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Privacy Policy for Taxpert®

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Terri Reeves, Unsplash
@terrireeves

Thank you for visiting taxpert.com (hereinafter referred to as "Taxpert" or "we"). We are committed to keeping your tax information private and recognize the importance customers place on the privacy and confidentiality of their information. While new technologies allow us to more efficiently serve our clients, we are committed to maintaining the rigorous privacy standards that are synonymous with our established and trusted name.

Taxpert® is respectful of data privacy and adopts best practice in compliance with applicable privacy law and regulations, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). If you are a European Union (EU) resident, please note that there are a number of provisions in this privacy policy that apply uniquely to you. Taxpert® does not have a EU representative, as required by Article 27 of the GDPR. Taxpert® is dedicated to privacy protection and staying GDPR compliant. Currently, Taxpert® does not intend to sell its tax services to persons inside the EEA. These include limiting access to certain web-based services when attempting access from within EU borders.

In respect to your Personal Information, Taxpert® complies with applicable state privacy laws including the 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act or CCPA.

We provide our Privacy Policy (hereinafter "Policy") to explain our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.

This Privacy Policy covers all the online information practices of www.taxpert.com. Other sites maintained by Taxpert® may operate under their own Privacy and security policies. Third party web sites operate under their own Privacy and security policies.

Spam Policy

By providing us with your email address, you agree to allow us to send a small number (2 to 5, for example) emails throughout the year about tax subjects that could affect your taxes directly.

We at taxpert.com respect the privacy of your email inbox. We don't like spam and we don't want you to get email from Taxpert that you have not anticipated. If you wish to stop receiving email from taxpert.com, just contact Taxpert® directly and we will stop emailing you. It's that simple.

There's no need to mark the unwanted email as spam, set up a blacklist, or inform your internet service provider. The fastest and easiest way to stop unwanted emails is to contact Taxpert® support. You can also simply click "Unsubscribe" on the emails themselves.

Please contact Taxpert® if you have any questions regarding our spam policy, or about any email you received from us.

Internal Controls

When collecting, storing, and retrieving your personal data, extensive internal controls are maintained throughout the process to ensure security and confidentiality.

Our Internet-based systems are protected behind firewalls and all mission critical servers are deployed in a cluster environment to provide an even greater level of security and protection against system failure. All data is maintained and backed-up on a regular schedule to provide adequate redundancy and ensure that the integrity of information is never jeopardized.

Visit our cookie setting and management page on how cookies are used.

Our employees are subject to strict guidelines regarding confidentiality, and internal access to customer data is restricted to highly trained personnel on an "as-needed" basis.

Transmitting Information

When transmitting information between you and our server, as well as when communicating with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for electronic filing, data security is handled through a protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL is an established and mature Internet security standard with two dominant features: data encryption and web server authentication.

Data Encryption

Data encryption is the process of transforming legible information into a complex arrangement of illegible information. SSL uses a private/public key combination to encrypt data when it is sent and to decrypt data when it is received. SSL encrypts data using a mathematical formula, also referred to as a “key.”

Encryption strength is measured by the length of the key used to encrypt the data; the longer the key, the more effective the encryption. Using the SSL protocol, data transmission between you and our web server is performed at a standard level of encryption strength.

Web Server Authentication

An SSL certificate is issued to ensure authentic and accurate identification of a secured web server. This translates into a digital ID, an electronic fingerprint, which is included in the key used to encrypt the data. Only our web server, in this case, is able to decrypt the data that you transmit because it is the intended (and digitally certified) secured web server for the applicable data transmission.

Visiting our website from outside the United States

If you are located outside the United States (US) and are visiting taxpert.com outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States. The data protection and other laws of the United States and other countries might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. We take steps to ensure that your privacy is protected. By accessing and using our services, you agree and understand that your information may be transferred and processed by taxpert.com and other third parties with whom we share it as described in this Policy.

The Information We Collect

This Policy applies to all information collected or submitted on our web site. If a credit card is used to pay for the Service, in addition to tax return information, we collect the following credit card and personal information:

  • Cardholder's Name
  • Credit Card Type
  • Credit Card Number
  • Expiration Date
  • Cardholder's Billing Address
  • Daytime Phone Number
  • E-mail Address
  • Employer's or Relative's Phone Number.

The credit card information is used to process your transaction, and is used consistent with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

We also collect the following information for use in answering your inquiries for technical support when you submit an email requesting our assistance:

  • Your name
  • User ID
  • E-mail Address
  • Phone Number
  • Operating System
  • Browser Type
  • Connection type/speed.

The Way We Use Information

In the normal course of business, and subject to the limitations explained below, your tax return information is used solely for the purpose of allowing you to complete and file your tax return. The tax return information that we collect is not generally shared with federal, state, or other taxing authorities without your consent. The foregoing notwithstanding, if you choose to electronically file your return, we will transmit your tax return to the appropriate federal and state taxing authorities. The IRS requires us to provide the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer from which the return originated, as well as the e-mail address of the person who electronically filed the return. This information is sent to the IRS at the time you choose to submit your return to the IRS for electronic filing.

In order to electronically file your return, we must share your submitted tax information with the appropriate tax authorities in order to complete your request. You can control whether or not you wish your tax information shared for this purpose by deciding whether or not to complete the tax returns forms, which are all clearly labeled.

Credit card information provided to Taxpert® is handled consistent with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

Our Basic Service entitles you to notification via e-mail of filing deadlines, estimate reminders, and tax law changes, as well as tax planning and financial information that may affect your tax return. In order for us to provide you with the Basic Service, it is required that you provide us with your e-mail address and consent to our limited review of your tax return information with our proprietary software program to determine whether your tax return information would trigger such notifications.

In addition to our Basic Service, we may send to you, via your e-mail address, information and promotional messages about other products and services that we think may be of interest to you. Any sharing of such information is subject to the opt-out option as discussed in the paragraph below.

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Taxpert® does not sell or share your personal information to anyone in exchange for money without your consent. 

The California Consumer Privacy Act’s however has a broad definition that can include sharing certain information, such as cookies, tags, and other tracking devices, used by taxpert.com to present online advertising as “selling” personal information. 

When you visit taxpert.com or mytaxes.Taxpert.com, we do store cookies on your browser to collect information.

The information collected might relate to you, your personal preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the Taxpert® site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized user experience to you. 

However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Read about the different cookie categories below to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of so called First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of taxpert.com (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). 

You can also opt out of marketing communications. To do so, click on Unsubscribe in the footer section on one of the informational emails you received or click the Unsubscribe link on the Communication Preferences page.  You will continue to receive transnational emails or communications that is necessary for providing our tax preparation or support services.

Consent to Use Information

By using this web site (taxpert.com), you consent to the terms of this Policy.

Should the Policy change, we intend to take every reasonable step to ensure that these changes are brought to your attention by posting all changes prominently on our web site for a reasonable period of time.

Your use of this service means that you consent to our limited access and review of your tax return information necessary to provide you with the Basic Service described above.

In addition, we may provide you with promotional messages. You will have the option to opt-out of receiving such promotional messages. Declining to receive e-mail promotional messages will not affect our ability to deliver our Basic Service to you.

Third Party Services

For the purpose of providing you with additional information or services, our web site also provides links or references to our other web sites or to third party web sites of online information providers, advertisers, and other business partners. When offering partner services, the partner who will be receiving your information will be clearly identified.

We are not responsible for information gathered by third party web sites. You should review any third party sites' privacy policies for details regarding information they gather. Any time you are preparing to navigate to a site that is not covered by this Policy, we will indicate at the bottom of the page that you are leaving our site.

When you select to have your tax refund transferred to your bank account, your refund will be processed on behalf of Taxpert® by the U.S. Treasury. You authorize us to disclose your relevant bank information to EPS Financial, a division of MetaBank®. Your indication within the program that you wish to either deduct your tax preparation fee from your tax refund or have your refund transferred to your bank account as your authorization. When you select the option within our program for a bank product (e-collect or Deduct Fee From Refund - DFFR), once your return has qualified for electronic filing we share your name, address, Social Security number, phone number, and other tax related information necessary for Bancorp and EPS Financial Services to provide the requested service. Bancorp and EPS Financial Services use the personally identifiable information for the purpose of providing your bank product.

Through a third party partnership with Official Payments Corporation®, you may request to pay your balance due via credit or debit card. When you make this request, you authorize us to disclose your relevant credit card and tax return information to Official Payments Corporation. When you select the option within our program to pay your balance due via credit or debit card, and your return has qualified for electronic filing, we then share your name, address, Social Security number, phone number, and other tax related information necessary for Official Payments Corporation to provide the requested service. In addition, you will be asked to disclose your card information to Official Payments. Official Payments uses the personally identifiable information for the purpose of providing the payment of your tax via credit or debit card as requested. You may visit the site at www.officialpayments.com to view their Privacy Policy.

Information entered into the Tax Calculators is used solely to provide you with estimates of various tax situations. The information used in these calculations is not saved.

Children Under Thirteen Years of Age

Pursuant to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), Taxpert® generally does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under thirteen (13) years of age. Taxpert® only collects information from children under thirteen years of age after receiving verified parental consent prior to collection. Upon notice that Taxpert® has inadvertently collected personally identifiable information from a child under thirteen, we will take all reasonable steps to remove such information from its records as quickly as reasonably possible.

Transition of Ownership

Were Taxpert® to engage in a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition, or sale, your personally identifiable information may be among the assets transferred. Users will be notified of any ownership transition via prominent notice on the site at least thirty (30) days before any such change in ownership or control of your personal information is undertaken.

Dispute Resolution, Arbitration Clause

Any dispute shall be subject to mediation conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) with a mediator that shall be mutually selected, or if agreement cannot be reached, with a mediator assigned by the AAA. If the dispute is not resolved within 90 days after it is referred to a mediator, the matter shall be referred to binding arbitration. Costs of the mediation shall be borne equally by the parties. Any mediation or arbitration proceeding shall only be held in the State of Florida, in the United States of America.

Disclosure by Legal Mandate

Taxpert® reserves the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe such disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served through our web site. Taxpert® will notify you about material changes to this Privacy Policy by sending a notice to the email address you provided to us or by placing a prominent notice on Taxpert®.

How to Contact Us

Should you have other questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please submit your questions to the mailing address the Customer Support website link below:

Mailing Address:
Taxwork LLC
Attn: taxpert.com
PO Box 1050 
Mount Pleasant, SC  29465
United States of America

Contact Taxpert®

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