Tax season bank statement checklist

A year of statements is twelve PDFs and a lot of chances for a missing page. A short routine saves your accountant time and you money.

1. Collect every statement for every account

List each account used for income or expenses, including credit cards and any account you rarely touch. Download all twelve months of each.

2. Check there are no gaps

Each statement's opening balance should equal the previous month's closing balance. A mismatch means a missing or incorrect statement.

3. Convert to a spreadsheet

Convert the PDFs to CSV so you can sort and filter. Make sure each month's converted rows add up to its closing balance before relying on them.

4. Separate business and personal

Mark rows as business, personal or transfer. Transfers between your own accounts should net to zero.

5. Keep the evidence

Keep the original PDFs next to the spreadsheet. Rules on how long to keep records vary by country, so check your tax authority's guidance.

6. Hand over a clean file

Give your accountant one tidy file per account per year with the totals verified, rather than a folder of raw PDFs.

Try it: open PennyTie, drop a text-based statement PDF (or use the built-in fictional sample). Free for statements up to 5 pages; nothing is uploaded.

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