SECTION A: CLIENT INFORMATION

Taxpayer information:

Name (first, middle, last) as it appears on your Social Security Card:

Nickname (as you wish to be called):

Occupation:

Your social security number:    DOB:

Your address (street, city, state, zip):


Your telephone number(s):
Work:   Home:

Mobile: Other:

Your email address (to receive confidential information & newsletters from
TAX HELP + ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS)

Referred by if applicable: 

SECTION B:
For each dependent provide the following – if none, go to Section C

Name (first, middle, last):        Over 18? Yes     No

Social security number:

Attending school?: Yes     No

Relationship: (son, daughter, mother, father, etc.)

DOB:

Number of months lived at home (if not 12):

Do you pay for daycare in order for your spouse to work? If not, skip the remainder of this section and go to SECTION C. Yes     No

Name of daycare:

Address of daycare (street, city, state, zip):


Telephone No.:
Social security or federal ID number of day care:

SECTION B: For each dependent provide the following – if none, go to Section C

Name (first, middle, last):        Over 18? Yes     No

Social security number:
Attending school?: Yes     No

Relationship: (son, daughter, mother, father, etc.)

DOB:

Number of months lived at home (if not 12):

Do you pay for daycare in order for your spouse to work? If not, skip the remainder of this section and go to SECTION C. Yes     No

Name of daycare:
Address of daycare (street, city, state, zip):


Telephone No.:
Social security or federal ID number of day care:

SECTION B: For each dependent provide the following – if none, go to Section C

Name (first, middle, last):        Over 18? Yes     No

Social security number:
Attending school?: Yes     No

Relationship: (son, daughter, mother, father, etc.)

DOB:

Number of months lived at home (if not 12):

Do you pay for daycare in order for your spouse to work? If not, skip the remainder of this section and go to SECTION C. Yes     No

Name of daycare:
Address of daycare (street, city, state, zip):


Telephone No.:
Social security or federal ID number of day care:

SECTION B: For each dependent provide the following – if none, go to Section C

Name (first, middle, last):        Over 18? Yes     No

Social security number:
Attending school?: Yes     No

Relationship: (son, daughter, mother, father, etc.)

DOB:

Number of months lived at home (if not 12):

Do you pay for daycare in order for your spouse to work? If not, skip the remainder of this section and go to SECTION C. Yes     No

Name of daycare:
Address of daycare (street, city, state, zip):


Telephone No.:
Social security or federal ID number of day care:

SECTION C: Questionnaire

1. Do you own a home? If not, skip to question 2.
   
   1. Property tax statement – needed for itemization
   2. Final closing escrow statement(s) if you purchased or re-financed your home during the tax year for review and possible itemization
   3. Form 1098 and/or interest paid during the year, if no Form 1098 was received needed for itemization

2. Did you make any non-cash contributions during the year? If not, skip to question 3.
   
   1. For any non-cash contribution, provide the name and address of the donor organization, a description of the property, the date of contribution, the fair market value, and the method used to determine market value – thrift, appraisal, etc.
   2. If the donation was greater than $500, in addition to the above, provide the acquisition date and cost and how it was acquired (purchased, gift, etc.).
    
3. Do you own a business? If not, skip to question 4.
   
   1. Provide income and expenses for the tax year
   2. Provide purchase dates and prices for all assets purchased for the business during the tax year
 
4. Do you own rental property or partnership? If not, skip to question 5.
   
   1. Provide income and expenses for the year – if partnership, this will be presented in the form of a K-1
   2. Provide purchase dates and prices for all assets purchased for the rental property during the tax year
 
5. Do you have any employee business or business vehicle expenses? If not, skip to question 6.
   
   1. Provide employee business expenses that were not reimbursed by your employer
   2. Provide vehicle miles for business, commuting, and personal miles
   3. Provide the purchase date, the year and model of your vehicle
 
6. Do you have any other income or expense items or other financial transaction that you wish us to review?
   Yes     No
 
7. Miscellaneous additional:
   

STANDARD ENGAGEMENT LETTER FOR TAX PREPARATION

Dear Client or Client Representative,
We appreciate the opportunity to work with you. To minimize the possibility of a misunderstanding between us, we are setting forth pertinent information about the services we will perform for you.

1. We will prepare your (tax year) federal and California individual income tax returns from information you furnish us. We will not audit or otherwise verify the data you submit, although we may ask you to clarify some of the information. We will furnish you with questionnaires to help you gather and organize the necessary information for us, in order to keep our fee to a minimum.
 
2. During tax return season, which runs from January to April 15, we must receive all information to prepare your return by April 5. If we have not received your information by then, we cannot guarantee meeting the April 15 deadline, unless you have made special arrangements with us. At other times, we will generally require at least 5 business days after we receive all information to complete your return on schedule.
 
3. It is your responsibility to maintain, in your records, the documentation necessary to support the data used in preparing your tax returns, including but not limited to the auto, travel, entertainment, and related expenses and the required documents to support charitable contributions. If you have any questions as to the type of records required, please ask us for advice in that regard.
 
4. It is also your responsibility to carefully examine and approve your completed tax returns before signing, mailing or electronically transmitting them to the tax authorities. We are not responsible for the disallowance of doubtful deductions or inadequately supported documentation, nor for resulting taxes, penalties and interest.
 
5. For tax years beginning in 2000, the IRS has provided that an individual taxpayer and his or her spouse, if applicable, may authorize the IRS to discuss the taxpayer’s tax return with the CPA or EA who signed the taxpayer’s return as the return preparer. The authorization is granted by checking the "yes" box, you are granting the IRS permission to contact our firm with questions that may arise during the processing of your return. You would also be granting our firm the permission to (1) provide the IRS with any information that may be missing from your return, (2) call the IRS to inquire on the processing of your return or on the status of your refund, and (3) respond to any IRS notices that you have provided to our firm relating to mathematical errors, offsets, and return preparation. Please note that our firm will not receive separate copies of IRS notices; therefore, you must provide our firm with copies of any notices you receive from the IRS. Once elected, the authorization cannot be revoked. The authorization is valid for one year after the due date for filing the tax return. It is our firm’s policy to automatically check this box unless we receive instructions from you to do otherwise.
 
6. We are responsible for preparing only the returns listed above. Our fee does not include responding to inquires or examinations by taxing authorities. However, we are available to represent you and our fees for such services are at our standard rates and would be covered under a separate engagement letter.
 
7. We will use our judgment to resolve questions in your favor where a tax law is unclear if there is a reasonable justification for doing so. Whenever we are aware that a possibly applicable tax law is unclear or that there are conflicting interpretations of the law by authorities (e.g., tax agencies and courts), we will explain the possible positions that may be taken on your return. We will follow whatever position you request, so long as it is consistent with the codes and regulations and interpretations that have been promulgated. If the IRS should later contest the position taken, there may be an assessment of additional tax plus interest and penalties. We assume no liability for any such additional penalties or assessments.
 
8. As your CPA or EA, we collect:
   • Information provided by you from your tax organizer, worksheets, documents,
      and discussions &
   • Information that we develop as part of this engagement.
   
   As your CPA or EA, we are required to keep all information about our engagement confidential, so we will not disclose any information about you unless we have your approval or are required/permitted by law. This applies even if you are no longer a client.
   
   As your CPA or EA, we are committed to the safekeeping of your confidential information and we maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect your information.
 
9. It is our firm’s policy to retain copies of your tax returns for seven years, after which they will be destroyed.
 
10. Fees for our services will be at our standard rates plus computer charges and out-of-pocket expenses. Payment for service is due when rendered and interim billings may be submitted as work progresses and expenses are incurred. We reserve the right to stop work on any account that is 30 days past due, in accordance with our firm’s stated collection policy.
 
11. If any dispute arises among the parties, they agree to try first in good faith to settle the dispute by mediation administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Rules for Professional Accounting and Related Services Disputes. All unresolved disputes shall then be decided by final and binding arbitration in accordance with the Rules for Professional Accounting and Related Services Disputes of the AAA. Fees charged by any mediators, arbitrators, or the AAA shall be shared equally by all parties. IN AGREEING TO ARBITRATION, WE BOTH ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IN THE EVENT OF A DISPUTE OVER FEES CHARGED BY THE ACCOUNTANT, EACH OF US IS GIVING UP THE RIGHT TO HAVE THE DISPUTE DECIDED IN A COURT OF LAW BEFORE A JUDGE OR JURY AND INSTEAD WE ARE ACCEPTING THE USE OF ARBITRATION FOR RESOLUTION.

We are pleased to have you as a client and look forward to a long and mutually satisfying relationship.

Sincerely,

_________________________________ Date:____________________________
TAX HELP + ACCOUNTING SOLUTION

Accepted:

_________________________________ Date:____________________________
Client or Client representative

_________________________________ Date:____________________________
Client or Client representative