Service Agreement

SAMPLE SERVICE AGREEMENT

Thank you for choosing Thomas W. Barber, CPA LLC to assist you with your income tax preparation. This letter confirms the terms of our engagement with you and outlines the nature and extent of the income tax preparation services we will provide. The terms of this agreement will apply to all tax returns we prepare for you in the future (it does not apply to clients on an annual subscription plan, which is subject to its own client agreement); if these terms change, we will provide you an updated income tax services agreement to sign.  

We offer flat fee online tax preparation based on the complexity of each return. Because your satisfaction is our goal, you owe nothing unless 1) you authorize us to e-file your return, 2) we give you paper filing copies, or 3) you agree to specific labor charges as may apply. We will depend on you to provide the information we need to complete an accurate assessment and provide recommendations. We may ask you to clarify some items but will not audit or otherwise verify the data you submit. Review or revision of prior year(s) returns is also available at an additional charge. We will perform services only as needed to review, revise or prepare your tax returns. Our work will not include procedures to find misappropriated funds or other irregularities. 

Accordingly, our engagement should not be relied upon to disclose errors, fraud, or other illegal acts, though it may be necessary for you to clarify some of the information you submit. We will, of course, inform you of any material errors, fraud, or other illegal acts we discover. The law imposes penalties when taxpayers underestimate their tax liability. You, as the taxpayer, are ultimately responsible for your tax liabilities.  Please call us if you have concerns about such penalties.Your original paper document records (if you provided them) will be available for you at the end of this engagement, or earlier as you request. Contact us to discuss your preferred method of collecting your documents.

You should securely store these records, along with all supporting documents, canceled checks, etc., as these items may later be needed to prove accuracy and completeness of a return. We will retain copies of your records and our work papers for your engagement for three (3) years, after which these documents may be destroyed. Our engagement to prepare your tax returns will conclude with the delivery of your paper return for filing or transmittal of your e-file return.   If you have not selected to e-file your returns with our office, you will be solely responsible to file the returns with the appropriate taxing authorities. Review all tax-return documents carefully before signing them.

SERVICE GUARANTEE

Should we encounter instances of unclear tax law, or of potential conflicts in the interpretation of the law, we will, to the best of our ability, outline the reasonable courses of action and the risks and consequences of each. We will ultimately adopt, on your behalf, the alternative you select.  You are ultimately responsible for your tax liabilities. We will refund tax preparation fees for any return to the extent of any penalties or interest related to items on the return that we prepared inaccurately owing to our typographical error or omission of reportable events included on tax documents you provided to us.  You agree that this refund will be the full extent of recoverable damages from Thomas W. Barber and Thomas W. Barber, CPA LLC.

PRIVACY POLICY

The Federal Trade Commission has issued regulations that require tax preparation firms to provide an annual statement of firm privacy policies. We handle all information you provide us with the utmost confidentiality. Your personal information will only be shared with members of our firm who need to know this information in order to complete the work you have hired our firm to do and with third party tax software platforms and tax transmitters that need return data to e-file your return. We will not disclose your personal information to anyone else without your express written permission to do so, or unless we are legally required to do so. For example, if a mortgage lender contacts our office for a copy of your return or information about it, we will ask that you provide written permission prior to our responding to that request.

You should also be aware that anything you tell us during the interview for the preparation of your tax return is confidential, but not protected from the IRS. Privileged communications (those that are protected from IRS authority to compel our testimony) are limited to non-criminal tax advice on matters before the IRS or non-criminal tax proceedings in federal courts. Although we consider any information you provide us as confidential, return preparation engagements are not covered by advisor-client privilege. If you feel the nature of any subject matter to be discussed requires protected communications, please raise that issue so that we can discuss your possible need to consult with an attorney for legal advice.