• Foreign Disclosure
    of Tax Return Information

    WCG wholly owns and operates WCG India Global Services Private Limited, our own team in Ahmedabad, to assist with tax return preparation and related services. Before that work begins, federal law requires your written consent, and this form is how we ask for it.

    They Are Not A Vendor

    We did not contract with an offshore processing firm. We built our own subsidiary and hired our own team, and about a quarter of WCG now works in Ahmedabad.

    They are our employees, several with us for five years now. We recruit, screen, train, develop and promote them the same way we do everyone else. They join our firmwide meetings every December, we travel to see them, and we have met their spouses and their children. Several are Chartered Accountants and CPAs, and several are Enrolled Agents, a credential issued by the IRS itself.

    How We Protect Your Information

    Every WCG employee is background checked before day one and rescreened every two years, including credit and financial screening. Most CPA firms do neither.

    Indian employment law also permits a broader screening scope than United States law does in several respects, and we use it. Our India team is the more heavily vetted half of this firm, not the less.

    We wrote about why this matters, and why we are now asking every client to sign this consent, here: One Team, One Heartbeat. Our full security and privacy procedures are published here.

  • Frequently Asked Questions

    Check the box below to show FAQs regarding this consent and what it means to you.

  • Frequently Asked Questions

    What Is A Section 7216 Consent?

    Section 7216 is a federal law that restricts how tax return preparers may use or disclose your tax return information. A Section 7216 consent is your written, signed permission for us to share that information for a specific purpose. In our case, the purpose is allowing our India team to assist with tax return preparation and related services.

    Why Is WCG Now Requiring This Consent?

    Our India team is a quarter of our workforce and is woven into how we prepare tax returns. For years we maintained a second, walled-off version of WCG for clients who declined. That meant two workflows, two permission structures and two versions of every process, with the exceptions multiplying as we grew. Complexity is where mistakes live, so we are eliminating the exceptions rather than adding to them.

    Who Is WCG India?

    WCG India Global Services Private Limited is our own wholly-owned subsidiary in Ahmedabad, India. They are not a vendor and not an agency. They are our employees. We recruit them, train them, screen them, promote them and pay them. Several have been with us for five years. They join our firmwide meetings in December, and we travel to see them.

    Is My Information Safe With Your India Team?

    Your tax information is stored in United States data centers. Our Ahmedabad team accesses that environment remotely, and nothing is downloaded to or stored on their local devices. Access is controlled by role-based permissions, unique credentials and multi-factor authentication. Every WCG employee is background checked before day one, with credit and financial screening repeated every two years, and our Ahmedabad team works in a locked office with a biometric scanner.

    Will My Social Security Number Be Shared?

    Yes, and the consent form says so directly. Your Social Security number sits with the rest of your tax information in United States data centers. Our Ahmedabad team works on it remotely, and it is not downloaded to or stored on their local devices.

    How Long Does The Consent Last?

    Seven years. We deliberately moved away from an annual form so this stops being a yearly chore for you. You may withdraw the consent at any time, and it applies going forward rather than retroactively.

    Do I Have To Sign One For Each Of My Entities?

    No. The form includes a table where you list every individual and entity being covered, and you sign once. If you own an S Corp, a rental LLC and a holding company, all of it goes on a single form. If you form a new entity later, a short supplemental form adds it to your existing consent.

    What Happens If I Do Not Sign?

    We would not be able to prepare your tax returns, and because our accounting and advisory work is built around clients whose tax returns we prepare, those engagements would wind down as well. If you would prefer a firm that operates entirely within the United States, that is a legitimate choice, and we will make sure you have your prior year tax returns and records for a smooth handoff.

    Do Other Companies Do This Without Asking Me?

    Almost certainly. If you have a credit card, a cell phone plan, a mortgage, health insurance or an airline loyalty account, some portion of that relationship is likely handled outside the United States. Customer service, claims processing, mortgage servicing, medical billing, fraud review and back-office reconciliation have been globally distributed for decades. The difference is not that those companies keep everything onshore. The difference is that tax return preparation is one of the unusual consumer relationships where the law requires an affirmative signature, and that nobody else is telling you.

    Do Other CPA Firms Use Offshore Teams?

    Yes, and the bigger the firm, the more likely. According to INSIDE Public Accounting, 86 percent of the 100 largest CPA firms in the country employ offshore staff, 68 percent offshore tax return preparation, and every one of the 25 largest plans to grow its offshore team. Deloitte’s tax practice in India has supported its United States clients since 2004. Federal law requires your written consent before tax return information is shared with a preparer outside the United States, so any firm doing this should be asking you for the same signature.

    I Work For A Defense Contractor Or Hold A Clearance. Can I Sign?

    A defense job does not change what a tax return is. A personal tax return is not classified information or export-controlled technical data. The tax issue that shows up in clearance decisions is failing to file or pay, not who prepared the tax return. If your contract or your facility security officer has a written rule about who may prepare your personal tax return, send it to us and we will read it.

    When Do I Need To Sign, And What Happens Next?

    We will send a standalone form over the next several weeks, separate from your engagement letter. Going forward, the consent is the first step of onboarding for new clients, ahead of opening a ShareFile folder. If you have questions before signing, call us at 719-387-9800 and we will walk through them.

  • What Happens Next

    The next screen is the consent form itself. It takes about two minutes, and it covers the next seven years rather than being an annual ask.

    You will list yourself, your spouse if applicable, and any entities that file their own tax returns. Then you sign once, and you are done.

    Thank you for permitting us to be of service. We value our relationship with you and hope you view us as your most trusted advisor. We will work to continue earning that trust.

    WCG CPAs & Advisors
    2393 Flying Horse Club Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921

    WCG India Gloval Services Private Limited
    United Business Park, Unit 601/602, Plot A-40, Wagle Industrial Estate, Thane – 400604, Maharashtra

    Colorado Springs CO - Mitchell SD - Laramie WY - Ahmedabad, India

    719-387-9800 office

  • Consent to Foreign Disclosure
    of Tax Return Information

    The italicized language below is specifically required by the Internal Revenue Service.

    Federal law requires this consent form be provided to you. Unless authorized by law, we cannot disclose your tax return information to third parties for purposes other than those related to the preparation and filing of your tax return without your consent. If you consent to the disclosure of your tax return information, Federal law may not protect your tax return information from further use or distribution.

    You are not required to complete this form. Because our ability to disclose your tax return information to another tax return preparer affects the tax return preparation service(s) that we provide to you and its (their) cost, we may decline to provide you with tax return preparation services or change the terms (including the cost) of the tax return preparation services that we provide to you if you do not sign this form. If you agree to the disclosure of your tax return information, your consent is valid for the amount of time that you specify. If you do not specify the duration of your consent, your consent is valid for one year from the date of signature.

    This consent to disclose may result in your tax return information being disclosed to a tax return preparer located outside the United States, including your personally identifiable information such as your Social Security Number ("SSN"). Both the tax return preparer in the United States that will disclose your SSN and the tax return preparer located outside the United States that will receive your SSN maintain an adequate data protection safeguard (as required by the regulations under 26 U.S.C. section 7216) to protect privacy and prevent unauthorized access of tax return information. If you consent to the disclosure of your tax return information, Federal agencies may not be able to enforce United States laws that protect the privacy of your tax return information against a tax return preparer located outside of the United States to whom the information is disclosed.

    Recipient

    WCG India Global Services Private Limited, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, and its employees.

    Taxpayers Covered By This Consent

    Please list yourself, your spouse if applicable, and every entity that files its own tax return, such as an S Corporation, partnership, C Corporation, or trust. You do not need to list single member LLCs that file no separate tax return, because that activity is reported on your individual tax return and is already covered. By signing below, you represent that you are authorized to give this consent on behalf of each entity listed.

  •  

    Personal Returns (Form 1040)

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    Business / Fiduciary Returns

  • Scope of Authorization

    I authorize WCG CPAs & Advisors to disclose all tax return information, including SSNs, furnished to WCG at any time during the term of this consent, and all tax return information WCG generates or derives, in connection with any engagement between WCG and the taxpayers listed above, including tax return preparation, tax planning and advisory services, accounting and bookkeeping services, payroll services, and business entity formation services. The purpose of the disclosure is to permit the recipient named above to perform services that assist in the preparation of, and to provide auxiliary services in connection with the preparation of, federal, state, and local income tax returns for all tax years falling within the term of this consent.

    Because this consent authorizes disclosure of a copy of your entire tax return or all information contained within your tax return, federal regulations require us to inform you that you have the ability to request a more limited disclosure of tax return information as you may direct.

    Duration

    I specify that this consent is valid for seven (7) years from the date of my signature below, unless I notify WCG CPAs & Advisors in writing to no longer disclose tax return information.

    If you believe your tax return information has been disclosed or used improperly in a manner unauthorized by law or without your permission, you may contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) by telephone at 1-800-366-4484, or by email at complaints@tigta.treas.gov.

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