You can upload a client's tax return PDF and Kerdora will read it: it identifies every form and schedule in the package, extracts the values line by line, and lets you build a tax scenario directly from the filed numbers. That gives you a baseline grounded in reality instead of estimates, usually in a couple of minutes.

Everything lives on the Returns page under Planning > Taxes.

Click New Return on the Returns page. You'll get two options:

Only PDFs are accepted. Upload the complete return package if you have it: the more schedules included, the more Kerdora can extract.

Kerdora identifies and extracts the forms in the package, including:

After upload, the return works through extraction in stages. You can watch the status on the Returns list and the return's detail page:

A couple of things that help extractions succeed:

If a return sits on "Waiting for form identification" for more than 10 minutes or so, it's stuck. Delete the return entry, re-upload the PDF (unlocked), and message support if it stalls again — telling us the client and file name speeds things up.

Click a return to open its detail page. The left rail lists every form found, with its page range and extraction status. Click a form to see its extracted fields laid out like the actual form: line numbers, labels, and values, with dollar amounts formatted, checkboxes shown as checked or not, and tables (like dependents) expandable. Use Expand all and Collapse all to move through long forms quickly.

If the extractor hit anything questionable, you'll see warnings in amber and errors in red right above the form, so you know what to double-check before trusting the numbers. Unrecognized forms are marked unsupported — the rest of the package still extracts normally.

Once a return shows Completed, click Create scenario on its detail page. (You can also do this from the Scenarios page: click + and pick the return under From extracted returns.)

Before the scenario is created, Kerdora shows a Match return names to household step. For the taxpayer and spouse on the return, it suggests a match to the adults already in the client's household. A confident match shows a Matched badge; otherwise pick the right person from the dropdown or choose Add new person to create them. Then click Create scenario.

The new scenario opens pre-filled from the return: filing status, state of residence, dependents, wages per person, investment income, self-employment income, capital gains, itemized deductions, Roth conversion amounts, and federal withholding. It stays linked to the source return, so you can always trace where the numbers came from.

After creating the scenario, open its 1040 view and compare it against the filed return. Confirming the key lines tie out gives you a trustworthy baseline before you start modeling what-ifs on top of it.

PDF only. If you have the return in another format, save or print it as a PDF first.

Give it a few minutes — form identification is the slowest stage. If it's still sitting there after 10 minutes, the extraction is stuck. The most common cause is a password-protected PDF: save an unlocked copy and re-upload it. If it stalls a second time, message support through the chat widget with the client and file name.

No. Importing a return creates a tax scenario. Household members are only added if you choose "Add new person" during the matching step.

No. Kerdora extracts the forms it recognizes and skips the rest. The scenario is built from the supported forms; anything missing can be entered manually in the scenario's Inputs.

Kerdora imports it as Married Filing Jointly (the closest match it models) and shows a warning on the scenario so you know to review it. The bracket math for the two statuses is the same; double-check anything that depends on the exact status.

Yes. Each return is its own entry on the Returns page, and each can become its own scenario. That's a quick way to see how a client's tax picture has moved year over year.