Thank you for choosing to do your taxes with World Finance (“World”). Below, you are invited to enroll in our Audit Shield Plan (the "Plan") for $39.95.
Details of the Audit Shield Plan:
1. The Plan provides you with the following benefits with respect to the individual federal and state or local returns prepared and paid for on the date of this agreement.
2. The Plan applies only to filed and accepted original individual U.S. resident tax returns prepared by World for the year of the return and for which the balance due to World has been paid.
3. If your return is audited, World will provide you with a qualified person (but not an attorney) to represent you before the tax authority should such tax authority question the accuracy of your return.
4. If your tax liability increases as a result of an error in tax preparation and the error is discovered by you, your representative or a tax authority, during the period of two years from the filing deadlines for such returns, not including extensions, World will reimburse you for such taxes up to a cumulative total of $5,000 for all such returns, subject to the terms and conditions outlined below.
5. Any World errors resulting from World’s misinterpretation of your tax situation will only be reimbursed if all other terms and conditions have been met by you, including that you have provided complete and accurate information. In that event, World may, at its sole discretion and expense, challenge the determination that additional taxes are owed, and World will reimburse you upon the conclusion of an unsuccessful challenge.
6. A two-year limitation applies to your federal and state returns, including returns for those states in which the "open" period to review returns is greater than two years. In some cases, the correction of a specific error will involve changes on multiple returns, including state or local tax returns, which may result in an overpayment on one return and a balance due on another. In such cases, the overpayment and balance due may be netted in determining the amount World will pay for additional taxes owed as a result of correction of the error.
7. You are responsible for paying any additional taxes, penalties, or interest to the tax authority. World does not pay the tax authority for you and owes the tax authority nothing on your behalf. If your claim is approved, World sends the reimbursement described in paragraph 4 to you, and you must still pay the tax authority the full amount you owe, including any amount above the $5,000 coverage limit. Filing a claim under the Plan does not extend your deadline to pay the tax authority.
8. A Special Note about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015: As with all penalty calculations or tax calculations and credits, it is critical that you provide World with accurate and current information.
(a) For ACA related tax issues, this includes documentation (1095 A, B or C), other required information in connection with your household insurance coverage status, penalty exemptions you may have claimed (and whether they were denied by the IRS or an Insurance Marketplace), and information related to whether you received Advanced Premium Tax Credits.
(b) For credits subject to return preparer due diligence requirements (Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit (CTC), and American Opportunity Credit (AOC)), this includes providing information about all sources of income reportable to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (e.g., W2 and 1099) as well as providing accurate relationship and residency information of all of your dependents.
9. By signing below, you agree and represent to us that: (a) you have reviewed all of the items on your return and verified that it is accurate and includes all sources of income; and (b) that no item or issue on your return has been, or is currently, under examination by tax authority.
10. Before any payment will be made under the Plan, you must:
a) notify World or its representative of any government notice regarding such tax returns prior to any call, conference or audit with any government agency and within 60 days from the date of the initial notice;
b) promptly provide World or its representative with copies of such notices and other documents relating to or substantiating all information in question;
c) provide World with reasonable notice of the initial audit and allow World or its representative to attend the audit with you or as your representative with Power of Attorney;
d) allow World or its representative at its sole discretion and expense, to challenge the determination that additional taxes and penalties and interest are owed; and
e) provide World with your receipt as proof of your purchase of the Plan.
11. The Plan does not apply to:
a) amended returns (1040-X) unless the World error at issue is a result from the error in the original tax preparation; 1040-NR;
b) non-individual returns such as employment (including taxes assessed on Form 4137 for income other than allocated tips), corporate, state and local small business, occupation tax, partnership, trust, estate, and gift tax returns;
c) errors made on any returns or other forms used to file for tax credits. Prebates or rebates such as property tax, homestead or renters credits (an “Ancillary Form”) unless the error at issue occurred on a federal, state or local income tax return and that data was then used by World to prepare the Ancillary Form;
d) the calculation of estimated tax payment vouchers, additional taxes owed as a result of an erroneous refund of your estimated tax payments by the IRS or a state or local taxing authority;
e) any return for which, as of the date of such purchase, you have knowledge of additional taxes owed;
f) any return for which you have received on or before the date of such purchase any notification from any tax authority of examination or audit;
g) returns for which errors have been identified by World prior to an assessment of additional taxes by tax authorities and can be corrected by World within 30 days from World's preparation of the return;
h) any return relating to previous years;
i) additional taxes, penalties and interest that are assessed as the result of (i) incorrect, incomplete, false or misleading information that you have given to World in connection with its preparation of a return; (ii) the government's inability to obtain from you sufficient records to support deductions, credits and other items on your return; (iii) your failure to timely pay the taxes as shown to be due on your return; and (iv) additional taxes assessed as the result of your desire to take a position on your return that challenges current IRS or judicial tax law guidelines or interpretation. In the event you receive a refund of any assessment that World has paid you under the Plan, you must reimburse World for the amount of such refund;
j) assessments of additional taxes that occur after two years from the filing deadline for the return, not including extensions; and
k) additional taxes resulting from non-participation in an Individual Retirement Account where you claimed a deduction for such an account.