Tod Marcus Inc DBA Tax Services Oahu – CLIENT SERVICE AGREEMENT
This Client Service Agreement outlines the terms between you, the Client, and Tod Marcus Inc DBA Tax Services Oahu, the Tax Preparer. This agreement specifically covers income tax preparation and filing services only. It does not include Hawaii General Excise Tax, Transient Accommodation Tax, Sales Tax, Payroll Tax, Bookkeeping Services, 1099 Filing, Annual Business Renewal, Beneficial Ownership Reporting, or any other filings. Should you require additional services, a separate engagement agreement must be requested and entered into.
This agreement concludes upon cancellation by either party or the filing of your income tax returns. Both the client and the tax preparer can terminate this agreement immediately at any time without explanation or notice. If you disengage prior to completion, you agree to pay for the work already completed by the tax preparer at our standard hourly rates.
Quoted rates are estimates based on your tax situation’s complexity and hourly charges for additional time and attention. For tax planning or other tax advice, an advanced, non-refundable fee of $450 plus tax is required. This fee can be credited towards your current year’s income tax preparation fees and expires in three years. New clients with fees estimated at over $1,000 must pay a non-refundable deposit of half the estimated fee before any work begins.
Payment for services is required prior to tax return filing, and you are responsible for settling any outstanding invoices in advance of deadlines to facilitate on-time filing. Annual fee increases of 3% to 6% will be automatically applied based on current rates, inflation, and operating cost increases. The tax preparer may, at their discretion, honor a client’s previous year’s prices, subject to these annual increases and adjustments for changes in complexity.
Appointment availability for support is limited from January through April, and most engagements requiring support and guidance during this period will be by phone or email only or necessitate an extension. A $50 fee applies to payments returned for insufficient funds. Invoices settled late will incur a 5% late fee for 30 days of delinquency and every 90 days thereafter.
The tax preparer does not guarantee on-time filing, with turnaround times potentially up to 6 weeks. Our turnaround time begins once we receive all required documents, data, signatures, and answers, not from the submission of partial information.
This engagement includes one 90-minute meeting at no additional fee, available from May through December, which can be in person, by phone, or online. This meeting includes support to advise on IRS/State letters and correspondence, but only for issues specifically involving tax years you engaged with the tax preparer. After this initial meeting, the tax preparer charges $350 per hour in 15-minute increments.
Extension filing and calculations are included with no additional fee upon request and entering this agreement; extensions are not automatically filed. You agree to provide all necessary data by March 23rd to allow sufficient time for tax balance due calculations for the extension.
Individual Income Tax Return Preparation Fees:
| Base Rates – Includes one state return (see below for additional forms and situations) | |
| Single, no dependents | From $750 |
| Single, with dependents | From $750 |
| Married, no dependents | From $750 |
| Married, with dependents | From $750 |
| Married Filing Separately | From $900 ($1200 comm prop state) |
| Additional State Tax Returns | $50 each |
| *Additional Forms, Situations, and Data Management | |
| 1099 NEC, Contractor, Self Employed, Business Income | $50 / $450* |
| Investment/Stock Trades/Crypto Transactions | $25 per brokerage account |
| Form K1 Investment Entry | $25 each |
| Rental Property | $50 each |
| Sale of Main Home or Rental Property | $200 each for a new client, $50 each for a returning client |
| Earned Income Credit | $250 |
| Non-cash charity deduction exceeding $500 (form 8283) | $50 |
| Injured spouse – (form 8379) | $50 (with tax return only) |
| IRA conversions or non-taxable IRA basis (form 8606) | $50 |
| Form 5695 / N342 / 8936 (solar or electric car credits) | $50 |
| Military Spouse Relief Act | $50 |
| Form 1116 (foreign tax credit) | $250 |
| Form 2555 (foreign income exclusion) | $250 |
| Form 1040 for dependents (with parent’s tax return) | $175 |
| FINCEN Form 114 (FBAR Report) | $150 (up to 5 accounts, $10 each additional account) |
| Form 8938 (foreign specified assets) | $50 up to 5 accounts, $10 each additional account |
| Form 8824 (like kind exchange) | $350 each |
| Form 3115 (change of accounting method) | $800 (with tax return only) |
| Form 709 Gift Tax Return (with tax return only) | From $450 each |
| Data management assistance (adding of receipts, journals, bank statements, unorganized data, if client refuses to fill out simple organizers, etc.) | $250/hr |
| Quarterly Estimated Tax Planning (a la carte) | $50-$350 depending on complexity |
*Self-employed services include GE tax explanation (but not form instruction), estimated tax planning, vehicle depreciation, and guidance with deductions. For tax returns where none of these services are provided, the fee is an additional $150. If any or all of these services are provided, the fee is $450.
Business and Trust Income Tax Return Preparation Fees:
| Other Tax Returns (EA-Prepared Only – Includes one State Return) | ||
| S Corporation or Partnership | From $900 depending on complexity** | |
| Trust or Estate | From $750 depending on complexity*** | |
| Additional State (Business or Trust) | $100 each | |
** For S Corporations or Partnerships with more than 4 partners or shareholders, and for Trust or Estate tax returns with more than 4 beneficiaries, an additional fee of $75 applies per additional partner, shareholder, or beneficiary.
*** For S Corporations or Partnerships with gross sales exceeding $1,000,000, an additional fee of $100 applies for each additional $1,000,000 in gross sales (or portion thereof) up to $10,000,000 in total gross sales.
Services Not Included
The following services are not included in this engagement. If you require any of these, they must be specifically requested, and a new, separate engagement agreement will be required, subject to our availability and additional fees.
- Reminders of tax-related deadlines.
- Hawaii General Excise Tax (GET) or Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) filing.
- Form 1099 filing.
- Support or services for tax years not engaged with our firm. This includes amended returns, penalty abatement, tax balance support, or representation for prior periods.
- Any services after client or preparer disengagement.
- Direct representation, power of attorney, phone calls to the IRS/States or other agencies on your behalf, or assistance with IRS/state payment plans, audit reconsideration, or offers in compromise.
- Annual business registration renewal.
- Financial statements (e.g., audits, attestations), business valuations, solvency assessments, or letters to lenders.
- Complex or highly specialized tax situations not explicitly covered in your engagement agreement, including non-U.S. activity reporting, active day trading, or bankruptcy/insolvency related tax matters.
- Communications with third parties to obtain or provide documents or other information on your behalf.
- Processing virtual currency transactions requiring extensive data manipulation or the use of client-provided software.
- Bookkeeping and detailed data management. To avoid additional fees, you must provide categorized income and expense statements, or complete our organizers, questionnaires, and worksheets. We charge extra to extract, interpret, sum, or merge data from unorganized receipts, ledgers, bank statements, or other documents that are not fully completed and categorized financial statements. Bookkeeping, if availability allows, will require a separate agreement.
Fee Payment Authorization
By agreeing to this engagement, I authorize Tod Marcus Inc to charge my designated bank account(s) or credit card(s) via our payment processor(s) (e.g., Bill.com, Intuit, Patriot, PayPal, Chase Paymentech) for all fees due under this agreement. This authorization includes any necessary adjustments for transactions credited or debited in error.
I confirm I have the authority to authorize these transactions and that all payments will comply with U.S. law. This authorization remains effective until I provide written notice of cancellation to Tod Marcus Inc or the payment processor, allowing reasonable time for processing.
Client Documents
Upon completion, we will provide you with one copy of your completed income tax return(s), available either via secure online download or in printed format. You agree to promptly download or retrieve this copy, as online access links expire, and we do not permanently store client documentation or guarantee its re-delivery. You acknowledge the importance of securely retaining all your records and supporting documents, as they are essential for substantiating your tax return(s).
Any additional copies of engagement documents or previously delivered tax returns will be provided at our discretion for an additional fee covering our time and costs.
Our engagement file, excluding your copy of the completed tax return, remains our property.
When submitting documents, please provide copies only and retain your originals. If we receive original documents, you are responsible for picking them up during normal business hours, or we can return them via regular mail upon request.
We retain engagement documentation for a period of seven years, after which time all files will be destroyed.
Client Responsibilities and Engagement Limitations
Our engagement is based on your full and timely cooperation. You agree to:
- Disclose all worldwide income, investment, security, business property, and real property cost basis information. We will rely on the information you provide and will not audit or otherwise verify the data you submit, nor will our work include procedures to find defalcations or other irregularities.
- Disclose and participate in multi-state residency determinations.
- Inform us as to the correct tax filing treatment for your business entity, unless we were specifically engaged to organize its filings and elections.
- Review and check your completed tax return(s) to ensure all provided data is included and accurate before filing.
General Limitations and Acknowledgments
You acknowledge the following limitations of our engagement:
- Our engagement is limited to the preparation of your current tax return(s). We are not engaged to review, audit, or verify the accuracy or completeness of prior year tax returns prepared by other tax professionals, nor are we responsible for discovering any errors, irregularities, or misstatements in such returns. Should we identify any potential issues with prior year returns during our current year engagement, we will bring them to your attention for further discussion, which may require a separate engagement for remediation.
- We do not provide advice or services regarding business registration requirements, including but not limited to foreign/state entity qualification, licensing, or compliance in any state or jurisdiction. You are solely responsible for ensuring your business is properly registered and compliant in all states and jurisdictions where it operates, and we are not responsible for any penalties, fines, or other consequences resulting from non-compliance.
- We do not guarantee the accuracy of estimated tax calculations or that any provided tax planning advice is the most optimal.
- We do not guarantee the amount of any refund, its timing, or delivery method. You are responsible for verifying correct bank information on your tax returns, and we will not reimburse or advance missing, misdirected, or delayed refunds.
- You are solely responsible for ensuring sufficient estimated tax payments are made throughout the year to avoid underpayment penalties. If an extension is filed, you acknowledge that penalties and interest for any unexpected tax balances can accumulate monthly, and it is your responsibility to help complete and file the tax returns as soon as possible to mitigate such accumulation. We are not responsible for any taxes, penalties, interest, or other consequences arising from understated tax liability, late filings, late payments, or other reports.
- We are not responsible for penalties or other unintended consequences incurred due to late election or credit filings, or for a failure to comply with local, city, or school tax requirements.
- You agree to fully disclose all foreign income, accounts, assets, or other non-U.S. situations. You acknowledge that significant penalties (including those for failure to file Forms FinCen 114 (FBAR), 8938, 5471, 8865, or 3520/3520-A, etc.) may apply for non-compliance with non-U.S. reporting requirements, and we are not responsible for consequences resulting from incomplete disclosure or failure to comply with these obligations.
- You acknowledge that tax preparation for professional or active day traders requires specialized expertise. While we do not specialize in these areas, if you nonetheless engage us for such services, you agree that we are not responsible or liable for any positions taken on your tax returns that are not fully optimal, or for any penalties, interest, or other consequences resulting from the specialized nature of these activities.
- We do not guarantee the allowance of specific positions, deductions, or tax credits taken on a tax return. We are not responsible for any additional taxes, penalties, or interest incurred due to disallowances or adjustments.
Communication and Document Use
- We may communicate via email. While we take security precautions, we cannot guarantee or warrant that emails will be properly delivered, or read only by the addressee. We disclaim all liability for any loss or damage resulting from the use of email transmissions, including unintentional disclosure of confidential information.
- Email responses are summaries and suggestions only, not formal written tax advice, nor are they sufficient to avoid penalties. Formal written tax advice requires a separate engagement.
- Tax returns are prepared solely for filing with the IRS and state income tax agencies. This agreement does not include providing draft tax returns for lenders or other third-party uses. They are not authorized for any other purpose. You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from all claims arising from the unauthorized use of tax returns for any purpose other than filing with tax authorities.
Filing Procedures
- We will primarily file tax return(s) electronically. If electronic filing is not possible, both parties will sign the return, and it will be mailed without modification. You agree not to re-file or modify a tax return prepared by us without our explicit consent and signature.
Indemnification:
Each Party agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the other Party, and its respective affiliates, officers, agents, employees, and permitted successors and assigns against any and all claims, losses, damages, liabilities, penalties, punitive damages, expenses, reasonable legal fees and costs of any kind or amount whatsoever, which result from or arise out of any act or omission of the indemnifying party, its respective affiliates, officers, agents, employees, and permitted successors and assigns that occurs in connection with this Agreement. This indemnification will survive the termination of this Agreement.
PRIVACY POLICY
We collect nonpublic personal information about you from various sources, including:
- Interviews regarding your tax situation
- Applications, organizers, or other documents that supply such information as your name, address, telephone number, Social Security Number, number of dependents, income, and other tax related data.
- Tax related documents you provide that are required for processing your tax returns, such as forms W2, 1099R, 1099INT, and 1099DIV, and stock transactions.
We do not disclose any nonpublic information about our clients or former clients to anyone, except by request from the client or as required by law. We restrict access to personal information concerning you, except to our employees who need such information in order to provide products or services to you. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to guard your personal information.
If you have any questions about our privacy policy, please contact us.