Form 13690 – Income & Deductions Checklist Guide

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If you have heard Form 13690 called a filing extension or a penalty relief form, you are not alone, and the myth costs people time every season. Form 13690 (ENG/SP) is the IRS bilingual Income and Deductions Checklist, a one-page intake aid in English and Spanish that lists 8 preprinted document categories and 3 blank write-in rows. It is not filed with the IRS, it is not an extension, and it carries no OMB number.

What it does is help taxpayers gather W-2s, 1099s, mortgage interest, charity receipts, and similar items before a return is prepared. When clients actually need more time or relief, the form changes: Form 4868 for an individual filing extension, Form 4768 for an estate filing under Form 706, Form 2350 for those abroad relying on the foreign earned income exclusion, and Form 843 or Form 8857 for penalty relief and innocent spouse cases. Below I cover where the checklist fits at the front of intake and the forms it is so often confused with.

Key Takeaways

• Form 13690 is an IRS Income and Deductions Checklist, not an extension or payment form. It helps clients gather W‑2s, 1099s, mortgage interest, charity receipts, and similar items.
• If you need more time to file an individual return, use Form 4868 or pay electronically and designate the payment as an extension, you then have until mid October to file, but you still need to pay by the April deadline.
• If you need an estate tax filing or payment extension for Form 706, use Form 4768, which covers automatic six month filing extensions and discretionary extensions, plus extensions of time to pay.
• If you are abroad and need extra time because of the foreign earned income exclusion tests, request time using Form 2350.
• For penalty or interest relief and certain refunds, review Form 843 instructions, and for innocent spouse relief use Form 8857, neither of these use Form 13690.

What Form 13690 Actually Is

Form 13690 is a simple, one page, bilingual checklist from the IRS that prompts taxpayers to bring the documents preparers need to complete a return. It was created to reduce back and forth, prevent missed deductions, and speed up reviews, especially in VITA and community prep settings. The IRS’ forms library still lists it as “Income and Deductions Checklist (English‑Spanish), Rev. April 2006.”

In practice, firms use Form 13690 as a starter intake sheet for individuals. Think of it as the minimum viable checklist, a prompt that reminds clients, bring all W‑2s, 1099s, mortgage interest, property taxes, charitable receipts, medical expenses, child care receipts plus the care provider's EIN or SSN (the checklist explicitly requires the identifying number of the care provider, and Form 2441's Child and Dependent Care Credit is blocked without it), Social Security numbers or ITINs, and last year’s return. When you standardize this step, reviewers spend less time chasing documents and more time catching real issues.

Quick truth, checklists are not busywork, they are time machines for your review queue.

What Form 13690 Is Not

It is not an extension form, and it does not grant more time to file or pay. Here is what to use instead.

• Individual filing extension, use Form 4868, or pay electronically and mark the payment as an extension. Filing time usually moves to mid October, payment is still due in April.
• Estate tax extension or time to pay, use Form 4768, which covers automatic six month filing extensions for Form 706 series, and allows discretionary filing or payment extensions for cause.
• Extra time tied to foreign earned income exclusion tests, use Form 2350.
• Penalty relief, interest abatements, or certain refund claims, see Form 843 instructions for what situations qualify, do not use Form 13690.
• Innocent spouse, separation of liability, or equitable relief, file Form 8857, the IRS considers all types of relief from the same request.

Quick Comparison, The Right Form For The Job

Form	Purpose	Who Uses It	Extends Filing, Payment, or Neither
Form 13690	Income and Deductions Checklist for document gathering	Firms, preparers, taxpayers	Neither, it is a checklist only
Form 4868	Automatic time to file individual return	Individuals and preparers	Filing only, pay by April date
Form 4768	Estate tax filing and, if needed, time to pay	Executors and estate reps	Filing, plus optional payment time for cause
Form 2350	Extra filing time to meet FEIE tests	U.S. taxpayers abroad meeting FEIE tests	Filing only
Form 843	Claim certain refunds or request abatement	Individuals and businesses	Neither, it is a claim or abatement request
Form 8857	Innocent spouse, separation, equitable relief	Married or formerly married taxpayers	Neither, it is a relief request

References, IRS pages for each form are linked via citations in this article.

Why Your Firm Should Still Use Form 13690

If you run a CPA or EA firm, your problem is rarely leads, it is delivery. Intake gaps cascade into review delays, rework, and missed deadlines. A standard checklist like Form 13690, paired with your firm’s templates, reduces back and forth and cuts idle time in review. Use it as the front door for individual engagements, then layer your own workpaper standards and naming conventions so seniors and partners can review faster with fewer interrupts.

Accountably’s take, teams that standardize intake, file naming, and review notes do not just “collect documents,” they protect the review calendar. We see fewer resubmission loops and smoother handoffs when every return begins with the same file logic and checklists.

How To Deploy Form 13690 Inside Your Firm

Step 1, Customize The Checklist For Your Client Base

Start with the IRS one pager as your baseline. Add a short, client friendly cover note that explains, if you bring everything from this list in one batch, we can give you a clean draft faster. Include a few firm specific items your market tends to miss, for example, K‑1s from passive partnerships, HSA forms, child care provider EIN, 529 distributions, and state 1099s.

Practical tip, convert the checklist into a fillable intake form, then publish a PDF and a secure portal version. Make every field required when it should be, for example, taxpayer and spouse SSNs, birth dates for dependents, address changes, prior year AGI if you e‑file.

Step 2, Lock Your Naming Conventions Before Peak Season

Your reviewers will thank you if the documents arrive labeled the same way every time. Pick a short convention that fits inside your DMS or practice system, for example, 2025_1040_TaxpayerName_W2_Employer.pdf. Use the same pattern for state returns and third party statements. Add version control tags like v1, v2 when clients upload corrections, and train staff to replace the old file only after review notes are cleared. This is where a checklist earns its keep, the file names match the intake items, so reviewers find what they need fast.

Step 3, Integrate With Your Workflow, Not Around It

The form should live where your teams already work. Add Form 13690 to your 1040 engagement template, tie required documents to task checklists in your practice management system, and block review until the core set is present. Use escalation rules that flag missing items early, not at the end of the queue. Even a simple “missing document” tag on the job can shave hours off review because it prevents blind starts.

Step 4, Train Clients, Not Just Staff

Send the checklist during onboarding and again with the organizer reminder. Record a 3 minute screen share showing how to upload to your portal, where to scan from a phone, and how to name files. Add a short text reminder template for your client success team, Hi, it is [firm], your return is ready for review once we receive the Form 1098 for your mortgage and the daycare EIN. Please upload to the portal with the checklist attached.

Step 5, Bake In Quality Control

Pair the checklist with an internal QC step. Before a preparer clicks complete, require a quick confirmation, all items in the checklist are either attached or marked not applicable with a reason. That simple gate keeps half finished returns out of review piles.

Clearing Up Common Myths

• Myth, Form 13690 grants time to file. Reality, Form 13690 is only a checklist, if you need time to file an individual return, use Form 4868 or pay electronically and mark the payment as an extension.
• Myth, Form 13690 extends Form 706. Reality, estate returns use Form 4768 for filing and payment extensions.
• Myth, Form 13690 helps with foreign earned income timing. Reality, taxpayers who need time to meet FEIE tests use Form 2350.
• Myth, Form 13690 is for penalty relief or refunds. Reality, see Form 843 instructions for certain abatements and refunds, or Form 8857 for spouse relief.

The SEO Friendly, Client Friendly Explainer You Can Share

Feel free to reuse the explanation below in your organizer emails or portal messages.

Form 13690 is the IRS Income and Deductions Checklist, a one page list of documents we need to prepare your return. It does not extend your filing or payment deadlines. For filing extensions, we will file Form 4868 or process an IRS electronic payment marked as an extension. For estate returns we use Form 4768. If you have questions about penalty relief or refunds, we will advise you on the right path.

Comparison Table, Extensions Clients Ask About

Situation	Correct IRS Form	What It Does	When To File
Need more time to file a 1040	4868 or pay with extension designation	Extends time to file, not to pay	By the April due date
Need more time to file and possibly pay Form 706	4768	Automatic six month filing extension, optional discretionary filing extension, and potential time to pay for cause	By the original 706 due date
Abroad and need extra time to meet FEIE	2350	Discretionary filing time to meet bona fide residence or physical presence tests	By the original filing due date
Seek abatement of certain penalties or interest	843	Claim refund or request abatement in limited cases	See Form 843 instructions
Spouse relief from tax on a joint return	8857	Requests innocent spouse, separation of liability, or equitable relief	As soon as you know, specific timelines apply

For details, see IRS guidance linked in the citations throughout this guide.

Step By Step, Using Form 13690 With Clients

Before Documents Arrive

• Send Form 13690 with your organizer, highlight the three most commonly missed items for your client, for example, HSA forms, daycare EIN, property tax receipts.
• Provide a one page upload guide, include a short list of acceptable file types and your file naming pattern.
• Offer clients a quick checklist quiz, a 30 second form that confirms what they have and what is pending, so your team can plan review windows.

As Documents Come In

• Triage within one business day. Mark the job ready for prep only when the core set is complete.
• If anything is missing, send a gentle, specific nudge. We still need your 1099‑R from Fidelity, and your mortgage 1098. Uploading both will move you to the review queue.
• Keep a lightweight audit trail. Date stamp the checklist and store it with the client’s workpapers. This helps if a notice arrives later.

During Preparation

• Match every line of the checklist to a workpaper folder, W‑2s, 1099s, 1098s, charity receipts, medical expenses if you itemize, education forms, and child care.
• Use tick marks and short review notes. For example, “1098 reviewed, matches escrow statement, property tax double checked, no SALT cap carryover issues.”
• If a document conflicts with prior year data, stop and clear it before moving to review.

During Review

• Senior reviewers should see a neat file tree that mirrors the checklist. They should not hunt for documents.
• Use a pre review check that catches empty folders, mismatched names, or missing pages. A two minute sweep prevents most rework.

After Filing

• Archive the completed checklist with the signed e‑file authorization.
• Send a short thank you note with a link to next year’s checklist, clients appreciate the clarity and it builds habits that make April less stressful.

Quality, Security, And Client Trust

Your checklist will surface sensitive information, so handle it with the same discipline you apply to workpapers.

• Use secure portals or encrypted exchange only, never accept unprotected email for SSNs, W‑2s, or 1099s.
• Limit access by role, and keep audit logs inside your practice system.
• Train staff to avoid local storage and to use standardized naming only inside approved folders.

Where Accountably Fits

If your firm struggles with delivery, not demand, your issue is usually structure. A checklist like Form 13690 works best when it sits inside a disciplined workflow that includes SOPs, standardized workpapers, layered reviews, turnaround SLAs, and clear escalation. Accountably builds and operates that delivery structure with trained offshore teams that work in your systems and templates, so your partners get time back for strategy and advisory while keeping quality and security tight. Use a checklist, then protect it with the right process, capacity, and review control.

Note, we mention Accountably where it adds value, the rest of this guide is purely educational.

Timing, Extensions, And The Rules Your Clients Ask About

Individual Filing Extensions

For individual returns, the IRS gives an automatic six month filing extension if you either file Form 4868 or make an electronic payment and select extension as your reason. This extension covers filing, not payment, so interest still accrues on unpaid balances after the April due date. Share the IRS overview in client emails to reduce confusion.

Clients abroad get an automatic two month filing extension if they meet the rules, generally through mid June for calendar year filers, and they can then file Form 4868 to reach mid October. The IRS FAQs explain that the return needs to be postmarked by the mid June date to qualify.

Estate Filing And Payment Extensions

Executors use Form 4768 for two related needs, an automatic six month extension to file the Form 706 series, and, when needed, a discretionary extension or time to pay for cause. Remind clients, paying as much as possible by the original due date limits interest, an extension to file is not an extension to pay unless the IRS grants payment time under section 6161.

Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Timing

Form 2350 is a special case for taxpayers who expect to meet the foreign earned income exclusion tests but only after the regular due date. It provides additional filing time so the taxpayer can qualify, it does not extend time to pay. The IRS page clearly lays out who should use it and when.

If You Came Here Looking For Penalty Relief Or Refund Claims

Form 13690 will not help with abatements or refunds. If a client needs relief from certain penalties or interest, review the Instructions for Form 843, which cover what you can and cannot request, and how to document reasonable cause. The IRS updated those instructions in December 2024, and they clarify limits and exclusions.

If the issue is tax assessed on a jointly filed return and your client seeks relief from a spouse’s item, use Form 8857. The IRS will evaluate innocent spouse, separation of liability, and equitable relief from one request and explains timelines on its overview page.

Sample Client Email You Can Copy

Subject, Your tax document checklist and how to request extra time

Hi [Client], attached is your one page tax document checklist, Form 13690. Please upload everything on the list to your portal folder using the file names shown in the guide. If you need more time to file, tell us before the April date so we can submit a filing extension. Filing extensions give more time to file, not more time to pay, so we will still estimate and pay by April to reduce interest.

Thanks, [Your Name], [Your Firm]

Troubleshooting, Common Intake Mistakes That Slow Reviews

From my side of the desk, most slowdowns on a 1040 review trace back to intake, not preparation. Form 13690 was designed to catch those gaps at the door, and the same five mistakes show up every season.

Wrap Up

If you want a smoother season, treat Form 13690 as your entry gate, a short checklist that keeps production stable and review time focused. It does not file anything, it prevents chaos. Pair it with clear naming, live tracking, and a documented review path. Your partners will spend less time chasing documents and more time with clients.

If you need help building the structure around that checklist, from SOPs and workpapers to live capacity planning, Accountably integrates trained offshore teams into your systems with review protection and workflow discipline. That way, you scale production without giving up control or quality.

Compliance Notes And Sources

• IRS confirms Form 13690 is an Income and Deductions Checklist, English and Spanish, Rev. April 2006.
• Individual filing extensions, IRS overview and news reminders.
• Estate filing and payment extensions, About Form 4768 and instructions.
• FEIE timing, About Form 2350.
• Penalty relief and refunds, Instructions for Form 843.
• Innocent spouse, IRS overview and timing.

Reusable Checklists

These three checklists are copy-paste ready for your intake SOP. The data-checklist ids drive in-browser checkbox state with localStorage, so a preparer or reviewer can work through them without losing progress between sessions.

Keep 13690 (ENG/SP) Season From Stalling

Intake season looks small until the documents start arriving. The hidden cost on a 1040 desk is not return prep itself, it is the chase for missing W-2s, 1099s, mortgage statements, and childcare provider TINs after the meeting. Form 13690 (ENG/SP) was published in April 2006 with 8 preprinted document categories and 3 blank write-in rows (per the IRS Form 13690 (ENG/SP) PDF, Catalog Number 40139U) for exactly this reason: VITA and TCE sites were losing hours to that chase, and the IRS standardized the intake gate.

The fix is to treat the checklist as a delivery gate, not a courtesy handout. When the 3 blank rows are pre-filled per client situation before intake and the preprinted items are walked through in the client's language, return prep starts with a complete file and review cycles shrink from days to hours.

• Pre-fill the 3 blank write-in rows for the client's situation (self-employment, brokerage, K-1, rental, education) since the 8 preprinted items cover only the most common 1040 inputs.
• Require the childcare provider's EIN or SSN to be written on the receipt itself (item 8), since the Child and Dependent Care Credit on Form 2441 is forfeited without it absent due diligence proof.
• Deliver the full bilingual ENG/SP page, not a single column; the Spanish text appears first (bold) and English second (italic) on every row.
• Store the completed 13690 in your DMS as a workpaper, even though it is never filed with the IRS, so the intake audit trail is intact for review.
• Map each checked item to a target filename in your client portal so uploads match your firm's SOP before the return is opened.

Accountably builds intake discipline into your workflow as part of our tax preparation services, so checklists arrive complete and return prep starts on a clean file. The checklist itself is a small artifact; the discipline behind it protects your review hours.

FAQs

Is Form 13690 required by the IRS?

No, it is optional. It is an IRS provided checklist you can give to clients to help them gather documents. The official listing shows it as an Income and Deductions Checklist, Rev. April 2006.

Where do I file Form 13690?

You do not file it with the IRS. Use it inside your intake process, store a copy with your workpapers, and keep it in your DMS for your audit trail.

What should I use for a 1040 filing extension?

Use Form 4868 or make an IRS electronic payment and mark the payment as an extension, both give you time to file, not time to pay.

Does Form 13690 extend Form 706?

No. Executors use Form 4768 for estate return filing extensions and, if needed, time to pay.

I am overseas and need more time because of FEIE, what now?

File Form 2350 if you need extra filing time to meet the bona fide residence or physical presence test, it is for filing time only.

Which form handles penalty abatement or refunds?

Review the Instructions for Form 843 for certain abatements and refund claims, and use Form 8857 for spouse relief.