SafeSend Returns
We are pleased to offer SafeSend Returns to our clients as a secure, electronic tax return delivery system. The user-friendly interface walks you through a guided process that includes an on-screen review of your return, collecting IRS-compliant e-signatures on e-file authorization forms, and options for making tax payments. Then, SafeSend Returns automatically sends the form(s) back to SC&H. SafeSend Organizers offers a guided process for individuals to complete their tax organizer and upload their tax documents online.
How SafeSend Works
- You will receive an email from SC&H with a “from” address of noreply@safesendreturns.com with a safe link for you to access your tax return.
- SafeSend will email or text you an access code to further verify your identity.
- For emailed codes, check your spam or junk folders if you do not receive the code in your inbox.
- You must enter the code within 20 minutes of receipt. If not, you will need to request another code.
- Once you have signed the e-file authorization form(s), SC&H will be notified and will complete the rest of the e-filing process.
Helpful Video Tutorials
Tax Organizer Step-By-Step Guide
The initial email will come from SC&H with a “from” address of noreply@safesendreturns.com.
1. Click on Let’s Get Started to open the Organizer.
1. Click Contact Person to reach out to the firm if you have any questions.
2. Click Get Started to proceed to Authentication.
1. Click the Request Access Code button. An access code is sent to the same email address to which the initial email was sent.
2. Enter the 6- or 8-digit access code in the code field.
3. Click Continue to proceed to the Welcome Page.
This is the main dashboard for your organizer.
1. The title line displays:
1. Contact Person link for you to reach out to the firm.
2. Settings panel where you can log out.
2. A message from your tax firm is displayed.
3. Select Click Here to Continue to move to the first step.
Please note: The Custom Questionnaire must be filled out before you complete your Organizer.
- Answer the questions provided by your tax preparer.
- You may see the following question types:
- Yes/No – These may have follow-up questions as well.
- Short Answer
- You may see the following question types:
- Click Save & Close to close the questionnaire and continue later.
- Click Finish.
- The questionnaire cannot be re-opened if this option is selected.
You can also view the following:
- View a message from your tax preparer.
- View the completion status of the organizer.
After finishing the custom questionnaire, you will be directed back to the Welcome Page.
- Click Complete Organizer.
Follow the steps below to fill out your organizer.
- Click a bookmark name in the Bookmarks Panel to move to a specific page.
- Navigation
- Click the navigation arrows to move through the organizer pages OR
- Click the Blue Arrows at the bottom
- Type into the Notes to Preparer to enter any notes you need to provide to your CPA.
- Type into the green fillable fields of the organizer.
- Text can be entered over the original text
- If your organizer is sent to you and your Spouse, edits made will be identified with color coding to distinguish who completed it.
- Click Click Here to Upload to upload source documents. You can drag/drop files or click to open your file explorer.
- Note: This option only appears on certain pages.
- In the Bookmark Panel, icons are added to those pages that may require source documents.
- In the Bookmark Panel, icons are added to those pages that may require source documents.
- Note: This option only appears on certain pages.
- Click Save & Continue Later to be directed back to the Welcome Page.
- Click Finish to mark the organizer as complete.
After you click the Finish button, you will receive a pop-up notification to confirm you are done.
If a spouse was not included on the Organizer, the following steps will appear.
- Click Review Missing Information if the organizer is not completed.
- This option will bring you back to the organizer to continue filling out.
- This option will bring you back to the organizer to continue filling out.
- Click Organizer Complete if the organizer is completed.
If a spouse was included on the Organizer, the following steps will appear.
- Click Send to My Spouse if you would like to send the organizer to your spouse for review.
- Click Finish if the Organizer is completed. Please note that if you click Finish, the Organizer will be marked as complete, preventing further changes by you or your spouse.
You have the ability to upload tax source documents within your organizer. You will receive an email confirming the firm has received your documents after upload.
Please note:
- Supported file types include PDF, DOC, Excel, PNG, and JPEG. Other file types cannot be uploaded.
- File names must be 200 characters or less.
- Encrypted or password-protected documents should not be uploaded and cannot be previewed.
- Drag/drop into the box to upload any required documents, like W-2s.
- Click to Upload any required source documents.
- Upload one or more documents.
- Upload one or more documents.
- Click Download to download the documents you have already uploaded.
- Click the Eye icon to preview your document.
- Click the Delete icon to remove the document.
- Click Complete only when you have uploaded all tax source documents.
- This will remove the upload option from your organizer.
- The firm that prepared the organizer can unlock the upload option for you.
- Click Save & Notify Tax Professional to save your document uploads and send an email to the firm.
Tax Return Step-By-Step Guide
You will receive an email from noreply@safesendreturns.com with a link to your designated tax return
- Click the access link to get started
- Once the website opens, click on the tab Click Here to Get Started to proceed to Authentication
- If you have any questions or are having any issues, click Contact Person in the upper right-hand corner to reach out to the firm
Enter 4 digits of your Social Security Number according to the onscreen instructions
Click Continue to proceed to Access Code Verification
A page asking for an Email Access Code – A 6- or 8-digit access code is sent to the same email address the initial email was sent to
- Click the Request Access Code button
Enter the 6- or 8-digit access code in the code field
Once done, click Continue.
This is the main dashboard for your tax return.
- The title line displays:
- The current tax year
- Contact Person link for you to reach out to the firm
- Settings panel where you can edit spouse information
- My Downloads folder, where large files will download to
- The progress bar shows the step the return is currently in
- Total refunds and payments for the return are displayed on the left
- A quick overview of the steps in SafeSend Returns is displayed
- The Distribute K-1s option is only available for business or entity returns
- Print and Mail Paper File Returns will only show if one or more returns are required to be paper filed
- The Click Here to Begin button will bring you to the next page: Message from SC&H
This page will display any instructions or messages included by our team
- Click the print icon to save or print this message
- Click Continue to proceed to Review Tax Documents
- Click the Return Section to review the tax return and attachments
- Click Download Tax Document(s) to save the return
- Click Back to return to the previous page
- Click Forward a Copy to forward all available documents to an external email address
- Click Continue to proceed to the Sign Tax Documents page
There are up to 3 options to sign, select your preferred method:
- e-Sign: Sign electronically from this website (only if enabled for your return type).
- Manually Sign: Print, sign, and return the forms.
- Delegate Signing to Someone Else (entity returns only): Send tax forms to partners or shareholders for signatures.
- Enter Your Date of Birth for verification
- Check the box to consent to e-signing
- Enter your spouse’s email address if applicable
- Click Continue
Answer 3 of 5 security questions to verify your identity
If you pass, continue to the E-Sign Your Documents section
If you fail, continue to the Manual Sign section
Click Continue
- A list of all pages that require your signature is listed in the left panel. A green check will appear next to signed pages.
- Click on the Start arrow to be led to your first signature line. Continue to click this arrow as you proceed to be led to all signature lines.
Click the Download documents requiring signature button for upload options
Print, Sign, and Upload the signed documents
There are two ways you can upload your files:
- Drag and drop your signed e-file forms to upload them
- Click to Upload to browse your files, then select the signed e-file forms to upload them.
Once a document is uploaded, you are given the option to delete the uploaded documents or upload new documents
When the Managing Member of the Grouped Return reaches the signing section of the Client Experience, they can e-Sign the return or delegate the signing of the tax return to another user. The Controller can reach this page by going into the return on their dashboard.
- Click Delegate Signing to Someone Else.
Complete fields in the Send for Signature dialog box as noted below.
- Required
- First Name
- Last Name
- Confirm Email
- Message to Signer
- Optional
- Enter SMS/Text enabled mobile number (when multi-factor authentication is enabled)
Click Send.
After the return is sent for Signer Delegation and the delegate completes e-signing, the Managing Member will receive an email notification stating that e-signing has been completed and is ready for download.
After a return is sent for Signer Delegation, the Managing Member can update or cancel the delegation.
- The Managing Member will need to Click the Link that was emailed to them, and access SafeSend Returns.
- On the Summary Page, Click Update Delegatee to correct or change the delegate.
The Managing Member can update a delegate by changing the required information.
- Required
- First Name
- Last Name
- Confirm Email
- Message to Signer
After corrections are made in the Send for Signature Box Click Send.
- Click Update Delegatee.
- Click Cancel Delegation.
- Enter the Reason for the cancellation (required field).
- Click Submit.
Note: Paper File Returns will only appear if your delivered return includes a paper filed return.
View the Consent to Paper File Returns pop-up and click the I Consent button
- By clicking I Consent, you agree to file the Paper File Return with the respective tax authority
- If you choose to Skip to Next Step, you can access your Paper File Returns from the summary page and receive the Consent to Paper File Returns pop-up again
Paper file options:
- Individually download your paper file returns by clicking the download button under the action column.
- Download all Paper File Returns to a Zip file
- Print all Paper File Returns
You will have three options in this section:
- Email them from this website
- Download, Print, and Mail
- Continue to skip this step and distribute the K-1s later
Download K-1s into a single PDF by selecting “Download all K-1s” from the “Download Documents” dropdown list.
Check the box for any K-1 documents that you plan on emailing.
Edit Info or Download.
- Edit Info opens a window where you can input the recipient’s email address, mobile number, etc. Fill this information out for each K-1 recipient.
Click Email Documents to send out the selected K-1s.
Click Send Later if you need to gather additional information.
- Click Download All K-1s to download all of the K-1 packages to a single PDF
- Download individual K-1 packages
- Select which K-1 packages you want to download as individual PDFs
- To download the selected K-1 packages, click Download Documents, then click Download Selected K-1s
- Click Continue to proceed to the Pay screen section
- Click Download All Payment Vouchers to download all vouchers.
- Click Download Filing Instructions to download all filing instructions for reference.
- Your Tax Payments due are listed here.
- You can opt into email reminders
- You can update the number of days of your reminder or turn them off.
- Click Continue to be directed back to the Estimated Tax Payments section.
- Click Download All Payment Vouchers to download all vouchers.
- Click Download Filing Instructions to download all filing instructions for reference.
- Your Estimated Tax Payments due are listed here.
- You can opt into email reminders
- You can update the number of days before the due date to be reminded or turn them off.
- Click Done to be directed back to the summary page.
Click the Pay button on the voucher to be given the option to pay online or by mail.
Click the Add Payment Details button to mark a voucher as paid. Note: this option does not process payments, it is for tracking purposes only.
The final screen is the page you see when you re-enter the return later.
- Summary panel.
- There is an option to send a reminder to your spouse for joint 1040s.
- Click Make Tax Payments to be directed back to the Pay section.
- Click Download Tax Documents to see a list of documents included in the return.
- You can download your documents by clicking them individually or clicking the Download all my tax documents button.
- Click View Tax Return to review the return.
- Click View or Download Signed Documents to download the signed e-file forms.
- View and Download Paper File Returns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. You can download and print your return from a computer. If you’re using a smartphone or tablet, you can review and e-sign your return package but may not be able to print it. Please use a laptop or desktop computer for the best printing experience.
Yes! Email notifications regarding your return will come from noreply@safesendreturns.com or noreply@safesend.com.
For spouses filing jointly, there are a few ways to sign via SafeSend Returns:
- If both spouses have an email address on file, both will receive an email with a link to view the return and sign the e-file authorization form(s). First, one spouse will receive the link with identity verification questions specific to him/her. He or she will sign the e-file authorization form(s) and confirm or input the spouse’s email address, which will send an email link to the second spouse. The second spouse will answer identity verification questions specific to him or her and then sign the form(s).
- If only one spouse has an email address on file, that spouse will first receive the link with identity verification questions specific to him/her. He or she will sign the e-file authorization form(s) and then enter an email address for the second spouse. The second spouse will then receive the email link with identity verification questions specific to him/her.
- If a couple shares an email address, the primary signer will first receive a link with identity verification questions specific to him/her. After the primary signer signs the e-file authorization form(s), he/she can then enter the shared email address again. A new link will be sent with identity verification questions specific to the second spouse.
