Due Diligence You Can Defend — Not Just Checkbox 8867
Reasonable inquiry, contemporaneous documentation, and a workflow that shows both. Built for paid preparers who sign the return.
Form 8867 asks whether you met the paid-preparer due-diligence requirements for EITC, CTC/ACTC/ODC, AOTC, and head-of-household — and “yes” means you can show reasonable inquiry and contemporaneous documentation if asked. This system turns that standard into workflow: what to ask, what to retain, and how the file proves it after the season.
Paid Preparer Due Diligence & Form 8867
Paid preparers, EAs, CPAs, reviewers, and firm owners
Form 8867 compliance system: reasonable-inquiry standards, contemporaneous documentation, record retention, and penalty-risk control — guide, SOP, or complete set
Form 1040: A Professional Practitioner’s Guide
Preparers who want the 1040 workflow around the due-diligence checkpoints
Form 1040 preparation and review system connecting filing status, dependents, credits, and diagnostics into one professional workflow
What “reasonable inquiry” looks like on a real file
The standard isn't a feeling — it's inquiry and documentation that exist at the time of the return, not reconstructed later.
- What to ask for each credit that triggers Form 8867, in question form a preparer can actually use in season.
- What contemporaneous documentation to retain, and for how long.
- Where the due-diligence checkpoints sit inside a 1040 workflow so they happen before the return is signed, not after.
Why it matters
Paid-preparer due-diligence failures carry per-return penalties that scale with income, and “the client told me” is not reasonable inquiry. The defense is the file: inquiry made, answers recorded, documentation retained — every time, not just on the returns that felt risky.
Questions
No. It builds the workflow and documentation the standard asks for; outcomes depend on your facts, clients, and implementation.
EITC, CTC/ACTC/ODC, AOTC, and head-of-household filing status.
No — it's the workflow around the form: inquiry standards, documentation, retention, and review structure, available as a guide, SOP, toolkit, or complete set.
Educational and drafting material, not legal or tax advice for a specific situation, and no guarantee of any penalty outcome.
Make due diligence a workflow, not a worry
The Form 8867 system — guide, SOP, toolkit, or the complete set — delivered instantly.
Get the due-diligence system