Stage 3: Preparation
What your preparer does with your documents, and what you may be asked while they work.
Tax season · Version 1 · 2 min read · Reviewed by Meridian Review Team · Sep 15, 2026
What this stage means
Your preparer enters the information from your documents and works out the return.
What you may be asked
- A clarifying question about a document or an amount.
- A request for one more item that the first pass revealed.
- A confirmation of a change since last year.
How to help
- Answer through the secure portal so there is a record.
- Answer the specific question asked.
- Say so if you do not know. Guessing causes more work than a plain "I do not know".
What you should not expect
A refund amount or date from the hub. Those depend on the finished return and on government processing, and only your preparer can speak to them.
What happens next
A prepared return goes to review before anything is final.