Records to keep

Free templates

• Assignment calendar (CSV): dates, employer, state, county or city, nights away and days home. One row per assignment or rotation.
• Expense log (CSV): date, type, amount, reimbursement, business purpose and whether the receipt is saved.

They open in any spreadsheet app. They stay on your device, and we never see them.

Recordkeeping calendar

• Each shift or trip: add miles and receipts while you still remember the purpose.
• Each new assignment: add the calendar row, save the contract, and give payroll the right state forms.
• Each quarter: check estimated payments if you need them, and compare withholding with the IRS estimator.
• December: save your last paystub from each employer. Move a W-4 change in before the final checks if you need one.
• January and February: match each W-2 and 1099 to your calendar. Ask payroll about any wrong state.

How long to keep them

Generally three years from when you filed. Keep six years if you left out income worth more than 25% of what you reported, and seven for a worthless-securities or bad-debt claim. Keep records indefinitely if you did not file. Hold anything tied to a home or other property until it stops mattering.

Checklist for your preparer

• Last year's federal and state returns
• Every W-2, 1099-NEC, 1099-K, 1098-T and 1098 you received
• Work calendar: every assignment, state, dates and nights away
• Your home address history, and the date of any move
• What keeps your tax home in place: mortgage or lease, utilities, days there, work there, voter and vehicle registration
• Each contract, showing how wages and allowances were split
• Each employer's reimbursement policy or accountable-plan paperwork
• Expense log with receipts, and mileage log if you are 1099
• State nonresidence forms you gave any employer
• Estimated payments you made: dates and amounts, federal and state
• Paystubs from your last check of the year with each employer

Send these through the preparer's secure portal, not plain email. This site never asks for your returns, Social Security number or expense records.