Bank statements for tax prep: what your CPA or tax preparer usually asks for

When a tax preparer asks a small business for "the bank statements", they usually mean a complete, unbroken set for every account the business used during the tax year, plus enough to show the books match them. This checklist covers the statement side. Your preparer's own request list always wins, and nothing here is tax advice.

1. List every account first

• Business checking and savings, including accounts opened or closed during the year.
• Business credit cards, including cards held by employees on the same account.
• Payment and payout accounts (for example PayPal, Stripe or Square), loan and line-of-credit accounts.
• Any personal account or card that paid business expenses. Flag these for your preparer rather than leaving them out.

2. Get every statement period, with no gaps

• All 12 periods of the tax year for each account. Many preparers also like the last statement of the prior year (it holds the opening balance) and the first one of the next year (it shows checks and transfers that cleared late).
• Credit card billing periods don't match calendar months. Make sure the periods together cover the whole year.
• Download PDFs from online banking. If the bank no longer shows older months online, ask the bank for copies; some banks charge for this.
• Name each file by account and period (for example 4821_2025-03.pdf) so a missing month is obvious.

3. Check that the statements chain

1. Each statement's closing balance must equal the next statement's opening balance.
2. Within each statement: opening balance + deposits − withdrawals = closing balance.
3. A break in the chain usually means a missing statement, a second account, or a page that didn't download.

4. Match the books to the statements

• Reconcile every account in your bookkeeping software through the last day of the tax year, and keep the reconciliation reports.
• Compare the year-end balance on the balance sheet with the December (or last) statement for each account.
• Note unusual items your preparer will ask about: large deposits that aren't sales (loans, owner contributions, transfers), owner draws, and transfers between accounts.

5. Hand it over cleanly

• One folder per account, PDFs named by period, plus the reconciliation reports and a short note listing anything missing and why.
• Use the secure upload method your preparer gives you. Don't send account statements as ordinary email attachments if they offer a portal.
• Keep your own copy. How long to keep records depends on your situation, so check the IRS guidance or ask your preparer.

If the books aren't done yet

If months were never entered, the statements are the source. Work through the year-end catch-up checklist and the catch-up workflow, and fix any beginning balance problems before you hand anything over.

Bank menus change; labels here were accurate to our knowledge in Oct 2026, so check your bank's help pages if something differs.