Does a New Hampshire firm have to give your records back?
Yes, for the records that are yours, if the firm is covered by Circular 230 or by New Hampshire's accountancy law and board rules. Section 10.28 of Circular 230 says a practitioner must, at the client's request, promptly return any and all of the client's records needed to meet federal tax obligations, and may keep copies. The same section says a dispute over fees generally doesn't relieve the practitioner of that duty.
New Hampshire goes further. The Board of Accountancy rule Ac 404.03 addresses anyone holding a current certificate under RSA 309-B:5, or an equivalent accounting license from any jurisdiction in the United States. It says they shall not retain a client's records in order to force payment of any kind, and that records go back immediately on demand unless a delay is needed to pull a closed file or separate out the firm's own work papers. If they can't be returned at once, the client has to be told the date they will be.
Check who you're dealing with first, because the rules only bind the people they name. The IRS describes Circular 230 as the rules of conduct for tax professionals who deal with the IRS on a taxpayer's behalf, RSA 309-B:19 addresses a licensee under New Hampshire's accountancy law, and Ac 404.03 addresses anyone holding a current RSA 309-B:5 certificate or an equivalent accounting license from any jurisdiction in the United States. If your bookkeeper is in none of those groups, those rules may not reach them. Your engagement letter is then the place to look. Read what it says about records before you give notice.
Which records are yours, and which belong to the firm?
It turns on who made the document and whether it belongs in your books. The returns row follows the federal rule, and the other rows follow New Hampshire's.
| What it is | Examples | Whose it is | What you can ask for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Records you provided | Bank statements, receipts, invoices, older returns | Yours | The records back, immediately on demand under the state rule, or by a date the firm must tell you |
| Returns from earlier work | Filed federal returns and their schedules | Yours if presented to you in earlier work and needed for a current federal tax obligation | The returns back, unless one is held until that return's own fee is paid |
| Entries that change your books | Adjusting entries, depreciation schedules | Part of your records | Copies |
| The firm's own work papers | Notes that don't change your books | The firm's | Nothing, unless your agreement says otherwise |
Two of those rows come straight from New Hampshire law. RSA 309-B:19 says a licensee's working papers remain the licensee's property unless you've expressly agreed otherwise. The licensee still must furnish copies of working papers that would ordinarily be part of the client's records and aren't otherwise available to the client, along with any accounting or other records belonging to, or obtained from or on behalf of, the client that the licensee removed from the client's premises or received for the client's account. Ac 404.03 then names what counts, including adjusting and closing journal entries, depreciation and amortization schedules, and cost basis calculations.
Say you run a moving company in Nashua, and your old accountant, licensed in New Hampshire, built the depreciation schedule for your trucks. That schedule should come to you, because your next return can't be done properly without it. Their notes about how they reviewed your file can stay with them.
Can a firm hold your records until you pay?
A certificate holder covered by New Hampshire's board rules can't hold your records to force payment, but the federal rule leaves more room, and an unpaid return is a separate case.
Circular 230 says the records it protects don't include a return or schedule the practitioner prepared while the practitioner is withholding it pending payment of the fees for that document. It also says that where state law allows a practitioner to keep records during a fee dispute, only the records that must be attached to the return have to come back, and the client still gets reasonable access to review and copy the rest of the records needed for federal tax obligations. New Hampshire's rule is worded more broadly, barring the certificate holders it covers from keeping a client's records to force payment of any kind.
If you owe money and a return that was already filed is the thing being held, you don't need the firm's copy. The IRS page about Form 4506 says it's the form to request a copy of your tax return. On the state side, the Department of Revenue Administration says its Granite Tax Connect portal lets you view balances and correspondence, which is why holding that login yourself matters when you switch.
Leaving a firm and not sure what's missing?
Book a free consultation and we'll go through what you have and what still needs to come back.
How do you ask for your records in writing?
Send a short, dated email or letter that lists what you want, in what format, and by when.
Ac 404.03 also says who can make the request. For a corporation it's the president, for an LLC the managing member, and for a partnership any general partner or the managing partner, or someone they designate. So if you and a partner are the general partners of a café in Portsmouth, either of you can ask, and a signed note naming your new bookkeeper as your designated agent is a simple way to let them ask for you.
A request that covers the usual gaps looks like this.
- The business's legal name and the years the firm worked on.
- Everything you supplied: statements, receipts, payroll reports and older returns.
- Copies of filed federal and New Hampshire returns with their schedules.
- Adjusting entries, depreciation schedules and any ledgers kept outside your software.
- The format you want, such as PDF files and a general ledger export.
- A delivery date, and who to send it to if someone is collecting for you.
What should you collect before you give notice?
Anything you can already download yourself, and a clear answer on who is the admin of your software.
Start with the software. QuickBooks says the primary admin has access to every part of the account, and a transfer needs the current primary admin to sign in. If that person is no longer with the company and you can't sign in as them, you submit a request to Intuit's account protection team with documents proving you own the business or have permission to take over the account. If the file was set up under the firm's login, QuickBooks setup and support can help once access is yours.
Then think about how long the paper needs to last. The IRS page on how long to keep records says to keep copies of filed returns, generally to keep income tax support for 3 years after the return was filed (a return filed early counts as filed on its due date), to keep employment tax records for at least 4 years after the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later, and to keep records relating to property until the period of limitations expires for the year you dispose of the property. On the firm's side, Ac 404.03 asks the certificate holders it covers to keep their work product and work papers for at least 5 years after creation. That's a minimum for the firm's own files. RSA 309-B:19 still lets a former client ask for copies, but asking before you leave is easier.
What happens once you have everything?
Whoever takes over should check the opening balances against your bank statements before posting anything new.
If the records show months that were never reconciled, those get done first through catch-up bookkeeping, then the work moves to monthly bookkeeping from a clean month-end. An owner in Concord who leaves a firm at year-end would want December closed and reconciled before the new bookkeeper posts January.
Before you sign with anyone new, ask what you get back if you leave, and get the answer into the engagement letter. If you'd like to talk through a switch, get in touch. The first consultation is free and commits you to nothing.
