Tax Client Questionnaire
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Thank you for your cooperation!
Thank you for taking time to complete your Client Questionnaire. For new clients, this information is critical to ensure we accurately file your tax return. For existing clients, we kindly request you provide this information again to ensure our records are 100% accurate and up to date.
This questionnaire may take you at least 20 minutes to complete. Please be sure to organize all of your tax documents prior to completing the form.
DEPENDENT 1
DEPENDENT 2
DEPENDENT 3
FOUR OR MORE DEPENDENTS
If you have four or more dependents or qualifying children, please list their name(s) as it appears on their social security card, their social security number, date of birth and relationship to the taxpayer.
ELIGIBILITY RECORD (DUE DILEGENCE)
FOR EARNED INCOME CREDIT (EIC) ELIGIBILITY
RELATIONSHIP TEST
AGE TEST
RESIDENCY TEST
QUALIFYING CHILD OF ANOTHER TEST
VALID SSN TEST
Types of Income
Assets
Adjustments
Deductions and Credits
Obilgations
Self Employed/Independent Contractor
Acknowledgment and Signature
I acknowledge that all information provided to Grand Tax Solutions is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I understand that I am required to maintain and provide any supporting documentation necessary to validate the information submitted.
I further understand that knowingly providing false or misleading information on my tax return and submitting it to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may result in criminal penalties, including but not limited to court proceedings, restitution, fines, and possible imprisonment.
I agree to release and hold harmless Grand Tax Solutions and the tax preparer from any errors, penalties, or consequences resulting from incorrect, incomplete, or false information provided by me.
By signing below, I authorize Grand Tax Solutions to prepare and electronically file my tax return(s) on my behalf.
Fee Responsibility & Refund Offset Acknowledgment
I acknowledge by signing this form that if I and/or my spouse owes any federal or government debt, including but not limited to IRS liabilities, child support, or student loans, I/we remain fully responsible for all tax preparation fees due to Grand Tax Solutions at the time services are rendered.
I/we further understand that if any federal refund is issued by mail, I/we are still responsible for payment of all tax preparation fees as stated on the invoice.
If tax preparation fees are not paid as agreed, I understand that Grand Tax Solutions reserves the right to pursue legal action to collect any unpaid tax preparation fees.
ENGAGEMENT LETTER
Dear Taxpayer,
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 returns based solely on the information you furnish to us. Upon completion of your tax returns we will return any original tax documents to 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, proper records to support deductions claimed for meals, entertainment, travel, business gifts, charitable contributions, 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 returns 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 or real property tax. 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, long distance phone charges and computer processing charges. Our fee for the preparation of your tax returns will be due and payable upon presentation of your completed income tax filing. 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.
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.
Compensation & Early Termination
By signing this engagement, you agree to compensate Grand Tax Solutions for the services you have requested. In the event that you terminate this engagement prior to the completion of your tax or accounting work, Grand Tax Solutionsreserves the right to invoice you for any out-of-pocket expenses, professional time billed at our applicable hourly rates, and any other costs incurred during the course of this engagement.
If you have received in-person consultation services, advisory services by phone or email, representation services, or any other tax or accounting services, you acknowledge and agree that by signing this engagement letter, you are responsible for payment of these services—even if the engagement is terminated before the firm completes the work requested or required.
Please be advised that if you receive any correspondence from a taxing authority that pertains to a tax return prepared by this firm we will be happy to address this matter on your behalf. Included in the cost of your tax preparation is 120 minutes of correspondence work per tax year at no additional charge. During that 120 minutes we will assess your situation and apprise you of the course of action we believe is best to take. If we can also compose and send off a reply to the appropriate taxing authority then we will certainly do so. If the matter or issue will involve more than 120 minutes of work, each additional hour (or fraction thereof) will be billed at a standard hourly rate of one hundred and fifty dollars ($99) per 60 minute hour. When possible, we will do our best to inform you if we believe your issue will require more than 120 minutes to handle, however there may be a situation when we are unable to inform you in advance. Even if we are unable to inform you, the standard hourly rate listed above will apply and is payable upon completion of this work. At any time in the 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 note that except in cases where our office is deemed at fault, a flat $50 dollar handling charge will be assessed for all matters where our assistance is requested in handling any such correspondence from any taxing authority. This charge is not included in your annual tax preparation fees and is payable upon completion of our work in connection with said correspondence.
Please also note that audit/examination representation work is not included in the tax preparation fee 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 their preparation does not include the costs to represent you with regard to any audit or examination unless you opt in for the Audit Maintenance Protection for $49.99 which will be added in with your tax preparation fees.
Privacy & Limited Internal Use Authorization
Grand Tax Solutions takes your privacy and personal information very seriously. We take all reasonable and necessary steps to safeguard your information and do not sell or disclose your personal or financial information to any third party outside of our firm, except as required by law or as necessary to provide agreed-upon services.
Please note that while your confidential information is protected, Grand Tax Solutions may, from time to time, use limited contact information for internal purposes not directly related to the preparation of your current-year tax return. Examples of such use may include sending newsletters, holiday cards, or making courtesy phone calls to extend greetings or well wishes.
By signing this agreement, you authorize Grand Tax Solutions to allow limited access to your information by our staff solely for these informal, non-tax-preparation-related purposes.
Identity Verification & Fraud Prevention
Please also note that, in an effort to help combat the increasing threat of identity theft and to ensure that tax returns prepared and filed by Grand Tax Solutions are accurate, complete, and submitted on behalf of the correct taxpayer, our firm reserves the right—as a condition of providing services—to request certain documents to verify your identity and the identity of any individuals listed on your tax return.
This verification process is conducted for your protection and for the protection of your spouse and/or dependents. Any documents collected will be safeguarded to the best of our ability and handled in accordance with our document retention and data protection procedures.
Documents that may be requested include, but are not limited to: government-issued photo identification, Social Security cards, birth certificates, and visa or immigration-related documentation.
Acceptance of Engagement
If you agree to the terms of our engagement as described in this letter, please sign below. By signing and providing your income tax information, you expressly acknowledge and agree to all terms and conditions outlined in this engagement letter.
We sincerely thank you for placing your trust in Grand Tax Solutions and look forward to a long, professional, and mutually rewarding relationship.
Warm Regards,
Gene Ford
CEO
Grand Tax Solutions
CONSENT TO USE OF TAX RETURN INFORMATION
Federal law requires this consent form be provided to you. Unless authorized by law, we cannot use, without your consent, your tax return information for purposes other than the preparation and filing of your tax return. However, federal law also prohibits us from revealing any personal or financial information to any third party. Therefore as a matter of fact, we will never reveal your financial or personal information in any way, to anyone, unless you specifically request we do so, and provide in writing to us the specific person or persons to whom you wish that disclose to be made, which is done on a wholly separate consent form from this. For the purposes of this consent form please note we are seeking consent only to satisfy requirements set forth by federal law so we may speak with you on the phone, send you email correspondences of any kind, send you mailings, newsletters, email reminders, holiday and occasional cards and greetings, and reminders of upcoming deadlines, etc.
You are not required to complete this form. If we obtain your signature on this form by conditioning our service on your consent, your consent will not be valid. Your consent is valid for the amount of time that you specify. If you do not specify the duration of your consent, your consent is valid for a period of three years from the date you have signed the consent.
Consent to Use of Tax Return Information
The undersigned hereby consents to the use, by Grand Tax Solutions, its owners, employees, and staff, of any and all tax return information pertaining to the undersigned, solely for purposes permitted under this consent and as allowed by applicable law.
Direct questions, inquiries or requests you make regarding your tax returns, situation, or issues.
Requests you make for copies of your documents, figures, numbers, or information.
Upon your direct request in order to connect you with another professional in another field or profession so you may gain further information on a certain topic not available or in the realm of expertise of this firm.
Notification of important tax law changes.
Notification of changes or information that will impact our engagement, such as a change of firm website address, email address, physical location, or other such contact, biographical or geographical information.
Other reasonable business purposes including but not limited to: appointment reminders, holiday mailings, birthday greetings and other informational mailings.
Restriction on Use & Disclosure of Tax Information
The tax information provided may not be disclosed or used by Grand Tax Solutions, its owners, employees, or staff for any purpose other than those expressly permitted by this consent document or as otherwise required by law.
If you believe your tax return information has been disclosed or used improperly in a manner unauthorized by law or without your permission, you may contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) by telephone at 1-800-366-4484 by email at [email protected].
CONSENT FOR PAYMENT
Service Disclaimer & Payment Options
At Grand Tax Solutions, we value the relationships we build with each of our clients and are committed to providing you with the highest level of service. We would like to remind you that we are providing tax preparation services, not a guaranteed refund.
As a taxpayer, you have the option to pay your tax preparation fees using one of the following methods: cash, check, money order, credit card, or directly from your refund*.
*If you choose to have the tax preparation fees taken from your refund and for whatever reason your taxes are intercepted, YOU ARE STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TAX PREPARATION FEES! Please contact us immediately at our office for payment or payment arrangements. By signing your return you are agreeing to pay the preparation fees regardless if your refund was received or not. After 90 days from the date the refund was scheduled to arrive if no payment or payment arrangement is made, we will be forced to put your account into collections and/or debit your bank account. We hope we never have to go this route, so please keep open communication with us so we can work with you!