Terms of Service

Last updated: February 9, 2026

Service Exclusions and Document Requirements

Some CKR Tax Service Live customers have a tax situation that's outside the scope of our tax services. Generally, forms that aren't supported by CKR Tax Service or complex situations cause these service exclusions, not tax issues.

Non-Individual or Non-Income Taxes

Issues unrelated to preparing a tax return or unrelated to individual income taxes, including:

• Sales/use tax
• Inheritance and gift tax (706, 709)
• Real/personal property tax
• Unsupported 1041
• A Business Tax specialist can handle 1120S and 1065

Calculations for a Customer's Return

We give tax advice and guidance, but we don't give values or calculations to our customers. Examples include how to:

• Determine the value of a noncash donation
• Calculate the basis of real estate sold or placed in service
• Provide amounts needed to complete a form, such as a change of accounting method (Form 3115) or like-kind exchange (Form 8824)
• Calculate Net Operating Losses (NOLs) carryover from prior year (client must provide the NOL carryover amount)

Tax Projections and Tax Planning

The following exclusions apply:

• Comprehensive tax projections and tax planning
• Tax estimates or calculations

We can provide more general information to help a customer do their own planning, such as:

• Explain how income tax withholdings and payments affect refunds and balances due on tax returns
• Describe how the sale of a property would be taxed
• Identify potential deductions and credits
• Send links to IRS and state resources
• Provide links to calculators

Non-Tax Expertise and Service Exclusions

• Investment advice or planning
• Legal matters (estate planning, business incorporation, bankruptcy, divorce/separation/custody, beneficial ownership reporting, etc.)

Nonresident Issue Exclusions

• Federal nonresident questions and forms (Form 1040NR)
• US Residency Determination (we cannot help customers in determining which form to file)

IRS resources: International Individuals | Substantial Presence Test

Customers can file through Sprintax if they need to file a 1040NR.

Foreign Exclusions

• Foreign Bank and financial account reporting (FBAR): we can prepare the return, and the customer must file FBAR
• Any transaction(s) in foreign currency unless the taxpayer provides the currency conversion to United States dollars (USD)

Prior-Year Return Exclusions

• Customer needs to amend prior-year return(s)
  • We can file Form 3115 instead of amending if the customer needs to add or correct depreciation in a prior year return
  • We can file if an amendment won't impact the current year
• Customer can't provide prior-year returns or didn't file in prior year (exceptions may apply)

Other Exclusions

• Filing on someone else's behalf (Power of Attorney not accepted)
• Taxpayers under 18
• Taxpayers with Puerto Rico-sourced income or other obligation to file a return from Puerto Rico
• Illegal income, including income sources legal at the state level but illegal federally
• Potential fraud
• Inaccurate/incorrect reporting at client's request
• Married Filing Separately (MFS) in a community property state (unless exception for allocation is met)
• Filing a federal return as MFJ while filing state returns as MFS
• Filing a tax return where written disclosure is required (Form 8275)
• A client in current negotiations with IRS for Offer in Compromise
• Working on a return already filed, rejected, or needing amendment that wasn't filed in Full Service
• Cryptocurrency raw transaction data (DeFi/DAO, non-Ethereum NFTs) unless using a third-party aggregator (TaxBit, Koinly, CoinTracker, etc.) that provides a gain/loss CSV
• Customer won't provide required documents

Filing Limits

Returns with more than:

• Five states
• Five farms (Schedule F or Form 4835)
• 10 Sole Proprietorships (Schedule C)
• 15 Schedule Es (45 rental properties)
• 4,000 individual cryptocurrency transactions (unless summarized via 8949 from aggregator)
• 10,000 covered stock transactions

Required Documents - Individual Returns

Client Identification

Two forms of ID are required when identification isn't automatically authenticated. If a utility bill or registration is used as a second form of ID, the document must be uploaded.

Required Tax Forms

As applicable to your situation:

Business or Rental Income

Clients must provide totals and categories. We do not add up or classify receipts. Acceptable formats:

• Total income and expense by category provided in writing
• Income and expenses provided over the phone and documented
• Profit & Loss, Schedule C, or other worksheet completed by client
• QuickBooks Self-Employed uploaded tax summary

Substantiation for Deductions and Credits

Documents or receipts aren't required to be uploaded to substantiate claimed deductions and credits, unless a document is required to be filed with the tax return. Customers are still responsible for maintaining adequate documentation.

Business Document Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• Business must operate on a calendar year (fiscal year ends not supported)
• Current year is not a final year return (except returning clients)
• All forms in the return must be supported by CKR Tax Service

All Business Entity Types

• Identification documents for the authorized signer
• Operating agreement, partnership agreement, or articles of incorporation
• List of all partners, members, or shareholders with names, addresses, and ownership percentages
• Current-year Profit & Loss / Income statement
• Balance sheet (if required based on receipts/assets thresholds or state requirements)
• Prior-year tax returns with depreciation schedules
• Records of asset purchases/sales
• Loan documentation for shareholder/partner loans (amount, terms, interest rate)
• Accountable plan documentation for reimbursement expenses
• Fourth-quarter payroll report and W-3
• K-1s from ownership in other entities

Balance Sheet Requirements

Not required if all of the following apply:

• No formal bookkeeping, or uses basic spreadsheets only
• S Corp: Total receipts < $250k and total assets < $250k
• Partnership: Total receipts < $250k and total assets < $1M
• No state balance sheet filing requirement

States requiring balance sheets: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts (S corp), Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington DC

Additional Partnership Requirements

• IRS Letter indicating Form 1065
• Schedule of guaranteed payments made to partners
• If W-2s were issued to partners: corrected W-2 showing $0 required

Additional S Corporation Requirements

• Articles of incorporation or operating agreement
• Valid Form 2553 Election and IRS Letter of S-Corporation Election
• For late elections: IRS Letter of Acceptance required before return can be completed
• Reasonable compensation review if shareholder took distributions

Business Service Exclusions

• Non-franchise/non-income taxes (sales tax, property tax, etc.)
• C-Corp/Trust/Estate Returns (1120, 1041)
• Non-tax expertise (investment advice, legal matters, cost segregation)
• Foreign exclusions (FBAR filing, foreign currency, Form 8865, Form 5471)
• Filing on someone else's behalf (no Power of Attorney)
• More than 5 state filings
• Tax-exempt partners requiring UBTI calculation
• Final year returns for new clients (returning clients are in scope)
• Tax shelters and syndicate rules