D. PARTNERSHIP TAX
(a) We will prepare the income tax and capital gains tax computations based on the partnership accounts from the accounting records and other information and explanations provided by you.
(b) We will prepare the firm’s annual partnership return, including the partnership statement of total income, gains, losses, tax credits and charges of the firm for each period of account ending in the return period.
(c) We will forward to you the income tax and capital gains tax computations and the tax return and supporting schedules for your approval and signature. Once the return has been approved and signed by you and returned to us, we will submit it, with the accounts and computations, to HM Revenue & Customs. You authorise us to file the return electronically.
(d) We will advise all the partners who were partners of the firm during the period of their respective shares of the firm’s total income, gains, losses, tax credits and charges in order that they are able to file their personal self-assessment tax returns within the relevant time period.
(e) We will deal with HM Revenue & Customs regarding any amendments required should the partnership self-assessment tax return be challenged.
(f) We will advise as to claims and elections arising from the tax return and from information supplied by you and, where instructed by you, we will make such claims and elections in the form and manner required by HM Revenue & Customs.
(g) We will deal with all communications relating to the partnership return addressed to us by HM Revenue & Customs or passed to us by you. However, if HM Revenue & Customs choose the partnership tax return for enquiry, this work will be the subject of a separate assignment and we will seek further instructions from you. Assistance in respect of such an enquiry beyond the answering of straightforward queries regarding entries on the tax return is additional work and will result in separate charges. We will keep you fully informed before undertaking any extra work in respect of such an enquiry.
(h) You have asked us to undertake all correspondence with HM Revenue & Customs on the partnership’s behalf. To avoid any problems would you please send to us any forms or correspondence received from HM Revenue & Customs as soon as you receive them.
(i) HM Revenue & Customs have powers to charge both interest and penalties if there is a delay in submitting a tax return. Such charges are automatic if the tax return is submitted after 31st January following the end of the tax year. For partnership penalties, the amount due is multiplied by the number of partners. Delays in submitting the partnership return may also have an effect on the returns of all the partners, with the possibility of penalties, interest and surcharges being payable by each individual partner.
(j) It is therefore important that all details required for the preparation of your tax return are forwarded to us as soon as possible after 5th April each year and by 31st October at the latest. If the information is received after that date, we will not accept responsibility for any penalties or surcharges charged by HM Revenue & Customs.
(k) You agree that we can approach such third parties as may be appropriate for information that we consider necessary to deal with your affairs and undertake to authorise such third parties to communicate directly with us.
(l) HMRC will send you an agent authorisation code, which expires within 30 days of issue. Please send this to us as soon as you receive it. In practice, HM Revenue & Customs will treat this as authority to correspond with us, in which case they will not correspond with the partnership except to the extent that they are formally required to do so. However, this authority does not apply to all HM Revenue & Customs correspondence, and even where it does, HM Revenue & Customs sometimes overlook it. You should therefore always send us the originals or copies of all communications you receive from HM Revenue & Customs.
(m) We will be pleased to advise on any other taxation matters referred to us and would strongly encourage you to approach us before entering into any complex or unusual transactions in order that we can assess their tax implications.