Client Engagement Agreement
This is the written agreement referred to on our website. No client relationship exists until you and The Tax Files Advisory both sign it. Bracketed items are filled in for you before signing. We will send your personal copy by email.
Governing Law and Binding Arbitration
This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Texas. Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these services that cannot be resolved through direct, informal negotiation shall be settled exclusively by confidential, binding arbitration in Collin County, Texas. Both parties agree that the arbitration will be conducted before a single neutral arbitrator, and the arbitrator’s ruling shall be final and legally binding. Both you and Tech Phyre LLC explicitly waive any right to a trial by judge or jury, or to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, or representative proceeding.
1. Parties
This agreement is between Tech Phyre LLC, a Texas limited liability company doing business as The Tax Files Advisory (“The Tax Files Advisory,” “we,” “us”), and the client named in the signature block (“you”). The tax preparer is Mum Monson, who holds an active IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN). Mum Monson is a tax preparer, not a CPA or tax attorney. She signs this agreement on behalf of Tech Phyre LLC as its Managing Member, and not in an individual capacity.
2. Services we will provide
We will prepare the following for tax year [tax year]:
- [ ] Individual return (Form 1040) and related schedules
- [ ] Self-employment or small business return (Schedule C, S corporation or partnership: specify)
- [ ] Other: [describe]
When your Form 1040 or Schedule C return claims the Earned Income Credit, the Child Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit, the Credit for Other Dependents, the American Opportunity Tax Credit, or Head of Household filing status, we will also complete Form 8867 (Paid Preparer’s Due Diligence Checklist) with your return, as the IRS requires of paid preparers. It is part of the service and is not billed separately. We will ask you the questions it requires and may ask for supporting documents.
Preparing your return includes a planning conversation about your situation, reviewing the documents you provide, preparing the return, reviewing it with you, and filing it once you approve. We will use the information you give us and will not audit or independently verify it, but we will ask reasonable questions where something looks incomplete or inconsistent. Our review, and any discussion of your documents, is limited to the tax year or period named above. It does not include reviewing or commenting on returns or documents from earlier years.
3. What is not included
Unless we agree in a separate written agreement, our services do not include bookkeeping or accounting, audit or financial statement services, legal advice, representation before the IRS or a state agency in an exam, audit or appeal, reviewing prior-year returns or documents, preparing amended or prior-year returns, or responding to notices. As a PTIN holder, Mum Monson’s authority to represent you before the IRS is limited to what IRS rules allow.
4. Your responsibilities
- Give us complete and accurate information and documents, and tell us about changes in your situation.
- Complete secure identity verification and provide valid government-issued photo identification before we accept your tax documents.
- Send documents by [date]. Late or incomplete documents may require an extension, higher fees or a later filing date.
- Review your return carefully before we file it. You are responsible for the information on it, and you will sign it (or authorize e-filing) under penalties of perjury.
- Pay any tax, interest and penalties that result from your return, and any amounts you owe us under this agreement.
- All tax documents must be submitted and provided through the secure client portal that we invite you to use (you will receive an activation email to set up your account), and not through any other method of exchange, including regular email. If you have an Excel spreadsheet, please make sure it is converted to PDF format.
5. Our responsibilities
We will prepare your return in accordance with applicable tax law and professional standards, including exercising due diligence about the accuracy of the information you provide. We will keep your information confidential, explain your return in plain English before filing, meet agreed deadlines when we receive complete documents on time, and sign the return as the paid preparer as the law requires. We do not guarantee any particular refund amount, tax result or outcome of an IRS or state review.
6. Fees and payment
Our fee for the services above is [fee or fee schedule]. A deposit of [deposit] is due when you sign. The balance is due [when], before we file. Additional work outside the scope above will be quoted and agreed with you in writing first. We do not base fees on a percentage of your refund.
6.1 Price Shopping, Dissatisfaction, and Earned Fees
- Pricing Acknowledgement: By signing this agreement, you acknowledge that you have reviewed, understand, and fully agree to our fee structure. You agree that you are not entering this agreement to “shop around” for estimates or compare prices across multiple firms.
- No Refunds for Dissatisfaction with Tax Outcomes: Our fees are charged strictly for the professional time, analysis, and labor required to prepare your returns in accordance with tax law. We do not guarantee a specific refund amount or tax liability outcome. Dissatisfaction with the lawful outcome of your tax return (such as owing taxes or receiving a lower-than-expected refund) does not excuse you from your obligation to pay our fees in full.
- Fees Fully Earned Upon Intake: Once you submit your tax documents or onboarding questionnaires to us, our professional labor begins. If you choose to terminate this agreement, withdraw your documents, or shop around after work has commenced, any deposit paid is non-refundable, and you will be billed at our standard hourly rate of [hourly rate] for all time incurred up to that moment. Any deposit paid will be applied toward that amount.
7. Filing and deadlines
If your return is filed electronically, we will ask you to sign the IRS e-file authorization before we transmit it. We will file by the due date, or file an extension for you, only if you have given us complete documents and approved the return in time. An extension to file is not an extension to pay; any tax due is still owed by the original due date.
8. Confidentiality and your information
We will keep your tax return information confidential and will not disclose or use it for any purpose other than preparing your return, except with your written consent or as the law requires or allows. If we ever ask to use or disclose it for another purpose, we will ask for your separate written consent first. See our Privacy Policy. Please use our secure channels for sensitive documents and do not send Social Security numbers or bank details by ordinary email.
9. Records
You should keep your original records and documents. We will keep a copy of your return and our work papers as required by law (generally at least three years), and we will return your original documents when we finish.
10. Fraud prevention
We do not prepare returns for taxpayers who cannot verify their identity, or that contain falsified documents, stolen identities or fraudulent information. If we believe a filing is fraudulent, we may stop work, decline to file, and report it as the law allows. You will still owe us for work already performed.
11. Limit of liability
To the fullest extent the law allows, our total liability for any claim relating to this agreement is limited to the fees you paid us for the services in question, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential damages. We are not responsible for penalties and interest that result from information you did not give us, gave us late or gave us inaccurately. Nothing in this agreement limits liability that the law does not allow to be limited. If the IRS assesses an understatement or preparer penalty against us to the extent caused by inaccurate or omitted information provided by you, you agree to indemnify us for the full cost of that penalty.
12. Ending this agreement
Either of us may end this agreement by written notice. You will pay for work completed up to that date. We will return your original documents and, on request, your records. This agreement ends when we file your return and deliver your copy, unless we agree in writing to continue.
If we part ways before the work is finished. If a disagreement arises, or you decide not to proceed with the tax preparation, consultation or any other services, we will return the personal tax documents you gave us (such as your W-2s, 1099s and other source records) promptly and through our secure portal or another secure method. We do not provide a draft return, a preliminary review, an estimate of your refund or balance due, or advice about your documents when services end before completion. Our drafts, analysis, notes and work papers remain our work product. Any fees owed under Sections 6 and 6.1 for work already performed remain due.
13. Full agreement
Governing law and how disputes are resolved are set out in the Governing Law and Binding Arbitration section at the top of this agreement. This is the entire agreement about these services. Changes must be in writing and signed by both of us. If any part is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
14. Right to Refuse Service and Non-Disparagement
- Right to Refuse Service: We reserve the absolute right to refuse or terminate service to anyone at any time, for any reason. If we exercise this right and terminate our services, we will promptly return all original tax documents and records to you. You will remain responsible for paying for any work completed up to the date of termination.
- Non-Disparagement: In the event of a disagreement or dispute, you agree not to make false or defamatory statements about The Tax Files Advisory, Tech Phyre LLC or its tax preparation services, including in online reviews (such as Google, Yelp or Facebook) or on social media. You also agree not to publish confidential information about our business or other clients, or unlawful content. Nothing in this agreement limits your right to share your honest opinions, experience or reviews of our services, to make truthful statements, to communicate with the IRS, a state agency or any regulator, or to exercise any other right the law protects.
- Remedies for Violations: If you publish a false or defamatory statement of fact in violation of this section, we may pursue the remedies the law allows, including removal of the material. To the extent the law allows, you agree to reimburse the reasonable attorney fees, collection fees and arbitration costs we incur to enforce this section.
15. Signatures
By signing electronically or with an ink pen, I confirm that I have read, reviewed and understood this agreement, and that I have been given ample time to consider it. I am of sound mind and fully agree to this agreement. Once I have signed this document, I cannot rescind the agreement, although either of us may end our services going forward as described in Section 12.
Client
Tech Phyre LLC d/b/a The Tax Files Advisory
Contact
Tech Phyre LLC d/b/a The Tax Files Advisory
17350 State Hwy 249, STE 220 #26248
Houston, TX 77064
Email: info@taxfilesadvisory.com or mum@taxfilesadvisory.com