Smart Tax Delivery packages a finished return, invoice, and e-signature into one guided client flow — and uses AI to fill in the return details and place signature fields for you. It doesn't prepare or calculate the return itself.
Delivering a finished return usually means juggling several tools and chasing signatures and payment separately. Smart Tax Delivery brings the return, invoice, and e-signature into one client experience — and Auto-fill pulls the amounts straight from the return, so setup takes seconds instead of minutes of manual entry.
Required plan and permissions: The practitioner must have permission to access Tax Delivery, which a firm admin configures. Each client needs one Tax Workflow Automation credit.
💳 Credits: Every tax delivery uses a Tax Workflow Automation credit, whether or not you use AI. The credit is used when the delivery is first created, and one credit covers every delivery to that client for the rest of your subscription period.
⚠️ Heads up! Smart Tax Delivery does not support password-protected PDFs.
Table of Contents
Start a New Tax Delivery
Every delivery starts the same way, whether you use Auto-fill or set it up manually.
To start a tax delivery:
Click the Global + icon in the left sidebar, then select Tax Delivery.
Fill in the delivery details:
Title
Client — once you select the client, a note shows how many Tax Workflow Automation credits this delivery will use. A client who has already used a credit this subscription period uses 0.
(Optional) Toggle on Add to existing task, then select the task to attach the delivery to.
Assignee(s)
Client due date
Client Reminder
Click Create.
Once Create a clicked, a Tax Workflow Automation credit is applied.
Set Up the Return and Auto-fill With AI
✨ AI Auto-fill reads the uploaded return and fills in the details for you. Prefer to enter everything by hand? Skip step 4 and complete the fields manually.
To set up the return:
On the Setup tab, review the Tax Delivery Name and edit it if needed.
Under Tax Return Upload, click Select a File, then choose the source:
New file — upload the return from your computer, then click Link File.
Existing file — choose Client Files or Internal Files, select the return, then click Select.
Supported files are PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, plus single-page images such as JPG, PNG, TIFF and HEIC.
Confirm the correct return appears under Tax Return Upload.
Click Auto-fill with AI.
Canopy reads the return and fills in the tax year, form type, a welcome message, and the refund or amount due on the Return Details tab. Filled fields are tagged Auto-filled with AI so you can spot and adjust them.
Auto-fill uses only the uploaded return — it doesn't pull from existing client records.
Under Return Summary, confirm the Tax Year and select the Form Type, or enter them yourself if you didn't use Auto-fill.
(Optional) Toggle on Welcome Message to add or edit a note to the client.
(Optional) Toggle on Supporting Document(s) to attach additional files.
Click Next.
✨ Auto-fill adapts to the return type. A business return (such as an 1120-S) pulls the business name and entity type instead of taxpayer names, and may show no federal amount if the entity is pass-through.
Add the Return Details
The Return Details tab holds the financial summary the client sees — federal, state, and any other (city or municipal) amounts, plus any estimated payments due for the coming year.
✨ If you used Auto-fill, the amounts and estimated payment vouchers are already here; review them and add due dates or payment links as needed.
To enter federal amounts:
If you used Auto-fill, the Federal entry is already added — skip to step 2. Otherwise, click Add federal, then select Overpayment or Amount Due.
For Overpayment, add a Refund Amount (required if not pre-filled by AI). Optionally add an Amount Applied to Next Year and a Track Refund Link — this link only shows to the client if there's a refund amount.
For Amount Due, enter the Federal Total Amount Due (required).
Check Will be paid using payment details on file if your firm is submitting the payment on the client's behalf through third-party tax software (like UltraTax or CCH). Checking this box hides the payment link in the client's financial summary, since the client doesn't need to pay directly.
Leave the box unchecked if the client needs to pay directly — Canopy will show a link to the IRS or state payment portal in the client's financial summary.
If the client needs to pay directly, leave the box unchecked and add a Due Date and Pay Online Link instead.
To enter state amounts:
If you used Auto-fill, the state entry is already added — skip to step 2. Otherwise, click Add state and select the state.
Fill in the same Overpayment or Amount Due fields described above.
Click Add state to add any additional states.
To add other amounts:
Click Add other for city or municipal amounts (for example, NYC).
Enter a Type label, then the same amount and payment fields described above.
To enter estimated payments:
Review the quarterly vouchers for Federal, State, and Other. If you used Auto-fill, the amounts, due dates, payment links, and voucher pages are already populated from the return — review each quarter and edit as needed.
To add vouchers manually, click Bulk create (4 quarters) to generate all four quarters at once, or Create voucher to add a single quarter.
Enter the Amount, set the Due Date, add the payment Link, then click Choose page in the Voucher column to link the voucher's page in the uploaded return.
Check Will be paid using payment details on file under a jurisdiction's vouchers if your firm pays its estimated payments. One check covers all four quarters.
Click Add state to add estimated payments for additional states.
To review and continue:
Review the Total Overpayment and/or Total Amount Due at the bottom.
Click Next.
Add Estimated Payment Reminders
To add reminders:
Click Add Reminders.
Click the Select contacts field to choose which contacts should receive reminder notifications.
Select one or more contacts from the dropdown, then click Done.
Select Add a reminder.
Select how far in advance the reminder should be sent before the due date.
Select the preferred time unit for the reminder (days, weeks, or months).
(Optional) Click Add another reminder to set up as many reminders as needed.
Click Apply reminders to activate the automated reminders.
To edit reminders:
Click Add Reminders.
Adjust reminder details as needed.
Click the x on a reminder to remove it.
Click Apply reminders to save changes.
Attach an Invoice
Skip this section if you're delivering the return without an invoice.
To attach an invoice:
On the Invoice tab, click the Select an existing invoice dropdown and choose an invoice.
To bill a new amount, click Create new invoice. The invoice opens in a new browser tab: fill in the details, click Preview, then Create and save.
Back in the delivery, the new invoice appears in the dropdown. Draft invoices don't appear until you save them this way.
Under Paywall, check Require payment before final signature to require payment before the client can sign. Leave it unchecked to let the client sign first.
Click Next.
👉 Note: Collecting payment inside the delivery requires enrollment in Canopy Payments. See: Enroll in Canopy Payments as an Individual Entity or Enroll in Canopy Payments as an Organization Entity.
Set Up the Signature Request
Smart Tax Delivery uses Canopy's eSign to collect the client's signature on the return (for example, Form 8879).
To set up the signature request:
On the Signatures tab, click Edit eSign request.
On the Signers tab, click Add signers and add each person who needs to sign.
(Optional) Toggle on Signer Authentication to have signers verify their identity before signing.
On the Fields tab, click Place fields with AI.
AI finds the signature and date lines on the return and places a signature and date for each signer, skipping the firm's (ERO) lines. Review each one, then move, adjust or remove any that need it.
If AI adds a signer the request doesn't have yet, such as Spouse, click Assign and choose who signs.
On the Settings tab, click Save.
Back on the Signatures tab, check Separate signed documents into a new document after the client signs to file the signed copy separately, or leave it unchecked to keep everything in one document.
👉 Good to know: Signature requests in a tax delivery support Signature and Date fields. The client's reminders come from the delivery itself, so the eSign request has no separate due date, reminder or message.
Preview and Send the Delivery
Preview the client experience before sending, then send when everything looks right.
To preview and send:
Click Preview as client to see the delivery the way your client will.
Click through each client step to review it:
Introduction
Review
Invoice (only if you attached one)
Signature — the return shows each place to sign highlighted and labelled. The arrows on the side move between them, and each signer is listed below with their status.
Next Steps
Click Back to editor if you need to make changes.
Click Send, then choose:
Save and Send to deliver to the client now.
Save Draft to keep your settings and send later.
In the confirmation pop-up, review the contacts, then click Send to [#] contacts.
The delivery goes to everyone you added as a signer.
A Tax delivery sent confirmation appears once it's on its way.
Send With a Secure Link
When you send a Smart Tax Delivery, you can include a secure link so your client can access it without logging into the Client Portal.
To send with a secure link:
Click Send, then select Save and Send.
In the pop-up, check Send the tax delivery via a Secure Link to include a secure access link in the delivery email.
When a signer isn't one of the client's saved contacts, this box is checked for you and can't be turned off.
Click Send to [#] contacts to complete the delivery.
Once sent, the client's email includes two ways in: they can log in to the Client Portal as usual, or click View Your Tax Return.
Find a Tax Delivery After Sending
Once you send, the delivery stays accessible so you can track the client's progress and finish filing after they sign.
You can find a sent delivery in:
The client's tasks list — open the client record and go to Tasks.
The global tasks list — search for the delivery by name.
A linked task — if you attached the delivery to an existing task, it appears there as a subtask.
To open a sent delivery:
Click the delivery in the tasks list to open its task.
Click View. A sent delivery opens locked, with Resend in place of Send.
The task status updates automatically as the client works through the flow:
Draft — when the delivery is first created.
With Client — at least one required signer has not signed yet. The signed file will not be available until all signers complete the process.
Needs Review — all signers have finished signing. To access the signed document, open the Tax Delivery task, go to the Files tab within that delivery, and locate the signed document.
⚠️ Heads Up! Custom Statuses are not available on Tax Delivery. Signer-level status is not visible until all required signers have completed signing.
Once a delivery is sent, it's locked from further changes and remains locked through the rest of the flow.
If a delivery is canceled:
It's removed from the client portal — the client will no longer see it there.
Any existing email notification or secure link the client has for that delivery will show a not found/doesn't exist error if clicked.
Your firm is notified when the client signs, so you can transmit and finish filing the return.
Resend a Tax Delivery
To resend a Tax Delivery to a client:
Open the client's record in Canopy.
Navigate to the Tasks tab and locate the relevant Tax Delivery task.
Open the task, view the document, and click Resend.
Understand Tax Workflow Automation Credits
Smart Tax Delivery runs on the same Tax Workflow Automation credit as Smart Intake, so one credit covers a client from intake through delivery.
One credit per client: A client uses one credit per subscription period, not one per return or per delivery. Revising and resending a return doesn't use another.
Used when saved: The credit is used when the delivery is first saved, with or without AI.
What it covers: Auto-fill, AI field placement, secure links, estimated payment reminders, and eSign with signer authentication inside the delivery.
Included credits: Every plan includes 5 credits. Unused credits don't roll over when your subscription renews.
Check or buy credits: The Credits badge at the top of the Create Tax Delivery window shows your balance. Admins can buy more under Account Management.
Out of credits: Go to Settings > Account Management to buy more TWA credits.
For more on credits, see How Do Client Credits Work for Smart Intake and Engagements?
Summary
Smart Tax Delivery turns the last mile of the return into one guided flow: upload, auto-fill, place signatures with AI, review, and send. Each client uses one Tax Workflow Automation credit, which covers every delivery to that client for the subscription period.
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