When things go wrong

Complaints about an adviser

How to raise a complaint about an adviser's conduct or service: the adviser first, then a professional body or regulator where there is one, then the tax authority where it has a route. In general terms, with links to each country's page.

6 minute read

General information only. Take professional advice before you contact a tax authority, withhold a fee or end a contract.

A complaint is about conduct or service: work not done, promises not kept, information not given, a process not followed. A disagreement about money is a fee dispute, and the two are easier to resolve apart. The route for a complaint is the same in outline everywhere: the adviser first, then a professional body or regulator where the adviser answers to one, then the tax authority where it has a route. The detail differs by country, and this page names no firm.

Step 1: the adviser first

Put the complaint in writing to the adviser. Say what happened, with dates; say what you want to happen; and give a reasonable time for a reply. Some professional bodies and regulators require this step before they will look at a complaint. ICAEW, for example, asks you to raise the matter with the firm in writing first and give it time to reply, and the Tax Practitioners Board's form asks whether you have complained to the practitioner. Keep the tone plain and the facts specific. The scripts show the register.

Step 2: a professional body or regulator

Whether there is a second step, and who it is, depends on the country and on the adviser. In some countries tax advisers or agents are registered with a regulator, and the regulator or the tax authority takes complaints from the public. In others the official pages describe approval, accreditation or certification rather than a licence, and a professional body's complaints process applies only to its own members, so the first thing to find out is which body, if any, the adviser belongs to.1 The engagement letter or the adviser's own website may say; the country pages explain how to check where a register exists.

United States: the IRS takes complaints about a paid tax return preparer on Form 14157 (IRS, "Make a complaint about a tax return preparer"); practitioners under Circular 230 answer to the Office of Professional Responsibility.
United Kingdom: HMRC publishes the standard for agents and is phasing in mandatory registration for tax advisers who deal with HMRC for clients, with sanctions for breaches (HMRC manual MTAR30700); the professional bodies take complaints about their own members, for example ICAEW.
Ireland: Revenue does not operate a system for approving tax agents or advisers (Tax and Duty Manual Part 37-00-04b); the professional bodies take complaints about their own members, for example Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Canada: the CRA's page on using a professional tax preparer describes certification to file electronically and states no general registration or licensing requirement; a provincial accounting body such as CPA Ontario takes complaints about its own members (CPA Ontario's complaints guide).
Australia: registered tax agents are bound by a code of conduct with sanctions under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009; the Tax Practitioners Board takes complaints about registered practitioners and unregistered preparers through its online form, including complaints about fees, and the Australia page links to its register.
New Zealand: Inland Revenue's page on tax agent status describes how it lists agents and the steps it can take under the Tax Administration Act 1994; the New Zealand page says where a professional body's complaints process applies.
Singapore: IRAS describes its relationship with tax agents and names the accreditation body for tax professionals; the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants takes complaints about its own members.

A body or regulator looks at conduct against its rules. The bodies checked for this site say they do not take fee disputes,2 and a complaint does not change what the tax authority expects from you.

Step 3: the tax authority

Some tax authorities have a route for complaints about the conduct of agents or preparers. That route is about the adviser's conduct towards the tax system, not about your fee, and raising it may lead to questions about the claim itself. Take advice before you use it. The country pages say where such a route exists and link to the official source.

What a complaint cannot do

A complaint does not change what you owe the tax authority, does not settle a fee, and does not return your records on its own. Those are separate steps, covered on the claim reduced on review, fee disputes and switching advisers pages. Where you want to pursue a loss, the liability clause and a lawyer in your country are the starting point.

Sources

How to check an adviser's registration or credentials: IRS, "Understanding tax return preparer credentials and qualifications" and "PTIN requirements for tax return preparers" (United States); HMRC, "Tax advisers to register with HMRC and meet minimum standards" and manual MTAR10100 (United Kingdom); Revenue, Tax and Duty Manual Part 37-00-04b, which says Revenue does not approve tax agents or advisers (Ireland); CRA, "Using a professional tax preparer" (Canada); Tax Agent Services Act 2009, Part 3, the code of conduct for registered tax agents administered by the Tax Practitioners Board, and the Board's complaints form (Australia); Inland Revenue, "Tax agents" and "Tax agent status" (New Zealand); IRAS, "IRAS-Tax Agent relationship" (Singapore). More detail on your country page. Back
ICAEW, "Make a complaint" (United Kingdom); Taxation Disciplinary Board, "Guidance for the public" (United Kingdom); ISCA, "Lodging a complaint" (Singapore): each says it does not take fee disputes. The Tax Practitioners Board's complaints form lists disagreement over a fee (Australia). Back

KnowYourFees.org is published by Swanson Reed, an R&D tax advisory firm that competes with other advisers. This site does not recommend any adviser, including Swanson Reed.