Sending a Tax Return for Electronic Review and Signing

You can send completed tax returns from CCH Axcess™ Tax to a client's hub. From there, the client can open, review, and sign the return electronically. The Form 8879 column on the Requests Dashboard can help you track whether one, both, or neither of the signers has signed the return.

Prerequisites

Your firm must configure firm-level eSign options for both Tax and Client Collaboration in the Firm Settings and Defaults before you can use this feature. Also, eSign options must be set either in the return configuration set or in the return itself. See About Electronic Signatures for more information about the required setup.

Note: Additional information about the eSign process is also included in the eSign topics in the CCH Axcess Tax Help.

Staff Workflow in the Tax Return

Once all necessary configuration has been completed, prepare and calculate your returns in CCH Axcess Tax. All diagnostics that would disqualify the return for electronic filing must be cleared.

When the return is ready to be signed, do the following in CCH Axcess Tax to send the return for eSigning in the Client Collaboration client hub:

  1. Click EFS in the Export group on the Import/Export tab.
  2. Select Returns from the menu.
  3. Select the return parts to file electronically.
  4. Select Send for eSign.
  5. Select Publish eSign copy to Client Collaboration.
  6. Click Next.
  7. Click Export.
  8. When the upload is completed, click Finish.
  9. Click OK.

Client Workflow

The taxpayer and spouse (if included in the return) are notified via email that the return is ready for their review and signature. The email provides instructions for starting the signing process and describes the security measures that are in place to ensure that their return is safe. A Review and Sign task is also added to the Tasks tab in the client hub.

Note: Reminder emails are sent to the taxpayer and spouse every seven days until the return is signed.

To review and sign the return, your client does the following:

  1. Click the Begin Signing link at the bottom of the notification email, or by logging in to the client hub and clicking Go To Return in the Review & Sign item on the Tasks tab.

    2. Note: A spouse who appears in the return but was not added to the Client Collaboration request must initiate the signing process from the notification email.

  2. Click Sign Form 8879.
  3. Click Yes to continue to the AssureSign site.
  4. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the Knowledge Based AuthenticationClosed A multi-factor authentication method that asks the user to questions that only that user would know the answer to. process, clicking Continue at the end of each step.
  5. Enter a password that you can use in the future to access the return. Make sure to write down or otherwise record this password.
  6. Read the terms and conditions, and then select the I have read and agree to the terms and conditions check box.
  7. Click Start Signing.
  8. Review your tax return in the window on the right. Contact your tax preparer if you have any questions or concerns about the return.
  9. If all concerns about your return have been resolved, follow the instructions of the left side of the screen to sign your return, and then click Continue.
  10. Click Finish.
  11. If all signatures have been received, you can click Download to download the signed return.

Once the client has signed Form 8879, they will receive an email notification with information about how to view the return. The date a return is signed displays on the Review & Sign card on the Tasks tab in the client hub. It will also be accessible in the Document Locker for two years.

Note: Tax return packages remain in the Document Locker. They cannot be deleted prior to their expiration date.

Post-Signature Workflow

Your firm can release the return for electronic filing in the Electronic Filing Status System once the return has been signed. See the CCH Axcess Tax Help for more information.

The signed return is automatically placed in the Document Locker, where both your client and the firm's staff can access it. Your staff can also download the package using the icon in the Form 8879 column on the Awaiting Return Signature, Return Signature Received, or Finalized workflow status pages.