CLIENT ENGAGEMENT LETTER
Dear Client,
Thank you for the opportunity to work with you in preparing your income tax returns. To foster a complete understanding of our relationship, take a moment to review the following information.
We will prepare your income tax return based solely on the information you furnish to us. Upon completion of your tax returns we will return any original tax documents to you unless otherwise instructed by you. From time to time our office may retain scanned copies of your documents for our records, however you should retain all documents, cancelled checks and other data that form the basis of income and deductions and other tax return forms, schedules, elections and disclosures. Such documents include but are not limited to, all receipts, invoices, bills and proper records to support all deductions claimed for items such as meals, travel, business gifts, charitable contributions, supplies, services, and vehicle use (if applicable), as well as bank and credit card statements. These records will be necessary to prove the accuracy and completeness of the returns to taxing authorities, should your returns be selected for examination. We recommend keeping all documents and copies of your returns for a minimum of five years after you file your tax returns or after their due date, whichever is later.
Our work in connection with the preparation of your income tax return cannot be relied upon to disclose errors, irregularities or illegal acts, including, without limitation, fraud that may exist within the documents or figures you provide. We will use our professional judgment in resolving questions where the tax law is unclear or where there may be conflicts between the tax authority’s interpretations of the tax law and other supportable positions. Unless instructed by you, we will take a tax position in your favor whenever reasonable. We cannot provide any assurance that tax positions taken will not be challenged or ensure the ultimate outcome of such a challenge. Moreover, we cannot be responsible for issues arising from any income, expenses or other information not provided to us at the time of tax preparation or prior to the filing of your returns.
Please note that this engagement, and this firm’s services, include but are not limited to general and annual income tax related services. Unless specifically requested by you, and agreed upon in writing we do not provide any services related to payroll tax, sales tax, excise tax, and personal/tangible business property tax or services related to property taxes assessed on real property, whether residential or commerical. Nor can we be relied upon to determine or report your compliance, or lack thereof, with any Federal, State, or Local business related laws, health care or human resources regulations, retirement plan compliance or any business, property, or professional permitting/licensing.
The charges for our services are on a “per form” basis with references to time spent by our professional staff to perform the work, and costs incurred for related supplies and expenses, including copy charges, overseas/long distance phone charges and computer processing charges. It is company policy not to release tax returns or any tax related reports, schedules, information, advice, or notes without payment in full. Should a situation arise where services have been rendered but payment is not received and our firm is forced to or elects to seek legal assistance to collect fees due to us, please note that you may be asked to reimburse our firm for the legal costs to collect any outstanding balance due.
Because we understand that cost is an important issue for many clients, we will do our best to provide you with an estimate of our fees prior to completing your returns but please understand that circumstances arise which may raise or lower the estimated fee. We will contact you if such a situation arises after you receive an estimate.
If you are completing or need us to complete a Condominium Association or HOA form 1120-H please note our standard fee of $350, has increased to $400 for all 1120-H Forms prepared/completed after January 1st, 2023.
Please be advised that as of January 1, 2023, Finesse Tax Accounting, LLC has moved to a tier based fee structure. This structure applies to all tax preparation engagements except 1120-H Condominiun Association Returns which pay a flat rate of $400 per year. Any services provided thereafter, for our Condo Assn clients are billed at $350 per hour.
Under this tiered structure, you may select, annually, your fee tier. Under Tier 1, you will be charged a flat rate for tax preparation services plus $350/hour for advisory services. Under Tier 2, you will be charged a flat rate that is higher than Tier 1, however there will be no hourly charges for advisory services. For more information on our tiered fee structure, please contact our office by phone/email and we can provide you with detailed information to help inform you about all aspects of the tiered structure and make whatever decision is best for you.
Please be advised, Finesse Tax Accounting, LLC has a surcharge that exists for returns which are started in close proximity to the main April and extended October deadlines whereby, you expect to file by the coming deadline. While we understand circumstances arise that might push your filing close to a deadline, for most taxpayers, most of your tax documents and information should readily be available in January, February and early March. Also, this engagement agreement is available December each year and you can always complete your annual engagement agreement very early, annually. Waiting until the last weeks of any tax season, to turn in your information, creates a substantial time and monetary burden on Finesse Tax Accounting and our staff members, in terms of increased labor and overtime costs, which is why there is a surcharge for waiting until a deadline is upon us or in close proximity to when you start your tax preparation engagement.
Should you engage our firm to prepare your 2023 taxes but do not provide us with both this engagement agreement and at least 50% of your tax return documents/information by March 25th, 2024 but you expect to file by the April 2024 deadline, a surcharge of $250 will be added to your final invoice for your tax preparation engagement. This fee will not apply if you agree to go on extension allowing for more time to file beyond April 15th or if we inform you that finishing your taxes by the deadline is not possible. Moreover, whether your are an existing or new client, if we are beyond the April deadline and you engage with our firm for your 2023 returns and fail to provide us with both this engagement agreement and at least 50% of your tax return documents/information by September 25th, 2024 but you expect to file by the October 15th, 2024 deadline, a surcharge of $250 will be added to your final invoice for your tax preparation engagement. So please note, you can avoid this surcharge fee by turning in both this engagement agreement and at least 50% of the information needed to prepare your returns, prior to either March 25th, 2024 or in the case of clients on extension, September 25th, 2024.
All invoices issued by Finesse Tax Accounting, LLC to you in connection with our services rendered per this or any engagement, must be paid within 14 days from the date on the invoice. Any invoice, aged longer than 14 days, will be assessed a 10% administrative and operational collections fee. Please note, if your invoice remains unpaid after 30 days from the date on the invoice, another 10% administrative and operation collections fee may be assessed.
Upon completion of your returns and after you have paid your tax preparation fees we will provide you with a copy of your returns as well as the e-file signature authorizations and any applicable payment vouchers to complete your tax filing. You should review the completed returns carefully. If you see anything that requires changing please bring it to our attention immediately and we will either explain the matter to you or correct it without delay and provide you with new, corrected copies. If you are satisfied with the returns and see no issues, please sign and date the e-file signature authorizations and return them to this office immediately. Please note that all taxing authorities prohibit us from transmitting your tax returns without signed authorization from you. Please also note that if your returns can not be e-filed we will provide you with paper copies to sign and mail to the taxing authorities.
Please be advised that if you receive any correspondence from a taxing authority that pertains to your tax returns we do not consider this to be included with your standard tax preparation engagement however, we will be happy to address this matter on your behalf or advise on the best course of action. This service would fall under the category of advisory services and depending on your tier selection, you may be charged an hourly rate for our work in connection with your tax authority letter. Should you fully engage us to resolve a tax authority letter, please be advised that at any time in the resolution process you may choose to have us cease our work in connection with your correspondence but we will require said request in writing with your name and signature included. If, during the course of this work, it becomes apparent the correspondence received was due to an error or omission by this office there will be no charge for handling the correspondence regardless of the time involved.
Please also note that audit/examination representation work is not included in the tax preparation fee regardless of the tier selection you might make annually, and is considered a different engagement with a separate fee structure. If you have any questions regarding the specifics of audit/examination representation please feel free to ask any time before, during or after your appointment. Again if your returns are audited or examined by any taxing authority, for any reason, the fee you paid for tax preparation preparation does not include the costs to represent you with regard to any audit or examination.
Finesse Tax Accounting, LLC takes your privacy and personal information very seriously. We will take whatever steps are necessary to safe guard that information and will never sell or disclose said information to anyone outside the firm for any reason. Please note that while we will protect your confidential information, our firm, from time to time, will need to utilize some of your information for internal purposes not related directly to your current year tax preparation or for administrative reasons or to alert you to something we feel you need to know. Examples of this usage might include; mailing/emailing you a newsletter, mailing a holiday card, sending a text message to alert you to a tax law change, alert you to coming deadlines, or remind you of something we feel is important to assist with the filing or out processing of your returns. By signing this letter you agree to allow Finesse Tax Accounting, LLC access/usage to your information for such instances including but not limited to the aforementioned examples.
Please also note that in an effort to do our best to protect you from the increasing threat of identity theft and to ensure the returns filed by our firm are accurate, true, and pertain to the proper client or taxpayer, Finesse Tax Accounting, LLC reserves the right to request, as condition of our providing services, certain documents to verify your identity and the identity of others you may be listing on your tax returns. This is for your protection and for the protection of your spouse and/or dependents and these documents will be safeguarded to the best of our ability and in accordance with our document protection procedures. Such documents requested by our firm may include but are not limited to; government issued photo identification, Social Security Cards, birth certificates, or visa and immigration related documents.
If you agree with the terms of our engagement as described in this letter please sign below. Please be aware that by signing below and giving us your income tax information, you expressly agree to the terms of this engagement letter. We want to thank you for putting your trust in Finesse Tax Accounting, LLC and look forward to a long and mutually satisfying relationship.
Warm Regards,
Michael L. Fine, CSA
President
Finesse Tax Accounting, LLC