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Attorneys and Tax Professionals who perform legal, accounting and financial services, including tax audit and collection representation and resolution before the Federal and State taxing authorities, tax return preparation and tax consulting services, require clients to sign an Engagement Letter. This is a form of contract that defines mutual responsibilities, the nature of the services that are to be provided. and the amount and terms of payment for those services.
For preparing your tax returns or providing you with consulting services, the Engagement Letter is the only document that you (and if your are married, your spouse) need to sign.
In order to represent you before the tax agencies, you (and your spouse, if you are married and we are dealing with a joint liability) will need to also sign a Power of Attorney (in addition to the Engagement Letter) giving me authorization to represent you. This power of attorney is only valid for communicating with the IRS. The Engagement Letter is a PDF Document that I can E-mail (as an attachment), fax or mail to you. Once signed and dated, you can mail it back to me, fax it or scan/e-mail it.
Your Power of Attorney is an official document that I must submit to the IRS, Franchise Tax Board, EDD or California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) - formerly, Board of Equalization. I will either e-mail, fax or mail that document to you, or hand it and the Engagement Letter to you if we are meeting to discuss your case, for your signature and return.
Please E-mail me (or fax - 818-845-6031) your (and your spouse's, if applicable):
full name as typically shown on official tax documents and home address,
daytime, evening, mobile and fax phone numbers,
your (and spouse's if married) Social Security Numbers and date of birth,
the tax form (e.g., 1040 for individual, 1120 for corporation, 1041 for trust/fiduciary returns, etc)
the tax years (or tax periods) for which you need my services,
and your private E-mail address for our communications
Once prepared, I will E-mail the Engagement Letter (and Power of Attorney, if required) to you. The Engagement Letter and the Power of Attorney will be Adobe Acrobat (PDF) documents.
Once you receive the Engagement Letter (and Power of Attorney, if required), please review them carefully and contact me if you have any questions. The power of attorney must be letter perfect. Neither the IRS nor state tax agencies accepts powers of attorney that have crossouts or whiteouts.
As soon as I receive the signed and dated documents back along with the applicable deposit or retainer, I can begin working on your returns, perform consulting work or begin representing you before the specific tax agency or agencies for which you need my help.
Dick Norton
Tax Resolution Specialist
Updated 1/8/24
