Set Up Your Tax Office for the 2027 Season: A 30-Day Plan

Every January, the same thing happens in tax offices across the country. The doors open, the phone rings, and a client sits down while the owner is still on hold with a bank, waiting on an e-file credential, or trying to remember the password for last year's software.

None of that is bad luck. It's the result of a short list of things that take time, and every one of them can be done in October and November. This plan breaks the work into four weeks. Do one block a week and you'll walk into the 2027 filing season (tax year 2026 returns) with nothing left to chase.

Week 1: the IRS credentials that take the longest

Start with whatever someone else has to approve. You can't speed those up, so the only fix is to start them early.

• Your EFIN. The Electronic Filing Identification Number belongs to the firm and is what lets you transmit returns. If you're applying for the first time, or the firm's details changed (a new owner, a new address, a new entity), do it now. IRS Publication 3112, IRS e-file Application and Participation, says to allow up to 45 days for a new application, and that's before any delay for fingerprints or a suitability check.
• Every preparer's PTIN. Each paid preparer needs their own Preparer Tax Identification Number, renewed every year. PTINs expire on December 31, and renewals for the new year open in the fall. A preparer with an expired PTIN can't sign a return for pay.
• Your e-Services account. Make sure the people listed on your e-file application can still sign in. If a responsible official has left, update the application before you need it.

The secret: your EFIN application can be "complete" on your side and still sit waiting because one principal's fingerprints or professional status hasn't cleared. Log in to e-Services and read the status of each person on the application, not just the application as a whole. That one check is the difference between finding out in October and finding out on opening day.

Week 2: software, data and bank products

• Pick your software and set it up while it's quiet. Add your office details, your preparers, your fee schedule and your client letters now, not on day one.
• Bring last year forward. Prior-year returns are the fastest way to start a returning client's file. Confirm your software can carry forward names, dependents, addresses and prior-year amounts.
• Enroll for bank products. If you offer refund transfers, the bank has to approve your office for the new season. Approval needs your EFIN and your office details, and it takes time. See our guide to refund transfers and refund advances.

Week 3: security and the written plan

The FTC Safeguards Rule applies to tax preparers, and the IRS expects every e-file provider to protect taxpayer data. IRS Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data, and Publication 5708, Creating a Written Information Security Plan for your Tax & Accounting Practice, walk through it.

• Write or update your WISP (written information security plan). We explain what goes in it in the WISP guide.
• Turn on multi-factor authentication for email, software and bank portals.
• Remove access for anyone who no longer works with you.
• Decide how clients send documents. Email attachments are the weakest option.

Week 4: people and clients

• Train your staff before they see a client. One afternoon on your intake process, your software and your due-diligence questions saves a dozen corrections later.
• Open your calendar. Returning clients like to book early. Send a short message in November with a booking link and the list of documents to bring.
• Plan your intake list. We put the full list in what clients should bring.

The 30-day plan at a glance

Week	Do this	Why now
1	EFIN, PTINs, e-Services access	The IRS sets the timeline, not you
2	Software setup, prior-year data, bank enrollment	Banks approve offices before the season
3	WISP, MFA, access review	Required, and easier with no clients waiting
4	Staff training, client outreach	Returning clients book first

Mistakes we see every year

Waiting on one person. In a lot of offices, the owner is the only one who knows the e-Services password, the bank portal login and the software admin account. If they're sick in January, the office stops. Write down where each credential lives (in a password manager, not on a sticky note) and make sure a second trusted person can get in.

Setting fees on opening day. Clients ask what a return will cost before they sit down. Decide your fee schedule in the fall, enter it in your software, and make sure every preparer quotes the same way. If you collect fees from refunds, the amounts also have to be set up for your bank products before the season.

Leaving client outreach until the phones ring. Returning clients are your cheapest growth. A personal message in November ("We're open January [date]; do you want your usual time?") fills the first weeks of the calendar before anyone else contacts them. Clients who are asked first rarely shop around.

Skipping the practice return. Before your first real client, have every preparer do two or three practice returns from start to finish: intake, preparation, due diligence questions, signature, and a test of how your bank product application looks. It's the cheapest way to find what's missing.

A realistic week for a one-person office

If you're a solo preparer, the plan still works, it just takes a few hours a week:

• Monday: one hour in e-Services checking your application and PTIN
• Wednesday: two hours in your software setting up the office and fees
• Friday: one hour on your security plan or client messages

Four weeks of that and you're ready, without giving up a weekend.

How TaxWallet helps

TaxWallet puts the return, the client, the documents, the bank product and the payment under one login, so the setup in weeks 2 to 4 happens in one place. And for a new office we do the setup with you.

We set up your office, and your first 15 returns are free. Comment or DM TRY on Instagram, or start here, and someone from our team will reach out.

FAQ

How long does a new EFIN take?

IRS Publication 3112 says to allow up to 45 days for a new e-file application. Fingerprinting or a suitability check can add time, so apply as early as you can.

When do PTINs expire?

Every PTIN expires on December 31. Each paid preparer renews their own for the new year.

Do small offices need a written security plan?

Yes. The FTC Safeguards Rule covers tax preparers regardless of size, and IRS Publication 5708 has a template designed for small practices.

Can I set up bank products before my EFIN is approved?

Bank enrollment generally asks for your EFIN, so finish the EFIN first. Start the bank paperwork as soon as you have it.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current IRS publications named above for the rules that apply to your office.