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How to get started with TFX: Receive a quote

Find out what your return will cost before you fill in a single figure. Answer a few quick questions about your situation, and you will have your price and scope of work in minutes.

Note: This new quote-first flow applies to your first filing with us if you sign up after September 24, 2026. From your second year onward, you will follow our standard flow: complete our standard (full) tax questionnaire first, and your tax preparer will send an engagement letter with your quote once they have reviewed your answers.

How to get started with TFX: new flow

1. Create your TFX account

Sign up with your email address, Apple ID, or Google Account.

2. Answer a short questionnaire

The short set of questions helps to determine what your tax preparer will file and prepare a quote. You don't need to provide figures, documents, or any sensitive information at this stage.

Start it either automatically or from the Tax Questionnaires tab.

Questions are grouped by topic:

  1. What you need

  2. About you

  3. Your income situation

  4. Trusts, entities & gifts

  5. US state filing

  6. Non-US accounts & investment funds

  7. Less common situations

Move between topics by clicking Next in the bottom right corner, or a topic name on the left.

If something applies to you, we may ask a few follow-ups, for example, how many rental properties or PFICs you have.

Not sure about an answer? Select "I'm not sure — I'll share this later":

We will add the related IRS forms to your engagement letter as items you may need, and they won't count toward the total. An unsure answer never blocks you. Once you complete our standard tax questionnaire, the assigned tax preparer will review your answers and issue an additional engagement letter for the scope of work not covered by the first engagement letter.

Something unusual in your situation? Describe it in "Less common situations". This note isn't used to generate the quote — your tax preparer reads it after you prepay and sign.

Note: Each question in the short questionnaire comes with short help text underneath explaining what we're asking. This questionnaire doesn't have the "More info" options you may see in our standard tax questionnaire. If anything is still unclear, start a chat and our AI CS agent will answer straight away.

3. Review your quote

At Review & sign, you will find an engagement letter (EL) generated automatically from your answers. It lists the IRS forms and services your tax preparer will file once assigned, with a price for each.

❗ Important note: The EL is not a bill. It doesn't show your payments the way an invoice does. It reflects the scope of work you're asking us to perform, and what it costs.

4. Change your answers before you pay

Scroll to the bottom of the engagement letter and click "← Back to my answers". You will land back in the short questionnaire, where you can update anything and get a revised quote.

5. Prepay and sign the engagement letter

Prepayment confirms your commitment to the terms and is required before preparation begins.

  1. Go to Review & sign.

  2. Scroll to the payment section of the engagement letter.

    1. Option 1: To prepay the full amount, select One payment and click Make payment.

    2. Option 2: To prepay a deposit:

      1. Click Other options.

      2. Select Partial payment and click Make payment.

  3. Select a payment method, check "I have read and agree to the TFX Terms of service", and click Continue.

  4. Complete the payment and click Pay, or, if you are making a transfer, click I have paid.

  5. Once payment is processed, click Sign engagement letter.

❗ Important notes:

  • For Wise, ACH domestic, and international bank transfers, we track the payment manually and credit the funds to your TFX account balance within 1–5 business days. Once you see the credit, come back and sign your EL.

  • Once you pay, your answers and your quote are locked. You'll see a warning at the top of the engagement letter:

    and an error message if you try to edit.

    Our Customer Success and Onboarding Specialists can't change your answers or your quote at this point, but they can flag your concerns to your tax preparer.

How to get help if you have questions about the price or the services in your engagement letter

Option 1: Ask about a specific service

  1. Scroll to the prepayment section of the engagement letter and click "I have questions about a service on this letter".

  2. Type your question in the box under the relevant IRS form or service and click Send to our team.

  3. Our tax team will review your concerns and reply by email within 3 business days.

Option 2: Contact Support

  1. At the bottom of the engagement letter, click Contact Support.

  2. Choose:

    1. Chat with us — opens your Messages section, where you can compose an email to the Help Desk.

    2. Schedule a call — opens a Calendly calendar. Pick a time and leave a number, and we'll call you back.

6. Create and complete the full tax questionnaire

Once you have signed your engagement letter, you can either upload your prior tax return (Form 1040) or click "Don't want to upload a return& Continue →".


Create and complete our standard tax questionnaire for one tax year, several years, or the 6 questionnaires required for the Streamlined Procedures program. We will prefill part of it from what you have already told us. For step-by-step instructions, see Tax Questionnaire: Create, manage, and submit.

Upload your supporting documents — wage statements, IRS forms, and anything else relevant — within the tax questionnaire or in the Documents section.

7. Submit your questionnaire(s) for review

Click Submit when your tax questionnaire(s) is complete.

Notes:

  1. Don't wait for a missing figure or document. Leave a comment in the questionnaire and we will start preparing your return while you track it down.

  2. No need to click Send me an engagement letter (as in our standard flow), since you have already received and signed one.

What happens next

  1. We review your submission. Your assigned tax preparer goes through your tax questionnaire(s) and uploaded documents in detail and checks that we have everything we need. If anything is missing, you will get an email asking you to add it inside your tax questionnaire(s). Responding promptly keeps things moving.

  2. If needed, we issue an additional engagement letter (EL). If your full questionnaire reveals forms the short one didn't capture, we will send an additional EL reflecting what your return actually requires, along with a waiver if one applies.

    1. If some services turn out not to be needed, we will send you an email and, when the tax documents are prepared, your tax preparer will issue a bill for the lower amount. Any spare credit from your full prepayment stays on your TFX account — it never expires and can be used for our tax services in future years.

  3. You sign the additional EL. Your first engagement letter was based on the short questionnaire. This one reflects the full picture, so the scope and quote are accurate before we begin.

  4. We prepare your return. Our preparation timeline — 15 business days on average — starts from your signature on that letter.

Still have questions? Book a free discovery call

A 15-minute call with one of our Onboarding Specialists to talk through your situation before you commit to anything. Worth doing if your circumstances are complicated, you are behind on filings, or you are not sure what you need. Choose a time and give us a number to reach you.

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