Engagement of ALM Taxation as your Tax Agent
This letter sets out our terms of engagement. Please read it and make sure that you understand the scope of our engagement.
Income Tax
This firm has been engaged to prepare and lodge income tax returns on behalf of you, the taxpayer. It is expected that in respect of income tax returns, the taxpayer will comply with the provisions of the Income Tax Assessment Act. We will specifically advise as to the requirements of the substantiation provisions relating to your income tax return and of the necessity to obtain acceptable receipts or documentation as specifically required by the legislation. It is also expected that you the taxpayer, must declare all sources of income such as income from all employers, government allowance received, interest income, dividend from shares, capital gains from sale of property or shares, business income, rental property income, Crypto Income, managed funds, foreign income sources, trusts and any other income that is considered assessable under Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 - sec 26AFA.
The accuracy, responsibility, reliability and completeness of the particulars and information provided to us by the clients rests with the client, director, partner, or trustee for this tax return. Under self-assessment, you the taxpayer have the obligation to keep full and proper records in order to facilitate the preparation of accurate returns.
Basis of Engagement
You the taxpayer are responsible for the maintenance and record keeping of all income, tax deductions, tax offsets, and any other claims related to your tax return. Our firm is not being engaged to conduct a statutory audit of your financial records and we will not express an auditor’s opinion as to the truthfulness and fairness of any financial information submitted.
You the taxpayer are responsible for the maintenance and record keeping of all income, tax deductions, tax offsets, and any other claims related to your tax return. Our firm is not being engaged to conduct a statutory audit of your financial records and we will not express an auditor’s opinion as to the truthfulness and fairness of any financial information submitted.
Documentation
Before we lodge any returns on your behalf, we will forward the documents to you for your approval & Signature We will ensure that the returns are lodged by the due dates and where this cannot be done, we will advise you in person and/or in writing if circumstances arise.
We will do our best to meet the time limits, but we will not be responsible for any lodgement penalties you may incur. Where additional information is needed, we will request additional information and you must provide additional documentation within four weeks from the date of this letter as requested by us. Additional fees and charges may be applied or the engagement may be maybe canceled if we do not receive the appropriate documentation and information from you to complete your unpledged or unprocessed tax return as requested after the 4 weeks period. Please note any fees already paid to us will be non refundable and we reserve the right to charge an additional service fee for re-work.
Ownership of Documentation
The tax returns and any other documents which we are specifically engaged to prepare, together with any original documents given to us by you, shall be your property. Any other documents brought into existence by us, including general working papers, draft documents, and tax returns will remain our property at all times. If our services are terminated, we shall be entitled to retain all documents that we have prepared or hold until payment in full of all outstanding fees.
Processing Time
We will do our best to ensure your tax return is lodged correctly to the ATO according to the information you have provided us. We may not make any guarantees as to when or if the tax returns or any refunds will be processed, as the ATO may withhold your tax return including any refunds due to various audit reasons as stipulated by the ATO. In the case where the tax return is delayed, we will act as your authorised tax agent to contact the ATO on your behalf to try to resolve any issues. There will be some instances where yourself, the customer, will have to contact the ATO directly regarding any issues. If it is the case, we will advise you directly. We are not liable for any penalties or charges you may incur from the ATO.
Additional Services
Our agreed fee is only for the preparation and lodgement of the tax return only. Once the taxpayer/customer has signed all required documentation required by our firm and the payment including any outstanding fees owed has been paid. These fees are strictly non-refundable. If in the case we have completed and invoiced the work as agreed to you and is still unpaid by you, we reserve the right to transfer and refer your files and any fees owing to a debt collection agency and any additional fees charged by the debt collector will be passed to you for payment.
Any addiƟ onal services or advice that you request are not included in this agreed fee. These services will be charged on the basis of the Ɵme and degree of skill and acumen required to complete the task undertaken by us, including any direct out-of-pocket expenses. Please note any further correspondence, inquiries, or invesƟ gaƟ ons undertaken by us or with the Australian TaxaƟ on Office or ASIC will be treated as addiƟ onal services.
Privacy Policy & Email Policy
ALM Taxation may engage other parties such as contractors, sub-contractors, or employees to assist in processing your financial records, tax returns, BAS returns, personal records, and other necessary processes to facilitate this engagement. As sƟ pulated in the Privacy Act 1988, we will ensure that your personal informaƟ on will be stored securely and these other parƟ es will not have authority to remove this data from our database for other purposes other than agreed within this engagement. Furthermore, we will seek your consent if there isa need to disclose your informaƟ on for special circumstances such as law enforcement reasons.
You also agree to receive marketing materials and other communications from ALM Taxation including a recommendation for our other services including home loan services, business services, advice, and financial planning. If you do not wish to receive these communications, you may request that materials be discontinued by writing to us. We will also have the right to access your tax information with the Australian Tax Office to meet the necessary requirements of our tax agent services.
Tax Refund/Payable Estimate Provided
The tax refund/payable estimate provided is based on your information you have provided us, there is no warranty or guarantee as this tax refund/payable estimate maybe amended by the ATO if additional income as determined by the ATO as assessable income was not declared by you on this tax return. Also your tax refund maybe offset against other government agencies for debts you may owe. The tax refund/payable estimate provided is already inclusive of all ATO/Government tax offsets/rebates, credits, tax withheld, and Medicare levy exemption claimed (If applicable).
Acknowledgement/ confirmation
I hereby acknowledge and accept the terms of this engagement and agree to be liable for all fees for services performed in accordance with this agreement.
Acknowledgment and confirmation of the terms of engagement
I __________________ of TFN _________ confirm that I understand and agree to your terms of engagement.