Terms of Service

The Augusta Rule, LLC

Terms of Service 

Applies to All Customers 

The Augusta Rule, LLC, an Idaho Limited Liability Company, and Customer hereby agree to the following terms of service for Customer’s access to, and use of, The Augusta Rule software.  This contract constitutes a binding agreement between The Augusta Rule, LLC (hereafter “TAR”) and Customer (defined below). By using the Augusta Rule software, Customer accepts and agrees to be bound by these Terms of Service (hereafter “Agreement”).

1. Grant of Non-Exclusive Right to Use: Subject to compliance with the Agreement, TAR hereby grants the Customer the nonexclusive right to access and use The Augusta Rule Plan (hereafter “TAR Plan”) during the Term.  All rights not expressly granted to the Customer herein shall be reserved to TAR.
   
   
2. Customer’s Obligations: Customer shall access the TAR Plan, use the TAR Materials and the Service Output only as set forth herein. Customer’s rights are solely & exclusively for the Customer’s use and shall only be used for Customer’s benefit (i.e., not for other persons’ use).
   
   

1. Customer’s Responsibility. (1) Customer is solely responsible for the accuracy of all Customer Data, including accurately entering it into the TAR Plan (TAR does not verify any Customer Data). TAR is entitled to rely upon the completeness & accuracy of all Customer Data and TAR will not update the Service Output for any changes to Customer Data, unless Customer separately engages TAR to do so in writing. (2) Customer shall be responsible to comply with all Applicable Laws. Customer shall not use the TAR Plan to violate, or assist anyone else in violating, Applicable Laws. (3) Customer shall be solely responsible for its own acts or omissions, as well as those of any Authorized User; (4) Customer shall review all Service Output and verify that such Service Output is complete and correct for Customer’s intended use. (5) Customer shall maintain the security of all its TAR Plan access credentials, including usernames and passwords, Customer is solely responsible for any activities that occur on its account. (6) Customer shall notify TAR immediately upon notice of security breach or unauthorized use of the TAR Plan.  (7) Any Customer that has delegated authority to a Tax Pro to act on its behalf with regard to TAR; such Customer shall be responsible for all actions taken by the Tax Pro on its behalf.
   
   
2. Customer Prohibitions. (1) Customer shall not allow any unauthorized use of the TAR Plan. (2) Customer shall not violate any applicable laws while using the TAR Plan. (3) Customer shall not use the TAR Plan for any purpose not expressly contemplated herein. (4) Customer shall not copy, adapt, license, assign, resell or otherwise transfer the TAR Plan or TAR Materials to anyone. (5) Customer shall not use the TAR Plan, TAR Materials or TAR Technology in a manner that infringes upon the Intellectual Property Rights of TAR or any other person. (6) Customer shall not allow any other person, including a retained Tax Pro, to violate any of these covenants. 
   
   
3. Customer’s Tax Considerations.  (1) Customer understands and agrees that any decisions regarding tax treatment and/or reporting are the Customer’s own decisions. (2) By utilizing the TAR Plan, Customer agrees that it is not relying upon TAR or the TAR Plan for any tax advice and it has obtained its own independent tax advice whether via a Tax Pro or otherwise. (3) Use of the TAR Plan does not relieve the Customer from any tax reporting obligations. (4) TAR will have no liability or responsibility for Customer’s taxes, interest and/or penalties whether such arise out of reliance upon Service Output or otherwise.
   
   

• TAR Obligations.  (1) TAR shall keep all Customer Data confidential and will not disclose such data unless disclosure is required to comply with an order of a Court, regulatory agency or other governmental agency or otherwise to comply with Applicable Laws.  (2) TAR shall maintain commercially reasonable safeguards to protect confidential data and shall promptly notify Customer in the event TAR becomes aware of unauthorized access, use or disclosure.  (3) TAR, for as long as it remains in business, shall retain Customer Data for a period of 3 years; and thereafter reserves the right to permanently destroy such Customer Data. 
  
  

1.   Audit Defense Program – Customers who have purchased TAR’s Premium Plan (and only Premium Plan Customers) include Audit Defense Program protections. The Terms and Conditions applicable to the TAR Audit Defense Program are set forth below.  

• Subscription Term & Automatic Renewal. All TAR Subscription Terms proceed on an annual basis. A Customer’s initial subscription term shall commence on the date of initial signup and payment for the first annual subscription and that shall continue to the end of the calendar year. All Subscription Terms shall automatically renew for the following calendar year, unless Customer has given notice to TAR that it Opts-Out of the auto-renewal by 11:59 PST on December 31 by emailing Support@TheAugustaRule.com with “Opt Out” in the Subject line.

• Fees. Customer shall pay the fees applicable for the TAR Plan purchased by Customer. All fees shall be paid in US dollars. Customer shall pay all sales, use and/or excise taxes associated with the TAR Plan. TAR reserves the right to change fees applicable for the TAR Plan in any Renewal Annual Subscription Term; provided that TAR has provided Customer notice at least 30 days prior to increase in annual subscription. 
  
  

• Auto-Renewal.  For any renewal period, unless Customer timely Opts-Out for the upcoming year; Customer authorizes TAR or its billing Affiliate to charge Customer’s credit card for the following annual subscription.
  
  

• Guarantees. TAR stands behind the TAR Plan. Therefore TAR offers the following guarantees.  

• 100% Money Back Guarantee.  TAR will refund a Customer’s annual subscription for the year if the following conditions are met.  (1) Customer must book 14 qualifying events during the Subscription year before submitting a request for money back. (2) In order for an event to be “qualifying,” it must receive a defensibility score of 3 or higher. (3) Customer must submit his request to Support@TheAugustaRule.com for money back by November 30 of the calendar year. 

1. 300% Return on Subscription Fee Guarantee. In the event that a Customer does not receive tax benefits in the amount of 300% of Customer’s annual subscription paid for a given year; TAR will refund Customer’s annual subscription for that Tax Year.  For purposes of this section; analysis of “tax benefit” occurs at both the business entity level and owner level; and prior to application of net operating loss carry forward and bonus depreciation.  The following conditions apply to this guarantee: (1) Customer must book 14 qualifying events. (2) In order for an event to be “qualifying,” it must receive a defensibility score of 3 or more. (3) Customer must provide tax documents (entity level and owner level) to substantiate. (4) Customer must submit its request to Support@TheAugustaRule.com by May 15th of year following.

• Referral Fees. TAR may pay referral fees to third parties including to a Customer’s Tax Pro.
  
  

• TAR Plan Modifications. The TAR Plan may be modified and changed at any time by TAR in its exclusive discretion. Customer may not rely on future availability of any service offerings. TAR may modify the Terms of TAR Plan at any time. 
  
  

• Third-Party Materials. The TAR Plan may contain certain Third-Party Materials and TAR shall not be responsible for or endorse such Third-Party Materials.
  
  
  

• Affiliates and Third-Party Vendors. TAR may utilize Affiliates or third-party vendors in providing the TAR Plan to Customers including, but not limited to, for billing. TAR shall be responsible for the actions of its Affiliates and third-party vendors. If billing is conducted via an Affiliate or third-party vendors, Customer shall tender payment to the Affiliate or third-party vendor as billed. 
  
  

• Beta Testing. TAR may release TAR Plan or other products in testing or unsupported format and designate such as “Beta.” To the extent that Customer provides feedback to TAR, or an Affiliate, related to TAR services; Customer grants TAR a nonexclusive right to use, republish, distribute, or sell such feedback for promotional or commercial business purposes or otherwise. 
  
  

•  Customer Meta-Data. TAR may monitor Customer’s use of the TAR Plan and collect metadata associated with Customer use. Further, TAR may collect and compile Aggregate Information and such information shall not be confidential and such Aggregate Information may be utilized in any way that TAR deems fit.
  
  

• Intellectual Property. TAR owns and shall retain all right, title and interest in the TAR Plan and all related Intellectual Property rights. Nothing herein transfers any TAR Intellectual Property right to Customer or any other person. Customer owns and will retain all right to Customer Data and Customer Confidential Information.
  
  

• Termination for Cause. TAR reserves the right to terminate any Customer’s subscription for breach of any provision of the Terms of Service or for other good cause; provided TAR shall refund such terminated Customer’s annual subscription.   
  
  

• Indemnification. Customer shall indemnify and hold TAR harmless for all liabilities (in any form) incurred by TAR as a result of Customer’s (or its Tax Pros) breach of the Agreement, use of the TAR Plan of violation of Applicable Laws. Likewise, Customer shall pay all costs and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees) incurred by TAR as a result of any claims made.
  
  

• Disclaimer of All Warranties. Except as specifically set forth in these Service Terms and to the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law: (1) TAR makes no warranty of any kind, whether express, implied or otherwise, and TAR expressly disclaims all implied warranties including those of merchantability and fitness for particular purpose. (2) Customer agrees that it is using the TAR Plan “as is” and the TAR Plan and all Service Output is at Customer’s sole risk and discretion. Nothing herein creates any warranty. Further, in no event will either party be liable to the other for any indirect, special, punitive, consequential or incidental damages relating to this Agreement or the TAR Plan.
  
  

• Limitation of Liability. In no event shall any party’s aggregate liability to the other exceed the amount paid by Customer to TAR for the TAR Plan in the calendar year of the claimed action. However, this limitation shall not apply to a party’s gross negligence, willful misconduct or indemnification obligations.
  
  

• The TAR Plan for Informational Purposes Only – No Professional Advice.  Nothing herein shall create any fiduciary relationship between TAR and Customer. TAR is not an investment advisory firm, a law firm or an accounting firm. Nothing provided by TAR in offering the TAR Plan to the Customer should be used or construed by the Customer as financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Customer agrees that TAR provides the TAR Plan, and Service Output for informational purposes only. Customer is solely responsible for all tax reporting positions taken by Customer.
  
  

• Circular 230 Disclaimer. TAR’s Service Output is not intended to be used, and cannot be used, by anyone for the purpose of avoiding any penalty that may be imposed by the IRS under the Internal Revenue Code. Customer shall seek advice from an independent tax advisor. The Service Output is based upon the tax law in effect at the time of the Service Output’s creation; it is not intended to be relied upon on an ongoing basis without appropriate updates being made by a qualified tax advisor. There are no assurances or guarantees that the Service Output will not be examined or that such Service Output will pass IRS scrutiny or state agency scrutiny.
  
  

• Governing Law: This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of Idaho.
  
  
  

• Publicity. TAS may include the name or logo of Customer in lists of customers or vendors. Customer may request permission to use TAS logo at Support@TheAugustaRule.com.
  
  

• Assignment. Customer may not assign its rights or duties under the agreement. TAR may assign its rights; provided such assignment results in no additional cost to Customer.
  
  

• Free Trial Customers. Customers may sign up with TAR and utilize portions of the TAR Technology on a trial basis (hereafter “Free Trial Customers”) prior to purchasing a subscription. Free Trial Customers shall be subject to all of the provisions of this Agreement (except those relating to payment and billing), notwithstanding that they choose to never purchase a subscription. 
  
  

• Miscellaneous. This Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between TAR and Customer. If any portion of this Agreement is found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect. TAR shall communicate all notices to Customers either via email or by posting on its website. Any notice to TAR shall be emailed to Support@TheAugustaRule.com

Definitions

1. 1. “Affiliate“ means an entity that controls or is controlled by another entity, where “control” means direct or indirect ownership of more than 50% of the voting interests of the subject entity.
   2. “Aggregate Information” means data related to Customers and their use of the TAR Plan, including metadata, data, strategies and other information related to Customers. Such information may be aggregated with like data of other Customers. In no event shall such collection result in an individually identified person or entity as its source. 
   3. “Applicable Laws” means all applicable local, state, provincial, federal, and international laws, rules or regulations.
   4. “Automatic Renewal” shall have the meaning set forth in the paragraph entitled Subscription Term & Automatic Renewal.  
   5. “Authorized Users” means Customer (or its employees) who have access and use of the TAR Plan and who have been supplied with user identifications and passwords by Customer (or by TAR at Customer’s request). Authorized Users may include tax planning users or administrative users with differing levels of access. Customer’s Authorized User(s) include any tax advisor of Customer with authorization to access the account.
   6. “Audit Defense Program” means TAR’s Audit Defense Program which is available only to Premium Plan Subscribers. The terms and conditions of the Audit Defense Program are set forth below.  
   7. “Customer” means an individual or business entity that subscribes to a TAR Plan (including both paid and free TAR Plan offerings). 
   8. “Customer Data” means any information or documents uploaded or submitted by Customer (or its Tax Pro as the case may be) to TAR. It also includes the Service Output. Customer Data does not include Aggregate Information or descriptions of tax issues, requirements or strategies (other than any Customer unique data). 
   9. “Confidential Information” Confidential Information means information disclosed by TAR or Customer in connection with the TAR Plan that would be reasonably considered to be confidential under the circumstances or is otherwise marked as confidential. It includes all TAR technology, non-public TAR Materials and customer lists.  It also includes all non-public Customer Data (not including meta-data). 
   10. “Fees” means the fees, reimbursable expenses, and other amounts payable by Customer for the TAR Plan subscription, including any taxes (if applicable), related thereto.
   11. “Initial Subscription Term” has the meaning set forth in the paragraph entitled “Subscription Term & Automatic Renewal.”
   12. “Intellectual Property” means creations of the mind broadly construed including, but not limited to, inventions, patent applications, patents, design rights, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade names, domain name rights, know-how and other trade secret rights, and all other intellectual property and proprietary rights and derivatives thereof. It includes all forms of protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property rights anywhere in the world. 
   13. “Subscription Term” shall have the meaning set forth in the paragraph entitled Subscription Term & Automatic Renewal.  

• “Renewal Annual Subscription Term” shall mean all subscription terms after the initial Subscription Term. 

1. 1. “Service Output” means the Customer-unique output that is generated for Customer by TAR Plan including details for bookings, rental value calculations, comparables and filing instructions, created by the TAR.

• “Referral Partner” means any person or business that refers Customers to TAR in exchange for valuable consideration which may include, but is not limited to, Tax Pros.  

1. TAR Materials” means all templates, information, and other content and materials of TAR and its Affiliates (and all related Intellectual Property rights) contained or used in the TAR Plan (other than the Customer Data), contained in TAR’s knowledge base, or otherwise provided to Customer in connection with the TAR Plan. TAR Materials may include Third-Party Materials.
2. “TAR Technology” means the technology, including software, websites, networks, and equipment (and all related Intellectual Property rights), used in providing the services offered by TAR. 
3. “Tax Pros” means any tax professional that assists Customer with its taxes and tax reporting. This could include the Customer’s Certified Public Accountant, Enrolled Agent, Attorney or other person.  
4. “Third-Party Materials” means software, technology, services, websites or other information belonging to any third party that may be used in conjunction with the TAR Plan.  

TAR Audit Defense: Terms of Service 

(Premium Plan Subscribers ONLY)

TAR shall provide audit defense (hereafter “Audit Defense”) services to TAR Premium Subscribers (hereafter “Premium Subscribers”) that pay rent for the use of Listed Personal Residences on the following terms and conditions (hereafter “TAR Audit Defense TOS”). The Audit Defense shall also cover the owner(s) of Premium Subscribers whose Listed Personal Residences are rented to the Member Business in question. The Audit Defense shall NOT cover any tax topics, issues, or audits outside of 280A(g) (defined below). For example, if an IRS audit were to challenge income tax deductions for meals (even if consumed during a 280A(g) meeting), that topic is outside of 280A(g) and is not covered by the Audit Defense.

Eligibility. You are only eligible for Audit Defense if (1) you are a Premium Plan Subscriber and (2) you have truthfully confirmed, via the Augusta Rule Web App, that you met all of the Audit Defense Requirements.

No Refund Policy: The portion of your Premium Subscription that relates to Audit Defense is deemed fully earned by us at the time of payment and is non-refundable. Thereafter, your Audit Defense is in force until it expires per the terms of this Agreement.

Term: Audit Defense Coverage begins on the Acceptance Date and ends with the expiration of the Statute of Limitations. 

CONFIDENTIALITY

Your name, address, and any other personal information will not be disclosed or sold to any persons or firms and may only be shared with our third party partners or contractors.

AUDIT DEFENSE BENEFITS 

Our staff (including CPAs, IRS Enrolled Agents, Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP)) practitioners and if necessary, tax attorneys, will professionally represent you in an Audit, subject to your fulfilling your responsibilities as set forth below We will: 

1.         Assign a team member to manage your case. The team member (including any licensed professional) may be a 3rd party partner or contractor; 
2.        Develop a strategy with you for responding to the 280A(g) portions of the Audit or Notice;
3.        Handle all communications, in any form, with the IRS or State regarding the 280A(g) portions of Your Audit or Notice; and
4.        Negotiate with the IRS or State regarding 280A(g) via the IRS Office of Appeals (or local equivalents).  

AUDIT DEFENSE LIMITATIONS 

Your purchase of a Premium Subscription for the current tax filing period must be made before the date of any IRS or State Notice, specifically; the Notice must be dated after you purchased the TAR Premium Subscription and must relate to the tax year for which you purchased the Premium Subscription. 

In addition, the following limitations apply: 

• All events booked by Customer must receive a defensibility score of at least 3. If any event(s) booked by Customer receive a defensibility score of less than 3; then there shall be no Audit Defense.  
• We do not provide legal assistance, nor represent you in Federal or State Court, or Tax Court; our assistance is limited to your Audit only. 
• We do not provide legal assistance or defense of any allegations of criminal activity (as opposed to civil), nor do we provide any legal assistance or defense against any allegations of fraud (whether civil or criminal). 
• The Audit Team does not provide any assistance with record production or management (e.g. we do not reconcile checkbooks, organize records or do record keeping or bookkeeping) those tasks are squarely upon you, your bookkeepers, or others to whom you choose to delegate such matters. The Augusta Rule Web App, if used properly, should greatly simplify keeping such records. 
• We do not guarantee an outcome. While we will do our best to preserve your Augusta Tax Rule benefits, the nature of federal income tax law, the ever-evolving interpretations of that law by the IRS and Tax Authorities, and the underlying system itself makes it impossible for us to promise a “win” or other specific result.
• In the event that a refund is made under either the 100% Money Back Guarantee, or the 300% Return on Subscription Fee Guarantee to the Customer; the Audit Defense Agreement shall immediately terminate as to the Customer and TAR shall have no further duties for Audit Defense to such Customer.
  
  

TERMINATION OF THE THIS AGREEMENT 

We reserve the right to terminate this Agreement upon your breach of any material provision of this Agreement. Further, we reserve the right to terminate this Agreement in the event any of the following conditions exist: 

• Your failure to reasonably fulfill your responsibilities (such as timely providing us with well-organized and pertinent records). 
• Your failure to provide us with all Items Needed within thirty (30) days of request.  
• Your failure to timely cooperate during the course of an Audit. 
• Your use of abusive, inappropriate, or unprofessional language when communicating with us, the IRS or State Tax Authority. 
• Your misrepresentations and material omissions to The Augusta Rule, the IRS or State Tax Authority. 
• Any action by you that makes completion of TAR responsibilities under this Agreement unreasonably difficult to fulfill.  
• Any other reason allowed by applicable law.  

This Agreement shall also be deemed to be terminated if the Audit Defense fee has not been paid or has been refunded to the client (e.g., via credit card dispute, etc.).

GOVERNING LAW

This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of Idaho.

TAR Audit Defense TOS – Definitions. The following terms are specifically defined for purpose of the TAR Audit Defense TOS.  

1. “Acceptance Date” is the date upon which a Premium Subscription is purchased for a given tax year. 
2. “Audit” means any IRS or State review, examination, investigation, or request for verification of the information on your federal or State income tax return that challenges the Augusta Rule
3. “280A(g)” means 1) Rental income to the owner of a Listed Personal Residence that should be income tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 280A(g) and 2) Income tax deductions for a business that paid rent for the use of said Listed Personal Residence; that are claimed based upon the output of the TAR Plan Premium Subscription. 
4. “Augusta Rule Web App” means that web application at the website www.theaugustarule.com 
5. “Listed Personal Residences”. You may have more than one Personal Residence for purposes of the Augusta Rule. Listed Personal Residences are those that qualify as a “personal residence” for purposes of the 280A(g) and are registered and paid for via the Augusta Rule Web App.
6. “Notice” is any IRS or State Income Tax Authority communication, whether written, telephonic or electronic, indicating that such Tax Authority is questioning the Augusta Rule. 
7. “Statute of Limitations” is the term describing the normal period of time during which the IRS or State is permitted to Audit your income tax returns. For the IRS, the period is three years from the date of filing the tax return or the un-extended due date for the tax return (typically March 15th or April 15th), whichever is later. Extended statutes of limitations are not included in the term “Statute of Limitations”. Such extended statutes of limitations include, but are not limited to:

• the Federal 6-year (instead of 3-year) statute of limitations that is triggered by a substantial omission of gross income; and
• any statute of limitations extended by fraud, tax evasion, or the like.

1. Items Needed refers to the information that we need from you to be able to represent you in the event you receive a Notice or are Subject to an Audit and consists of:  

1. the IRS or State Notice provided to us in a timely fashion, preferably the same day that you receive it; 
2.  a signed IRS Form 2848 Power of Attorney and/or IRS Form 8821 Tax Information Authorization (or appropriate Power of Attorney Authorization for your State Income Tax Authority). Upon receipt of your IRS or State Notice we will promptly send you the Power of Attorney Authorization for immediate signature and return to us. and
3. Any records that we request to prove your 280A(g) tax benefits.