Review Your Business and Rental Return Before Signing

What to check first

Before signing a tax return authorization, review the complete proposed return against an owner-prepared list of entities, properties, major transactions and payments. A refund or balance-due summary cannot show whether the business and rental schedules are complete.

By AE Tax Advisors Team · Published September 26, 2026

Start with a one-page change list

Write down what changed during the year: a new company, ownership transfer, property purchase, property sale, refinancing, large equipment purchase, new state activity or change in rental use. Next to each event, identify the supporting document and the return schedule or workpaper where the preparer addressed it. This helps you review facts you know without pretending to recreate the entire tax calculation.

Ask for the complete review copy early enough to resolve questions. Confirm that the tax year, taxpayer name and entity classification are right. For an owner with several LLCs, distinguish the legal entity from the return on which its activity is reported. An LLC name alone does not establish its federal tax classification.

Reconcile the business and property list

Compare the businesses and rentals you actually operated or owned with the schedules in the packet. Look for an omitted property, a sold building that remains on the active asset list, or an ownership percentage that has not changed after a transfer. Confirm that the preparer received all expected K-1s and knows which documents remain preliminary.

For each business, compare the final bookkeeping profit to the tax workpaper and ask about significant adjustments. For each rental, compare rent totals and major expenses with the annual property statement. Differences can be appropriate; the objective is an understandable bridge. Do not assume book income must equal taxable income.

Check payments separately from deductions

Create a payment list with dates, amounts, tax agencies, payment types and tax years. Compare the list with the return’s payment entries. A bank debit alone does not prove that a payment belongs to the correct taxpayer or period. Keep federal and state payments separate, and distinguish an extension payment from an estimated installment. Ask about any prior-year refund intended for the current year.

Example: a sale missing from the review packet

Imagine a landlord sold one of four rentals in July. The draft contains four full-year rental summaries and no sale workpaper. That does not establish the correct sale treatment, but it identifies a concrete question before signing. Send the settlement statement, sale agreement and prior depreciation schedule. Ask the preparer to explain the disposition reporting and revise the packet if necessary. This hypothetical check is more useful than comparing this year’s refund with last year’s.

Authorize the version you actually reviewed

Form 8879 is the declaration and signature authorization used for an individual return filed through an electronic return originator. Entity filings may use different authorizations. Match the authorization to the taxpayer, period and final return version. If figures change during review, ask the preparer to confirm what updated authorization is needed before transmission.

Resolve open questions in writing or label them for follow-up.
Verify refund account and payment instructions through the secure process.
Save the final return, authorization and filing acknowledgment together.
Agree who handles estimates, state filings and remaining notices.

Use the downloadable owner review checklist to track questions. If a return has already been filed, move to the lookback review process rather than treating a draft revision as a completed correction.

Sources and scope

IRS: Form 8879, e-file signature authorization

Sources checked September 26, 2026. Examples are hypothetical. This educational guide does not determine whether your return is incorrect or which filing procedure applies. Editorial policy.

Talk Through Your Situation

Every situation turns on its own facts. Schedule a discovery call and we will walk through what applies to you, what it is worth, and what it would take to put it in place.

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Reconcile the same transaction on both returns

When several preparers work on related entities, specify who owns the final reconciliation. Rent, loans, reimbursements and asset purchases should have consistent descriptions and amounts. K-1 timing can affect the owner return, and a revised entity return may require an owner-level change. Keep an unresolved-items list until all affected filings agree.

Illustrative decision

The operating company records $48,000 of rent, while the property records show $42,000 received. The $6,000 difference may be an unpaid amount, a misclassification or a timing issue. Resolve it using the agreements and accounting methods instead of forcing one return to match the other without analysis.

Records and decisions to prepare

Compare intercompany ledgers
Reconcile K-1s and owner schedules
Confirm shared asset and depreciation assumptions
Assign responsibility for state returns
Document how late changes reach every affected preparer

Decision guide updated September 26, 2026. AE Tax Advisors Team.

Primary references for this decision:

Examples illustrate decisions, not guaranteed outcomes. Apply the rules for the relevant tax year and review the underlying facts before filing.

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