Table of contents:
Types of Tax Questionnaires (TQs)
There are five TQ types:
Expat (U.S. citizen/G.C. holder residing outside of the U.S.);
USA (U.S. citizen/G.C. holder residing in the U.S.);
NRA (Non-Resident Alien - non-U.S. citizen/non-G.C. holder residing outside of the U.S. with U.S. tax requirements);
NRA USA (non-U.S. citizen/non-G.C. holder residing in the U.S.);
FBAR only is utilized by participants of the Streamlined Program.
Create Tax Questionnaire
To ensure that we only ask you questions relevant to your life situation, fill out a short introductory Questionnaire about each tax year, and the system automatically adjusts the type of questions. For example, we will not ask you about your spouse if you are single.
In your TFX portal:
Go to the Tax questionnaires page and click the Create New Questionnaire button (if you have no TQs) or Add tax year.
Select One year or More than one year of tax returns we should prepare for you.
Note: if you file more than one year and you are behind on six or more years, we will offer you the option to join the Streamlined Program for delinquent taxpayers. You will need to create 6 TQs.
Select a year you would like us to prepare and click Next step.
Indicate whether you were a US citizen, Green Card holder, or none of the above and whether you lived in the U.S. or abroad during the selected year. Later you can change this information at any point if needed.
Click Move to tax questionnaire.
If you have at least one tax questionnaire, the system will allow you to import data by selecting a tax year and clicking the Import button. If you don't want to copy answers from the previous TQ, click Skip.
Select whether you want to file a personal tax return, non-personal tax return, or both, and click Next step.
Provide answers to Yes/No questions and click Next step.
Provide answers to additional Yes/No questions and click Next step.
Note: once you have created a TQ, you can change your answers in the Life & Income TQ section.
The tax questionnaire will be created. Continue filling in the answers.
Import answers from a prior year
To save time when completing multiple tax questionnaires, you can easily copy data from a previously filled questionnaire. Please note that some answers, such as those related to income, expenses, and uploaded documents (which tend to change each year), will not be copied when you click Import. We recommend thoroughly reviewing all questions and answers after importing data from prior questionnaires to ensure accuracy.
Watch a short video on how to import responses from a prior year:
Streamlined Program
This program requires filing three tax returns and six FBARs. For detailed information on which years to file, please refer to Streamlined Procedures: Which years to file? Currently, the filing years span from 2018 to 2023, and the following questionnaires are required:
Three standard Tax Questionnaires for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023 will inquire about your income;
Six FBAR only Questionnaires for the years 2018 to 2023 will gather information about your non-U.S. bank accounts, regardless of their balances.
Watch a short video on how to create Tax Questionnaires for Streamlined Procedures:
Submit Tax Questionnaire
Once you are done with all of your questionnaires, take the following two steps to submit them for review by a tax preparer:
Submit a questionnaire for automatic verification
While editing a specific TQ, click the All Done – Submit TQ button:
Or from the page with the list of all questionnaires, click the Submit button next to each TQ.
Once the TQ is submitted, the system will analyze it and ask you to complete the questions that were skipped:
Required questions were skipped
Unanswered required questions will be listed prompting you to answer them. Please provide answers to all of them, otherwise, the system won't let you submit your TQ for a tax preparer review.
Recommended questions were skipped
If you answered all required questions but skipped the recommended ones, the system will show you the number of questions you skipped and saved as drafts (if any). You are not required to answer all the recommended questions, but the more info you provide to us, the better we can prepare your return.
The next step is to click:
Finished, submit tax year – if you do not want to answer any more recommended questions.
Not ready, still making edits – to return to the Questionnaire and answer the remaining questions.
❗ Important note: you can continue to complete other Questionnaires after you submit one TQ.
Send a questionnaire for review by a tax preparer
When all Tax Questionnaires you would like us to work on are submitted, click the Send Me an Engagement Letter button on the Tax Questionnaires page:
Or when finished with the last questionnaire:
❗ Important note: if you create several questionnaires and submit not all of them, the Send Me an Engagement Letter button will be greyed out. You should submit all questionnaires to be able to click this button. When you hover over the Send Me an Engagement Letter button, you will see the 'Please submit all tax years' message.
Next steps:
Within three business days, your tax preparer will review your TQ(s), analyze your responses, and send you an Engagement Letter, which includes the scope of work you are asking us to perform and the costs before we start to work on your tax return.
If you have questions about the scope of work, ask them and make a prepayment if required.
Your tax preparer will start working on your tax return.
Manage Tax Questionnaire
View & edit questionnaires
Our Tax Questionnaire saves your information automatically as you go. You can always take a break and return to your questionnaire later. To do it:
On the Tax Questionnaires page, click the Tax Year link.
Edit the TQ and click All Done - Submit TQ when finished.
❗ Important note: if your file cabinet is locked refer to the File cabinet with files & TQs is locked article for more information on how to unlock it.
Change questionnaire type
There are five types of TQs available, each corresponding to a different residency status: USA, Expat, NRA, NRA USA (for non-U.S. citizens who meet the Substantial Presence Test), and FBAR only. If you initially created an NRA questionnaire but later need a U.S. citizen/Green Card holder questionnaire or an FBAR only TQ, you can switch between these types at any time. To do it:
Open your TQ and click the Gear ⚙ icon at the left.
Click Change TQ Type and select the appropriate type of residency: USA, Expat, NRA, NRA USA, or FBAR only.
Click Save.
Search for a specific question
You may use the Search tool to jump to any question or search for something specific in the Question help.
Click on the Magnifying glass icon.
Type any word or phrase in the Search field at the top.
Click on the Magnifying glass icon again.
Click Go to jump to the question.
Highlight unanswered questions
To identify unanswered questions, swipe the toggle for Highlight unanswered on the left side. The empty questions will be highlighted. You will also see exclamation point ❕ icons next to such questions.
Check the information about each question
If you are unsure how to answer a question, please use the question help feature before contacting your tax preparer. Each question has a More info button:
Hover with the mouse over the question to make the More info button appear and click it.
Read the information carefully.
Click X to return to the TQ.
Add comments to questions
You can provide additional information/comments regarding each question.
Hover with the mouse over the question/file upload dialogue to make the Add comment button appear and click it.
Type your note and click Save Extra Comment.
You will see your comment below the question.
Also, there is a 6. Notes TQ section where you can provide additional details or information unrelated to any question. Your notes are auto-saved.
Submit your questionnaire and let your assigned tax preparer review your comments and notes.
Mark questions as draft
To mark a question as a draft, and return to it later, follow these steps:
Hover with the mouse over the question to make the Flag icon appear and click it.
To view all your answers marked as a draft, click on the blue banner at the top or navigate to the Gear ⚙ button and swipe the toggle for Show marked draft.
Show question numbers
Suppose there are some questions you would like to discuss with your tax preparer. It is a good idea to refer to the question numbers. To do it:
Click the Gear ⚙ icon on the left side.
Swipe the toggle for Show question numbers to see the numbers next to each question.
Preview all answers on one page and print TQ
Click the Gear ⚙ icon and swipe the toggle for Preview on one page.
Use the Ctrl+P (Windows) or Command+P (macOS) keyboard shortcut. The Print option may also be found in your browser's menu (you can usually access it by clicking three dots or the Gear ⚙ button).
Adjust the print settings and click Print.
History of changes: How to roll back to a previous value
Navigate to Tax Questionnaires, hover over one of your TQs, and click the History button next to it.
A page showing the History Of Tax Questionnaire will open. The changes are sorted by date, and the most recent changes are displayed at the top.
Double-click the value to highlight it, then right-click and select Copy.
Right-click the Tax Questionnaires on the left side, then select the Open link in new tab.
Click the Tax Year link to edit the TQ.
Double-click the value in the TQ to highlight it, then right-click and select Paste.
Delete questionnaire
If you want to start from scratch, you may delete a previously created TQ:
Navigate to the Tax Questionnaires page, hover with the mouse over one of your TQs, and click the Delete button next to it.
Answer a control question, then click Delete.