The 2012 Income Tax Preparation Engagement Agreement
This letter describes the services I propose to provide to you this year to help you meet your tax filing obligations. The letter describes the scope of my services and estimated fees I will charge. If you wish me to provide added services, please ask. Any such services I might provide will be covered by a separate engagement letter. Your income tax returns cannot be completed unless I have a signed copy of this agreement in your file.
I will prepare your 2011 individual federal, state residence income tax returns based solely on any information you provide. I also will prepare other state and local returns as needed to properly report income originating in those states. I also will prepare estimated tax returns for 2012 (if needed) unless you decline. If I find inconsistencies in any information you provide, I will check with you; however, I do not audit or verify information from any source documents you provide. Again, your individual federal and state income tax returns will be based solely on any information you provide me.
My work will be completed in complete accordance with appropriate income tax laws and regulations. I will use my judgment in resolving questions when the law is unclear or where there are conflicts between tax authorities' interpretations of the law and other supportable positions. Please inform me if you prefer that I not make such judgments in your favor.
Tax returns are subject to audit by the taxing authorities. If your returns are audited, you may be required to furnish source documents to the tax authorities to substantiate information you provided and that I reported on your return. If your returns are selected for audit, I would be pleased to assist you in preparing for the audit; however, this service is not included in my fee for tax preparation and will require a separate letter of engagement. In this regard, remember to retain backup documents for your tax return for at least seven (7) years after the returns were filed. I also will help you answer correspondence from the taxing authorities. This may require you to designate me as your agent by a Limited Power of Attorney to permit a quicker, more direct resolution of the problem. If these services are extensive, my hourly fee of $75.00 will be charged only after consultation with you.
Under the law, some communications between a client and a Tax Preparer are privileged and not subject to disclosure to the IRS. However, any information you furnish to me for preparing your tax returns is not protected by this privilege and consequently may be discovered by the IRS.
A rule adopted by the Federal Trade Commission in 2000 prohibits me from disclosing nonpublic information about clients to non-affiliated third parties and requires me annually to disclose my policy to all clients.
This is my policy: I collect certain personal information about you, but only when it is provided by you or is obtained with your permission. As a general rule, I do not disclose nonpublic personal information about I clients or former clients to anyone. To the extent permitted by law, however, certain nonpublic information about you may be disclosed to comply with a validly issued and enforceable subpoena or summons, or to allow me to render appropriate services to you. Except as otherwise described in this notice, I restrict access to nonpublic information about you to employees of my company and other parties who must use that information to provide services to you. I also maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards in compliance with applicable laws and regulations to guard your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, or premature destruction.
My fees for tax preparation are based on the forms and work required to complete your return. A copy of my fee schedule is available on request. Clients with relatively uncomplicated returns can expect a fee starting at $75.00 for their federal return and $35.00 for each resident and part-year state tax return. Fees for each non-resident state return will start at $45.00. Itemized deductions, rental property expenses, dividend and/or interest income from numerous sources and numerous capital gain/loss transactions will increase these estimates. Also, if I must make repeated requests for information, I will charge additional fees. A copy of my fee schedule for 2011 forms is available on request on December 31, 2011.
If issues arise that require significant time and expense for research, I charge an additional fee of $75.00 per hour, or any part thereof. However, I will discuss the issue(s) with you to obtain your advance approval of this extra work.
Fees are due and payable when I present your returns to you, or upon your receipt by mail. Invoices not paid within 10 days will receive an additional billing charge of $50.00 per month.
It is your responsibility to provide me with all the information needed to prepare complete and accurate returns and to review completed returns before signature for accuracy and completeness.
My liability to you for the services described in this letter is limited to the fees you pay for those services; however, in the unlikely event I make an error in preparing your return (when you have provided me with complete information and timely reviewed your return before signature), I will reimburse you by preparing your next year's tax return without fee.
You will receive an Income Tax Packet comprised of copies of your completed federal and state returns and any documents you provided that were necessary to support the information contained in your return, i.e., W-2's, 1099's, etc. This is an important financial document and should be maintained appropriately. Should you lose or otherwise misplace your package and the accompanying documents for this or any other tax year, and require copies of your returns, the fee for providing you with additional copies of any return or any part thereof is $75.00
Although I am available at any time to provide you with tax planning advice, I am not obligated to do so unless you specifically request it. My policy is to put all official tax advice in writing . Therefore, I will not charge you for, nor should you rely upon, any unwritten advice since it may be tentative and not yet fully reviewed.
I am also available to you for personal insurance, financial planning and other business advisory services; however, such services are not included in the scope of this engagement letter. Please feel free to discuss with me how I may be of further service to you.
After reviewing this letter, please complete the information requested below and submit it to me for my records.
I appreciate the opportunity to serve you. Do not hesitate to call me with any questions about this agreement, your returns or the other services I offer.
Sincerely yours,
Eustace L. Greaves, Jr., D.B.A. Greaves Financial Services
Please complete the information requested below to confirm your acceptance of this year's agreement.
