Extension of time arrangements for 2009 returns

Maintaining your client list with Inland Revenue

Privacy

Due to the provisions of the Privacy Act 1993 and the TAA, Inland Revenue staff can't discuss with you any information about a person or organisation unless you hold signed current authority from that person or organisation authorising such discussion.

You must hold signed approvals for each client who is on your client list as maintained with us. If you wish to discuss information about one of your clients who isn't on your Inland Revenue maintained client list, you will need to provide written authority from your client, for example, by faxing through a letter from them.

Maintaining your clients' information

If one of your clients changes their address, we also need to be notified of this. Please call us on the tax agents' line with your client's new details and their IRD number.

You can link new clients by:

• using the Client maintenance online service
• using theINFOexpress automated phone service
• completing a Client linking or delinking (IR795) form, or
• calling the tax agents' line.

Don't wait until you are ready to lodge returns for the client. There are several reasons for this:

• until they are added to your list, mail from us will continue to go to your client (or to their previous tax agent) instead of you
• you won't be able to access information about the client through the Look at Account Information service or INFOexpress unless they are linked for the tax types concerned
• your client will not get an EOT under any arrangement you may have until they are properly linked. They will be treated as a non-client without an EOT and policed accordingly
• any returns filed by you while they're not linked won't be credited to you (or they may be credited to their previous tax agent).

Incorrect mail

If mail for a client is going to your address when you wish it to go to your client's address, please call the tax agents' line with the new address for that client.

If you receive mail in individual envelopes rather than in bulk, this indicates the client hasn't been set up in our system to have all their correspondence bulk-mailed to you. If you want this to be changed, please call us on the tax agents' line. You can check the current bulk mailing indicator set up for your clients under "bulk mail" on the client listing report that we send you periodically. Clients who are coded as Y will have their income tax returns mailed to you in bulk. Clients who are coded N won't.

Maintaining your client list

You can link and delink clients from your agency list by:

• using the Client maintenance online service
• using the INFOexpress automated phone service
• completing a Client linking or delinking (IR795) form, or
• calling the tax agents' line.

Linking your clients

If an income tax return is E-Filed by a tax agent who has a current agency list with us, that client will automatically be linked to that agency number for income tax. However, we recommend that you link the client before filing the return so that:

• you have immediate access to your client's tax information, and
• our filing statistics are as current as possible.

If your agency has more than one client list it is important that you use the correct IRD number and the partner's software when E-Filing returns. See the Working with Inland Revenue section for more details on the effects of automatic linking through E-File.

You can't link clients for the non-custodial parent (NCP) or custodial parent (CPR) tax types. The client must provide written authorisation by writing to Inland Revenue Child Support. Written authorisation can be either a letter or a completed Elect someone to make child support enquiries on your behalf (IR146) form. Please note that you will only have authority to enquire about your client's account.

Delinking your clients

You shouldn't delink clients on the same day as you file their returns if you want to get credit for those returns. This is because our system updates delinks before it updates lodgements, so you won't get credit for those returns that have been delinked.

If you don't have a current address for a client you wish to remove from your client listing, and they don't have a valid address in our system, you'll have to contact us so that client can be delinked.

When delinking a client you can request that a taxpack be sent to them. This removes the need to send separate advice.

If you wish to cease a tax type for your client please advise us prior to taking any delinking action as you won't be able to cease the revenue once you have delinked. You can delink clients by:

• using the Client maintenance online service
• using the INFOexpress automated phone service
• completing the Ceasing a client's tax type (IR794) form, or
• calling the tax agents' line.

 

 

Date published: 07 Jul 2009

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