Terms

Welcome to Nearby Tax (we, our, or us). These terms of service (the Terms) govern your use of this website and of the services offered through it. By using this website or engaging these services, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

1. Services provided

We prepare federal and state tax returns for individuals and businesses, including entity returns, first returns for people new to the United States, and returns for years that were never filed. Returns are prepared and signed by a CPA licensed by the Washington State Board of Accountancy.

We also provide tax advisory on a question defined and quoted in writing before the work begins, and bookkeeping. Bookkeeping produces records and financial information for your own use and for your return. It is not an audit, a review, or a compilation, no assurance is given on any financial statement, and none of those engagements is offered here.

Services and fees for your situation are set out in an engagement letter. These terms supplement that letter and do not replace it. Where the two differ, the engagement letter governs the work.

2. Professional relationship

Engagement

The professional relationship begins when an engagement is agreed in writing, and it covers only the work described there. Reading this website, sending an inquiry, or exchanging email does not create it.

Professional standards

We follow the professional and ethical standards of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Washington State Board of Accountancy, along with the rules that apply to paid preparers of federal returns.

Licensure across states

A CPA license is granted by a state rather than by the federal government, and the license held here is a Washington license. The practice is based in California and the work is carried out remotely. Federal returns may be prepared for clients in any state. Where a state return or a matter before a state authority calls for a license, registration, or practice privilege in that state, we will say so before taking the work rather than after.

3. Client responsibilities

As a client you agree to:

• Give accurate, complete, and timely information and documents
• Answer requests for information promptly enough for a deadline to be met
• Review every return and document before it is filed
• Pay the agreed fee on the agreed schedule
• Keep your own records as the law requires
• Say what changes your tax position

A return is filed on the facts you provide. Those facts are not audited, and a return prepared from incomplete or inaccurate information may be wrong through no fault of the preparation.

4. Fees and payment

Pricing

Fees are published on this website and confirmed in the engagement letter. A published figure shown as a starting fee is the fee for a straightforward case of that kind. Where your situation calls for more, the fee is agreed in writing before any work starts. See the pricing page for what each figure covers.

Payment terms

Payment terms are set in the engagement letter. No payment is taken through this website, and this website has no payment feature of any kind.

Additional services

Work beyond the scope of an agreed engagement is quoted and agreed before it is carried out. You will not receive a charge you did not agree to first.

5. Confidentiality

Client information is held in confidence under professional standards and the rules that apply to tax return preparers, which are stricter than the privacy policy alone. It is disclosed only with your consent or where the law requires it. See the privacy policy for how information is handled.

6. Limitations of liability

Professional judgment

Preparation involves professional judgment applied to the facts you give and the law as it stands. Tax law is complex and open to interpretation. The work aims at accuracy and cannot guarantee a particular outcome, and no refund, tax position, penalty abatement, or resolution of a notice is promised.

Limitation of damages

To the maximum extent the law and professional standards allow, total liability for any claim arising from the work is limited to the fees paid for the service the claim arises from.

Website content

To the extent the law allows, Nearby Tax is not liable for loss arising from reliance on content published on this website. Content is general information, not advice for your situation. See the disclaimer for the full position.

Third party information

Information provided by third parties is not warranted here, and neither is the effect of changes in tax law after a piece of work is complete.

7. Intellectual property

The content of this website, including its text, guides, and design, belongs to Nearby Tax or its licensors. You may read, print, and share it for your own use. Do not republish it as your own, scrape it at a scale that degrades the service for others, or use it to build a competing content product.

8. Website use

Permitted use

You may use this website to read about these services, read the guides, and send an inquiry.

Prohibited activities

You may not:

• Use the website for any unlawful or unauthorized purpose
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to it or to anything connected to it
• Send malicious code through it
• Interfere with its normal operation, including by automated submission of the form
• Impersonate any person or entity

9. Inquiries

Sending an inquiry does not oblige Nearby Tax to take on your work, and does not oblige you to proceed. Either side may decline. An inquiry is not a confidential communication in the way a discussion under an agreed engagement is, so do not send sensitive material with a first message. The form deliberately has no field for a Social Security number, an ITIN, a date of birth, or an account number, and a message that appears to contain one is rejected rather than delivered.

10. Disclaimer of warranties

This website and the general information on it are provided as they stand, without warranty of any kind. No representation is made that the content is complete, current, or applicable to your situation, and website content is not professional advice. The site may be taken down, changed, or interrupted without notice, and no uptime is promised.

11. Termination

Either side may end an engagement on the terms set out in the engagement letter. Fees for work already done remain payable. Your records are returned on request.

12. Dispute resolution

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict of law rules.

Raising a problem first

If something goes wrong, write to [email protected] and say so. Most problems are resolved that way, and nothing in these terms prevents you from raising a concern with the Washington State Board of Accountancy.

13. Indemnification

You agree to hold Nearby Tax harmless from claims, damages, or expenses arising from your breach of these Terms, your violation of any law, or inaccurate information you provide.

14. Changes to these terms

These Terms may be updated. A change takes effect when it is posted here, and the last updated date at the top of this page changes with it. Material changes will be described rather than made quietly. The terms that apply to an agreed engagement are the terms in force when it was agreed.

15. Severability

If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.

16. Entire agreement

These Terms, together with any engagement letter and the privacy policy, are the whole of the agreement between you and Nearby Tax about this website and these services.

Contact us

Questions about these Terms can go to: