TaxResources, Inc. (TRI) will provide the audit defense services for the tax return described on the membership certificate in return for the applicable membership fee and compliance with all applicable terms of this agreement.
CLARIFICATION OF TERMS
In this agreement, “you” and “your” refer to the member(s) shown on the membership certificate. “We,” “us” and “TRI” refer to TaxResources, Inc., the company providing audit defense services. “IRS” refers to the Internal Revenue Service and “State” refers to your state income tax authority.
Audit: Audit means any communication, including telephone calls, initiated by the IRS or State income tax agency that wishes to audit, examine, review, investigate or verify any item or items on the IRS income tax forms and State equivalent listed on the membership certificate.
Audit Defense:
Audit Defense means that TRI will represent you through the
completion of any income tax audit for the tax return year identified
on the membership certificate. Audit notification must be dated
after the acceptance date listed on the membership certificate,
subject to the limitations and exclusions listed in this membership
certificate and agreement.
Audit Defense also includes:
- Handling all communications, including letters and/or telephone calls with the IRS or State regarding the audit.
- Assigning the Audit Representative(s) to manage your case.
- Developing a strategy with you and then meet with the IRS or State on your behalf.
- Negotiating with the IRS or State through Appeals and pre-litigation Appeals review prior to trial in Tax Court.
- No settlement will be reached with the IRS or State without your final approval and consent.
- Two hours of collection assistance is available on request if your covered audit results in additional tax due.
Acceptance Date: Acceptance Date is the date TRI receives your membership application and payment in full and your application is approved. Your Acceptance Date appears on the membership certificate.
Statute of Limitations: Statute of Limitations is the time the IRS or State has to audit your tax return. The Statute of Limitations for the IRS is generally three years from the date of filing or the due date, whichever is later, and is typically four years for States.
Period of Membership: Period of Membership is the period commencing with the Acceptance Date and ending with the expiration of the normal statute of limitations period.
Audit Representative(s): Audit Representative(s) means your TRI audit representative(s) who will be assigned to your audit case. These individuals will ordinarily be assigned to you according to their area of expertise, subject only to TRI’s experience with each Audit Representative in actual past audits.
CONFIDENTIALITY
As a member of TRI, your name, address, and any other personal information will not be disclosed or sold to any persons or firms. Only TRI’s Audit and Technical staff will have access to your tax information.
MEMBER BENEFITS
Audit Defense – TaxResources, Inc. will professionally defend a covered federal or state income tax audit from the time of the first notice to its completion, subject to the Audit Defense Plan Limitations and Exclusions described below. This includes any audit that arises during the period of membership as defined on the membership certificate. All scheduling of appointments, telephone calls and correspondence will be handled by the assigned Audit Representative. We will meet with the auditor on your behalf and will defend you through the highest level of appeals, if necessary.
Assistance with IRS and State Income Tax Notices – TaxResources, Inc. will assist the member to resolve any notice received for the tax return listed on the membership certificate during the period of membership.
MEMBER OBLIGATIONS
Our Responsibility: We are responsible to provide you with the highest caliber audit defense service available.
Your Responsibility: You are responsible to perform or provide the following:
- Upon receipt of any communication from the IRS or State, promptly call TRI first at (888) 701-9695! Do not contact the IRS. To ensure effective service regarding your audit, you must use your assigned TRI Audit Representative(s) as your only contact with the IRS or State. If you do not contact TRI within 15 days of the date of the first notice, additional charges may apply. If you wait too long you will impede our ability to defend your case.
- Provide your signature(s) on the required IRS or State Power of Attorney and return to the Audit Representative(s) in a timely manner. This will enable your Audit Representative(s) to communicate with the IRS or State on your behalf. This document may not be altered in any way.
- Provide in a timely manner the information and documentation necessary to substantiate the various items of income and expense in question so that your Audit Representative(s) can prepare your defense.
- We ask that you comply with the audit procedure and strategy actions recommended by TaxResources, Inc. and any of the Audit Representative(s) working on your behalf. If you are unable to maintain this commitment, TaxResources, Inc. cannot be responsible for the outcome of your audit and reserves the right to cease providing service where reasonably warranted.
AUDIT DEFENSE PLAN LIMITATIONS
TaxResources, Inc. is dedicated solely to legitimately protecting the rights and assets of our members in the event of an audit or notice. The following defines our service limitations:
- TRI does not provide legal assistance, nor represent our members in Federal or State Court, including Tax Court.
- TRI does not provide legal assistance in defending issues of civil or criminal fraud.
- TRI does not prepare or amend our members’ Federal, State or Local income tax returns.
- TRI will not reconcile checkbooks, organize records or do record keeping or bookkeeping for our members.
- TRI does not provide assistance for collection notices when we did not defend the audit. If you have a collection notice from the IRS or State it is not considered an audit or notice and is not covered by your TRI Audit Defense Membership.
- TRI is not responsible for the extra work and costs involved if you report your audit or notice late or you do not cooperate by providing the documentation in a timely manner to your representative which results in the auditing agency issuing a Notice of Deficiency (NOD) or the state equivalent. If this occurs, TRI will pass these costs onto the member in the form of a Late Fee.
AUDIT DEFENSE PLAN EXCLUSIONS
Certain audits, tax returns, and issues of audit may be excluded from the Audit Defense Plan for any of the following reasons:
Pre-existing conditions – If the date on the notice of audit from the IRS or State is prior to the Acceptance Date of this Agreement, audit defense services for that audit are excluded.
Large Businesses – Business entities with gross receipts exceeding $5 million and/or 10 partners/stockholders/beneficiaries/members are not eligible for membership.
Ownership interest in other tax entities – If you have an ownership interest in a Corporation, Partnership, LLC, LLP, Trust, Estate, or Tax Shelter that has been contacted for an audit and is not a TRI member, audit defense services for that tax entity are excluded.
Late or delinquent filers – If a tax return was filed later than its initial due date including extensions, then TRI’s audit defense for that tax return is excluded. For example: a 2010 Form 1040 tax return originally due 04/18/2011 can be formally extended until 10/17/2011 and must be filed 10/17/2011 to have audit defense services. An additional one time fee may be paid to eliminate the exclusion for any year that was filed after the period described above. If a fee has been paid to include audit services for a normally excluded year, that year will be listed on the membership certificate. If not, please call (800) 922-8348 to add this service.
Tax protestors – TaxResources, Inc. will exclude anyone protesting the taxing of income on economic, religious, legal or constitutional grounds, or other frivolous claims.
Criminal Investigation (CI) – If you are currently under investigation by CI, you are excluded from audit defense services. For any audit that TRI is defending in which CI enters the audit, TRI will cease working that audit and will exclude the member from further audit defense services until completion of the CI investigation. When the CI investigation is completed, TRI will resume working on the audit.
Other taxes – Your Audit Defense Plan is limited to the type of income tax return listed on the membership certificate. Payroll tax, sales tax, property tax, gross receipts tax, city and local tax, estate and gift tax and compliance audits of pension and profit sharing plans are excluded from the Audit Defense Plan.
HOW TO CONTACT US
Audit and Technical Services Mailing Address (All Tax Related Correspondence and Documents):
TaxResources, Inc. – Audit and Technical Services
7803 Madison Avenue, Suite A-100
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
Phone number: (888) 701-9695
Fax number: (888) 901-9695
E-mail address: ReportYourAudit@taxaudit.com
