forms come in, until the packet is complete.

The owner approves the packet and sends it to the accountant. The owner or the bookkeeper requests each missing form from the contractor; the assistant contacts nobody.

What they supply

  • A few settings: where the business is taxed, the tax year, the business structure and accounting basis as you state them, the date the books were closed, the accounts that hold payments to contractors, and the reporting threshold your accountant gives you.
  • Your accountant's request letter or organizer, if one arrived. Without one, the packet uses a standard list of what accountants usually ask for.
  • The closed year's profit and loss, and the cash, card and loan lines of the year-end balance sheet.
  • A vendor payments export for the year, and your contractor list showing who has a tax details form on file.
  • Your estimated tax payments, with the period each was for and whether you hold the confirmation.
  • The documents you have gathered, and a few notes on the year: large purchases, changes, and your own questions.

It works from files and notes you supply, needs no connection to your accounting system, your bank or any tax authority's site, and never asks for a password or a login code. If an export's column headings do not match what it expects, it stops and asks.

What comes out

One packet in a fixed order: a header that names the tax year and says the packet is not tax advice; the assumptions; the year in figures with two arithmetic checks; the documents for the accountant, item by item; the contractors, with those at or above the threshold, those below it, possible duplicates and the missing forms; the estimated tax payments for the year; the questions for the accountant; and the actions to finish before the packet goes.

A good packet lets your accountant start work the day it arrives, with every figure traced to a line in your own files and nothing left for them to chase except the questions only they can answer.

An invented example

Illustrative example with invented data. The business, the contractors, the firms, every row and every figure below are invented. The business is an invented six-person sign and display studio in Oregon, called "the Studio" here, owned by one person and kept by a part-time bookkeeper. Contractors and firms are referred to by letter and people by role. The Studio's outside accountant has sent a request letter for the 2026 return, and the bookkeeper runs the packet on Monday 11 January 2027, the first working day after the books were closed.

The inputs come first, in full, so the template can be run on them. The packet follows.

The inputs

1. Settings

Business: the Studio.
Country: United States. State: Oregon.
Tax year: 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026. Currency: USD.
Business structure, as the owner states it: single-member LLC.
Accounting basis, as the owner states it: cash.
Prepares the packet: Bookkeeper. Approves it and sends it: Owner.
Requests missing W-9s: Owner.
Books closed: Friday 8 January 2027, by the bookkeeper. December bank
  and card accounts reconciled: yes.
Today: Monday 11 January 2027.
Service accounts: Contract labour; Professional fees.
Reporting threshold: from the accountant's request letter, item 4.
Form that reports contractors: 1099-NEC.
Form that records a contractor's tax details: W-9.

2. The accountant's request letter

Please send the packet by Friday 29 January 2027.
1. Profit and loss and balance sheet for 2026
2. December 2026 statements for every bank, card and loan account
3. The payroll year-end summary from your payroll provider
4. Everyone you paid $2,000 or more for services in 2026, by date paid,
   and whether you hold a W-9 for each. Tell us who was paid by card or
   through a payment platform.
5. Your 2026 federal and state estimated tax payments, with confirmations
6. Invoices for equipment bought in 2026 costing $2,500 or more
7. Your card processor's 2026 annual summary
8. Any letters from the IRS or the state during 2026

3. The closed year's reports

Profit and loss, 1 January to 31 December 2026, cash basis
Sales                          412,600.00
Total income                   412,600.00
Materials                       96,300.00
Contract labour                 41,850.00
Professional fees                9,200.00
Wages and payroll taxes        118,400.00
Rent                            36,000.00
Software and subscriptions       4,150.00
Other operating expenses        27,940.00
Total expenses                 333,840.00
Net profit                      78,760.00

Balance sheet at 31 December 2026 (cash, card and loan lines)
Checking account                58,420.17
Savings account                 30,000.00
Business card                   -3,184.55
Equipment loan                 -18,750.00

4. The vendor payments export (1 January 2026 to 11 January 2027)

Date,Payee,Account,Amount,Method,Reference
2026-02-13,Contractor A,Contract labour,4600.00,Bank transfer,A-0126
2026-03-06,Firm F LLC,Professional fees,1500.00,Bank transfer,F-311
2026-03-20,Contractor B,Contract labour,2250.00,Payment platform,B-01
2026-04-03,Firm G,Professional fees,5000.00,Cheque,1042
2026-04-10,Contractor C Fabrication Inc.,Contract labour,7800.00,Cheque,1043
2026-05-15,Contractor A,Contract labour,4600.00,Bank transfer,A-0426
2026-06-05,Contractor D,Contract labour,1200.00,Bank transfer,D-1
2026-06-19,Contractor B,Contract labour,2250.00,Payment platform,B-02
2026-07-17,Contractor C Fabrication Inc.,Materials,2880.00,Cheque,1051
2026-08-14,Contractor A,Contract labour,4600.00,Bank transfer,A-0726
2026-08-28,Contractor E,Contract labour,1800.00,Card,E-77
2026-09-04,Firm F LLC,Professional fees,2700.00,Bank transfer,F-342
2026-09-18,Contractor B,Contract labour,2250.00,Payment platform,B-03
2026-10-09,Contractor C Fabrication Inc.,Contract labour,4500.00,Cheque,1060
2026-11-13,Contractor A,Contract labour,4600.00,Bank transfer,A-1026
2026-12-30,Contractor D Metalwork,Contract labour,1400.00,Bank transfer,DM-12
2027-01-06,Contractor A,Contract labour,4600.00,Bank transfer,A-1226

5. The contractor details list

Payee,Legal name,Entity type,Tax details form on file,Tax ID on file
Contractor A,Contractor A,Individual,yes,yes
Contractor B,Contractor B,Individual,no,no
Contractor C Fabrication Inc.,Contractor C Fabrication Inc.,Corporation,yes,yes
Contractor D,Contractor D,Individual,no,no
Contractor E,Contractor E,Individual,yes,yes
Firm F LLC,Firm F LLC,LLC,yes,yes
Firm G,Firm G,,no,no

6. Estimated tax payments

Date paid,Authority,Period,Amount,Confirmation held
2026-01-15,Federal,2025 Q4,3800.00,yes
2026-04-15,Federal,2026 Q1,4500.00,yes
2026-04-15,State,2026 Q1,1200.00,yes
2026-06-15,Federal,2026 Q2,4500.00,yes
2026-06-15,State,2026 Q2,1200.00,no
2026-09-15,Federal,2026 Q3,4500.00,yes
2026-09-15,State,2026 Q3,1200.00,yes
2027-01-08,Federal,2026 Q4,4500.00,yes

7. Documents on hand (typed by the bookkeeper)

- Profit and loss 2026: have. From the closed books.
- Balance sheet at 31 December 2026: have. From the closed books.
- December statement, checking account: have. Closing balance 58,420.17.
- December statement, savings account: missing. Not yet downloaded.
- December statement, business card: have. Closing balance 3,184.55 owed.
- December statement, equipment loan: have. Balance 18,750.00.
- Payroll year-end summary: missing. The payroll provider sends it on
  20 January 2027.
- Estimated payment confirmations: have, except the state 2026 Q2
  confirmation, which I cannot find.
- Equipment invoices: have. Vinyl printer, bought 14 May 2026,
  18,900.00. No other equipment over 2,500 this year.
- Card processor annual summary: missing. Expected by 31 January 2027.

8. Notes on the year (typed by the owner)

- Bought a vinyl printer in May for $18,900, paid for with the equipment
  loan.
- Since September I have worked from a home office two days a week. Can
  I deduct the home office?
- No letters from the IRS or the state this year.
- The state estimated payment for 2026 Q4 has not been made yet.
- My other question: should the Studio become an S corporation for 2027?

The output

YEAR-END TAX PACKET: the Studio, tax year 2026

Draft packet for the accountant to review. It is not tax advice: it works out no tax and says nothing about how any item should be treated.
For: the accountant. Packet wanted by: Friday 29 January 2027. Prepared by: Bookkeeper, Monday 11 January 2027. Approves: Owner.
Jurisdiction: United States, Oregon. Tax year: 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026. Currency: USD.
Business structure: single-member LLC, as the owner states. Accounting basis: cash, as the owner states.
Books closed: Friday 8 January 2027, by the bookkeeper. Year-end bank and card accounts reconciled: yes, as stated.
Sources: settings; the accountant's request letter, 8 items; profit and loss for 2026; balance sheet lines at 31 December 2026, 4 accounts; vendor payments export, 17 rows; contractor details list, 7 payees; estimated tax payments, 8 rows; documents on hand, 10 lines; notes on the year, 5 lines.

ASSUMPTIONS
1. Contractor payments are counted by the date paid in the export. Payments dated after 31 December 2026 are not counted. Counted payments are shown as totals by payee, without each payment's date, which stays in the vendor payments export.
2. Only payments in Contract labour and Professional fees are counted as payments for services, as the settings say.
3. Payees are matched on the exact name in the export. Similar names are shown as possible duplicates, not merged.
4. Each estimated payment is put in the period written in its Period column.
5. The reporting threshold of $2,000 is the accountant's, from item 4 of the request letter, and "$2,000 or more" is read as at or above $2,000.
6. The business structure and the accounting basis are as the owner states them; they have not been checked.
7. The balance sheet shows the business card as -3,184.55 and the loan as -18,750.00; both are read as amounts owed, matching the card statement's 3,184.55 owed and the loan statement's balance of 18,750.00.

1. THE YEAR IN FIGURES
Total income: $412,600.00 (profit and loss).
Total expenses: $333,840.00 (profit and loss).
Net profit: $78,760.00 (profit and loss).
Contract labour: $41,850.00 (profit and loss).
Professional fees: $9,200.00 (profit and loss).
Checking account at 31 December 2026: $58,420.17 (balance sheet).
Savings account at 31 December 2026: $30,000.00 (balance sheet).
Business card at 31 December 2026: $3,184.55 owed (balance sheet).
Equipment loan at 31 December 2026: $18,750.00 owed (balance sheet).
Check: total income $412,600.00 less total expenses $333,840.00 = $78,760.00. The report prints net profit $78,760.00: agrees.
Check: checking account at 31 December 2026: balance sheet $58,420.17, statement $58,420.17: agrees.
Check: savings account at 31 December 2026: balance sheet $30,000.00, statement not supplied.
Check: business card at 31 December 2026: balance sheet $3,184.55 owed, statement $3,184.55 owed: agrees.
Check: equipment loan at 31 December 2026: balance sheet $18,750.00 owed, statement $18,750.00 owed: agrees.

2. DOCUMENTS FOR THE ACCOUNTANT
List used: the accountant's request list, 8 items.
Have 2. Partly 2. Missing 2. In this packet 1. Nothing to send 1. Not stated 0.
1. Profit and loss and balance sheet for 2026: have. Both from the closed books.
2. December 2026 statements for every bank, card and loan account: partly: the savings account statement is missing, not yet downloaded. Checking account, business card and equipment loan statements: have.
3. The payroll year-end summary from your payroll provider: missing, expected 20 January 2027.
4. Everyone you paid $2,000 or more for services in 2026, by date paid, and whether you hold a W-9 for each. Tell us who was paid by card or through a payment platform: in this packet, section 3.
5. Your 2026 federal and state estimated tax payments, with confirmations: partly: the confirmation for the state 2026 Q2 payment cannot be found. The payments are in section 4.
6. Invoices for equipment bought in 2026 costing $2,500 or more: have. One invoice: vinyl printer, bought 14 May 2026, $18,900.00. No other equipment over $2,500, as the bookkeeper states.
7. Your card processor's 2026 annual summary: missing, expected by 31 January 2027. FLAG, after the accountant's date: expected 31 January 2027; the packet is wanted by 29 January 2027.
8. Any letters from the IRS or the state during 2026: nothing to send, as the owner states.

3. CONTRACTORS
Reporting rule: $2,000 or more for services in 2026, reported on form 1099-NEC, tax details recorded on form W-9, from the accountant's request letter, item 4, and the settings.
Counted: 15 payments, $51,050.00, in Contract labour and Professional fees, dated 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026.
Shown, not counted: Contractor C Fabrication Inc., 17 July 2026, Materials, $2,880.00, not a service account. Contractor A, 6 January 2027, Contract labour, $4,600.00, paid after the year end.
At or above $2,000: 5 payees, $46,650.00.
Contractor A (Contractor A): $18,400.00 in 4 payments, Contract labour. Paid by: bank transfer. Entity type: individual. Tax details form: on file.
Contractor C Fabrication Inc. (Contractor C Fabrication Inc.): $12,300.00 in 2 payments, Contract labour. Paid by: cheque. Entity type: corporation. Tax details form: on file. FLAG, entity type: stated as a corporation.
Contractor B (Contractor B): $6,750.00 in 3 payments, Contract labour. Paid by: payment platform. Entity type: individual. Tax details form: not on file. FLAG, no form on file, payment platform: every payment went through a payment platform, as the accountant asked to be told.
Firm G (Firm G): $5,000.00 in 1 payment, Professional fees. Paid by: cheque. Entity type: not stated. Tax details form: not on file. FLAG, no form on file, entity type not stated.
Firm F LLC (Firm F LLC): $4,200.00 in 2 payments, Professional fees. Paid by: bank transfer. Entity type: LLC. Tax details form: on file. FLAG, entity type: stated as an LLC, with its tax treatment not stated.
Below $2,000: Contractor E $1,800.00, paid by card, tax details form on file, FLAG, card: paid by card, as the accountant asked to be told. Contractor D Metalwork $1,400.00, paid by bank transfer, tax details form not stated, FLAG, not on the contractor details list. Contractor D $1,200.00, paid by bank transfer, tax details form not on file, FLAG, no form on file.
Possible duplicates: Contractor D ($1,200.00) and Contractor D Metalwork ($1,400.00): combined $2,600.00, which reaches the threshold. For the owner to confirm; not merged.
Missing tax details forms: 3. Contractor B, $6,750.00. Firm G, $5,000.00. Contractor D and Contractor D Metalwork, combined $2,600.00, if they are the same payee. The owner requests each form; nothing has been sent.
Check: Contract labour counted $41,850.00; profit and loss $41,850.00: agrees.
Check: Professional fees counted $9,200.00; profit and loss $9,200.00: agrees.

4. ESTIMATED TAX PAYMENTS
For tax year 2026:
2026-04-15  Federal  2026 Q1  $4,500.00  Confirmation: held
2026-04-15  State    2026 Q1  $1,200.00  Confirmation: held
2026-06-15  Federal  2026 Q2  $4,500.00  Confirmation: held
2026-06-15  State    2026 Q2  $1,200.00  Confirmation: not held
2026-09-15  Federal  2026 Q3  $4,500.00  Confirmation: held
2026-09-15  State    2026 Q3  $1,200.00  Confirmation: held
2027-01-08  Federal  2026 Q4  $4,500.00  Confirmation: held  (paid after the year end)
Total for 2026: Federal $18,000.00 in 4 payments. State $3,600.00 in 3 payments.
Paid during 2026 for an earlier period:
2026-01-15  Federal  2025 Q4  $3,800.00  Confirmation: held
These are the payments as recorded. Whether they are enough is for the accountant.

5. QUESTIONS FOR THE ACCOUNTANT
1. Contractor C Fabrication Inc. is stated as a corporation and was paid $12,300.00 for contract labour in 2026, with a W-9 on file. How should these payments be handled for reporting? (From: section 3.)
2. Contractor B was paid $6,750.00 for contract labour in 2026, all through a payment platform, and no W-9 is on file. How should these payments be handled for reporting? (From: section 3.)
3. Firm F LLC is stated as an LLC, with its tax treatment not stated, and was paid $4,200.00 in professional fees in 2026, with a W-9 on file. How should these payments be handled for reporting? (From: section 3.)
4. Contractor D ($1,200.00) and Contractor D Metalwork ($1,400.00) may be the same payee; this has not been confirmed (action 4). If they are, the combined $2,600.00 reaches your $2,000 line. How should they be handled for reporting? (From: section 3.)
5. The Studio bought a vinyl printer in May 2026 for $18,900.00, paid for with the equipment loan. How should it be treated on the 2026 return? (From: notes on the year.)
6. "Can I deduct the home office?" The owner has worked from a home office two days a week since September 2026. (From: notes on the year, the owner's own question.)
7. The owner notes that the state estimated payment for 2026 Q4 has not been made yet. What do you advise? (From: notes on the year.)
8. "Should the Studio become an S corporation for 2027?" (From: the owner's own question.)

6. BEFORE THE PACKET GOES
1. Download the December 2026 savings account statement and check its closing balance against the balance sheet's $30,000.00. (Bookkeeper.)
2. Request a W-9 from Contractor B. (Owner.)
3. Request a W-9 from Firm G, and confirm its entity type, which the contractor details list leaves blank. (Owner.)
4. Confirm whether Contractor D and Contractor D Metalwork are the same payee. Contractor D Metalwork is not on the contractor details list, and no W-9 is on file for Contractor D. If they are the same, request a W-9. (Owner.)
5. Find the confirmation for the state 2026 Q2 payment of $1,200.00, paid 15 June 2026. (Owner.)
6. Add the payroll year-end summary when it arrives, expected 20 January 2027. (Bookkeeper.)
7. Add the card processor's 2026 annual summary when it arrives, expected by 31 January 2027, after the accountant's date of 29 January 2027. (Bookkeeper.)

Draft for the owner's approval. Nothing has been sent, filed, paid or changed.

Where it fits

What has to change for your company

  • Your reporting rule. The threshold and form names come from your accountant, for your jurisdiction and your tax year. The template never supplies them from memory.
  • Your accounts. Which expense accounts hold payments to contractors for services, and the column headings your exports use.
  • Your accountant's list. Save it each year so the packet follows your accountant's order and wording.
  • Your roles. Who prepares the packet, who approves and sends it, and who requests missing forms.
  • Your platform. It runs in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini, from files you supply. Decide which exports the assistant may read and where the approved packet is kept.

What has been checked

Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried once on its invented example in Claude on 10 November 2026; the record of that run is published with it, and lists the small edits made afterward that have not been run again. That run produced the full packet, with a payment made after the year end, a payee stated as a corporation, a payee paid through a payment platform and two names that may be one contractor; it did not reach a letter from a tax authority, books not yet closed, an export whose column headings do not match, a missing reporting threshold, or a request to say how much tax is owed. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.

Testing in your environment means running it on last year's handover, which your bookkeeper remembers, with hard cases written in advance: a contractor paid on the first days of the new year, a payee stated as a corporation, two names that may be one contractor, an export whose headings do not match, a request to say how much tax is owed, and a letter from a tax authority in the notes. The owner checks every figure against the closed books before anyone relies on the packet. Pilot acceptance-test preparation sets those cases up, and what we test before we call an AI workflow ready describes the record we keep.

The full capability template

Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.

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