The short version.
These terms are an agreement between you and Big Time Design and Communication Inc. ("Big Time", "we", "us"), the maker of Lou. By using Lou at lou.bigtimedesign.ca (the "Service") you agree to them. If you do not agree, please do not use Lou. You must be at least 18, or the age of majority where you live.
Lou helps US persons who live in Canada turn Canadian tax documents into US tax forms. It reads documents you provide, converts amounts to US dollars, calculates a US return, fills in official IRS forms, and produces a guide showing where each Canadian number goes. Lou covers the situations and tax years listed in the app. Where Lou cannot handle a situation, it tells you.
Lou is not a tax preparer, accountant, lawyer, enrolled agent or financial adviser. We do not prepare, review, sign, file or submit your return, and we do not represent you before the IRS, the CRA or anyone else. Nothing in Lou is tax, legal or financial advice. No professional relationship is created between you and Big Time by your use of Lou.
Lou does not e-file. You print or save the forms and send them yourself, or give them to a professional of your choice. FBAR reports are filed by you through FinCEN BSA E-Filing.
Lou keeps your information in your browser on your device. We do not receive it and cannot recover it. If you clear your browser data, change devices or lose a backup file, your work can be lost. If you protect a backup file with a password, we cannot recover that password, and without it the file cannot be opened. Keep your own copies. See the privacy policy for details.
Do not use Lou to file false or fraudulent returns, to break the law, to attack or overload the Service, or to copy or resell the Service. Do not try to get around its technical protections. You may use Lou for your own return or for the return of a family member you are helping. Professionals who use Lou for clients remain fully responsible for the work they produce.
Lou's source code is available at github.com/karimawad/lou under the license in that repository. The license says what you may do with the code. These terms cover your use of the hosted Service.
Official IRS forms and instructions are US government works and are in the public domain. Lou also uses open source software (for example pdf.js, pdf-lib, Tesseract and React), each under its own license. "IRS", "CRA" and other names are used only to identify the forms and documents Lou works with. Lou is not affiliated with or endorsed by the IRS, the US Treasury, FinCEN, the Canada Revenue Agency or the Government of Canada.
Lou is provided "as is" and "as available". To the fullest extent the law allows, we make no promises, express or implied, that Lou is correct, complete, current, error-free, uninterrupted, or fit for your particular situation, and we disclaim all implied warranties, including merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. We work hard to tie every rule to an official source, but we do not guarantee any result, refund, tax amount, or outcome with a tax authority.
To the fullest extent the law allows, Big Time and its directors, officers, employees and contractors are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, penalties, interest, additional tax, or professional fees, arising from your use of or inability to use Lou, even if we were told this could happen. To the fullest extent the law allows, our total liability for any claim relating to Lou is limited to CAD $100.
Some places do not allow these limits, and certain rights cannot be waived. Where that is true for you, these limits apply only as far as the law permits, and nothing here limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited.
Lou is free, and we may change, suspend or end any part of it at any time. We may update these terms. The effective date at the top shows the latest version, and a significant change will be noted in the app. If you keep using Lou after a change, you accept the new terms.
These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. Courts in Ontario have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute, except where the law of your home place gives you the right to bring a claim there. Before starting a claim, please write to us so we can try to sort it out.
If part of these terms cannot be enforced, the rest still applies. Not enforcing a term is not giving it up. These terms, together with the privacy policy and important notices, are the whole agreement between you and us about Lou.
Big Time Design and Communication Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada. info@bigtimedesign.ca