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Red flag

Pressure to sign quickly

A deadline can be real. A filing date, a time limit for a past year, the end of a tax year. It can also leave you no time to read the letter. The difference is whether the deadline is explained.

A red flag is a reason to ask more questions. It does not mean an adviser has done anything wrong. This page describes a practice in general terms and is not about any particular firm.

When it is a problem

  • The deadline is not explained, or is explained as the adviser's own availability or a limited offer rather than a date set by the tax system.
  • You are asked to sign before you have seen the full engagement letter, or before anyone has looked at whether your work qualifies.
  • The urgency came with the first contact, before you asked for anything.
  • You are told there is no time to take the letter to your accountant or lawyer.

When it is not a problem

  • There is a real filing date, such as the end of the period in which a claim for a past year can be made, and the adviser shows you where it comes from.1Source 1Time limits for amending a return or claiming for a past year: Internal Revenue Code section 6511(a) (United States); HMRC CIRD81800, Finance Act 1998 Schedule 18 paragraph 83E (United Kingdom); Revenue, Tax and Duty Manual Part 29-02-03, section 2.6 (Ireland); Income Tax Act section 37(11) (Canada); Department of Industry, Science and Resources, "Apply for the R&D Tax Incentive" (Australia); Inland Revenue, "Research and development tax incentive due dates" (New Zealand); IRAS, "After filing Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C" and Income Tax Act 1947 section 93A (Singapore). More detail on your country page.
  • The adviser needs time to do the work properly before the date, and says so: a claim prepared in a hurry can be harder to defend than one prepared with time.
  • You approached the adviser late, and the pressure is a consequence of your timing rather than theirs.
  • The deadline is explained, the letter is complete, and the adviser is content for you to check it with someone else in the time available.

What to do

  1. Ask what the deadline is and where it comes from. A genuine date has a source you can check on the country pages.
  2. Ask for the full engagement letter and read it, however little time there is. If the letter is not ready, the deadline cannot be that close.
  3. Ask whether a shorter, simpler claim can be filed in time and improved later, rather than a rushed one.
  4. If the pressure is about the adviser's availability rather than the tax system, take the time anyway. Another adviser will have availability too.

Sources

  1. Time limits for amending a return or claiming for a past year: Internal Revenue Code section 6511(a) (United States); HMRC CIRD81800, Finance Act 1998 Schedule 18 paragraph 83E (United Kingdom); Revenue, Tax and Duty Manual Part 29-02-03, section 2.6 (Ireland); Income Tax Act section 37(11) (Canada); Department of Industry, Science and Resources, "Apply for the R&D Tax Incentive" (Australia); Inland Revenue, "Research and development tax incentive due dates" (New Zealand); IRAS, "After filing Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C" and Income Tax Act 1947 section 93A (Singapore). More detail on your country page.  Back
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