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Last updated on November 25, 2024
At TaxSlayer, we are committed to safeguarding customer information collected through our products and services, including via our websites (taxslayerpro.com, cloudtaxoffice.com, taxofficemanagement.com, and taxstatusnow.com) and related applications (collectively, the “Platform”). This Privacy Policy is provided for website visitors and professional tax preparer users of our products and services (“you”). As a financial services and technology company, TaxSlayer Pro LLC (“TaxSlayer”, “we”, and “us”) provides these guidelines to explain what information we may gather about you and how we may share it. This Privacy Policy explains TaxSlayer’s collection, use, retention, and security of information about you. It also describes your choices regarding use, access, and correction of your personal information.
Since your privacy is a priority to us, TaxSlayer will not share nonpublic information about you with third parties outside of the TaxSlayer corporate family without your consent, except as explained in our Privacy Policy.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully before using our Platform. By accessing or otherwise using any portion of the Platform, you represent that you have all the applicable rights and authority to grant TaxSlayer the rights granted herein, and you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. You expressly represent and warrant that you are agreeing to this Privacy Policy individually, and for and on behalf of your Firm/Organization and users of your account, and that your Firm/Organization and users intend to be bound to this Privacy Policy. If you are not willing to be bound by the terms of this Privacy Policy, you may not access or otherwise use any portion of the Platform.
As a U.S. based company offering products related to the preparation of U.S. federal and state tax returns, TaxSlayer does not market to nor target subjects of other countries including those in the European Economic Area. In addition, as a provider of tax preparation software, TaxSlayer may be considered an exempt financial institution (or some of the data that TaxSlayer collects may be exempt) under certain U.S. state privacy laws. While the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and various data privacy laws do not apply to TaxSlayer, we strive to meet all rules and regulations relating to data protection and security promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service and its Security Summit (https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/security-summit for more information) and comply with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”).
Our family of products and services are intended for different audiences, so certain sections of this Privacy Policy may or may not be applicable to you, depending on whether you are a preparer or taxpayer. The taxstatusnow.com website can be used by both tax preparers and their taxpayer customers. The cloudtaxoffice.com and taxofficemanagement.com are intended for use by tax preparation professionals, not taxpayer-consumers. Accordingly, except to extent that the taxstatusnow.com website is applicable to taxpayer customers, this Privacy Policy covers our collection, use, and disclosure of information about our professional customers.
Additionally, tax preparers may provide certain information about their taxpayer-clients when using any of our products and services to prepare a tax return (collectively, “Tax Return Information”). In such case, you, our tax preparer customer, are a data controller under certain data privacy laws and the “Tax Return Preparer” under Section 301-7216 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 7216”); accordingly, you are responsible to protect your taxpayer-customers' information in compliance with Section 7216 and all other applicable data privacy laws and regulations.
Our Privacy Policy does not apply where TaxSlayer processes personal information in our role as a service provider or data processor on behalf of a customer or entity that acts as the data controller (for example, where TaxSlayer processes a third party’s information on behalf of customers of our professional tax software products or companies that custom-label our Platform). When we act as a service provider or data processor, the privacy policy of the data controller will govern processing of personal information.
As a service to our customers, our Platform may contain links to various tax agencies/services such as IRS.gov. The links provided are maintained by these separate entities and are not the property of, or affiliated with, TaxSlayer in any way. If you submit personal information to any of those sites, your information is governed by their privacy policies. We encourage you to carefully read the privacy policy of any website you visit.
Similarly, certain portions of our www.taxslayerpro.com may include social media features such as like or share buttons or widgets. These social media features may collect your IP address and which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Your interactions with a feature or widget is governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it. For more information about cookies and how to opt out, see our section on Your Rights and User Controls.
We collect information from you directly, the devices that you use to interact with us, and third-party analytics providers.
As described above, this Privacy Policy may apply differently to our professional tax preparer users and their taxpayer customers. All products and services, including all websites, are intended for use by tax preparers. The taxstatusnow.com website may be used by taxpayer customers of tax preparers.
Generally, except to extent that the taxstatusnow.com website is applicable to taxpayer customers, this Privacy Policy covers our collection, use, and disclosure of information about our professional customers. You may provide the following information about yourself when you enter and use our Platform as a tax preparer, contact us for support, or purchase products and services:
As a tax preparer, you may provide certain information about your taxpayer-clients when you use our Platform to prepare a tax return (collectively, “Tax Return Information”). As stated above, in such case, you are the “Tax Return Preparer” under Section 301-7216 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 7216”). Accordingly, you are responsible to understand and comply with your legal obligations to protect your taxpayer-clients' information, including complying with Section 7216, GLBA, and all other data privacy laws and regulations applicable to you as the data controller. To the extent Section 7216 applies to TaxSlayer as your software provider, we use Tax Return Information only in accordance with Section 7216 to help you prepare and assist in preparing a tax return. We protect your taxpayer-clients' data in accordance with the rules and regulations relating to data protection and security for the tax industry promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service and its Security Summit (https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/security-summit).
We and partners working on our behalf may use cookies, web beacons, pixels, tags, or other digital technologies on some of our websites, or portions thereof, that collect information from the device you use to interact with our Platform and services. We also create records when you make purchases or otherwise interact with the Platform or services. The information collected may include:
For more information and to opt out of cookies, see our section on Your Rights and User Controls below.
If you use your mobile device in connection with our Platform, you authorize your wireless carrier to use or disclose information about your account and device, if available, to TaxSlayer or its service provider for the purpose of identifying you or your device and to prevent fraud.
Our products and services are not intended for or directed to children under the age of 16, nor do we knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 16.
We may use information about you for the following purposes:
Unless allowed by applicable law (including Section 7216) and we have your consent, we do not:
Artificial Intelligence
We may use artificial intelligence (“AI”) and related tools to optimize and deliver our products and services to you. For example, we may use AI to analyze how our Platform is used and to enhance and develop support to you.
For example, we may offer a beta version of PrepCheck, an AI chatbot, to provide support to users of the ProWeb version. If you use PrepCheck for support, you agree to allow us and our service providers to record and use your chatbot interactions to provide and improve our services, and for TaxSlayer internal business purposes, including improving TaxSlayer services. Our support team and service providers may review your conversations with the chatbot to improve results. While we (or our service providers) retain logs of these conversations, we do not allow your data to be used by third parties for their own commercial purposes. Do not share any sensitive or personal information in your conversations with the chatbot. By using our AI chatbot, you indicate your acceptance and understanding of the above terms and consent to our Terms of Service. If you do not agree with any part of these terms or our Terms of Service, please do not use this chatbot. For further assistance or inquiries, please contact [email protected].
The privacy and security of your information is important to us. As indicated below, we may share your information to support the products and services you request, or provide your information to third parties, upon your specific consent, for products and services that may benefit you.
We may share your information with the following types of entities:
TaxSlayer understands the importance of protecting customer information and we have implemented reasonable administrative, technical and physical security measures designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. This includes a designated information security team, written information security policies and procedures, incident detection and response measures, network firewalls, encryption, password protections, and restrictions on which personnel can access any customer personal information. For example, TaxSlayer employees are only allowed to access customer information necessary to perform their job functions and only for the purposes for which it was collected.
With respect to Tax Return Information, TaxSlayer meets all rules and regulations relating to data protection and security for the tax industry promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service and its Security Summit (https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/security-summit).
TaxSlayer’s web-based and mobile applications secure information by utilizing a variety of security-related technologies to comply with regulatory standards and our internal information security policies.
TaxSlayer is committed to safeguarding the confidentiality and security of the information we obtain from you. We collect and use information obtained from credit card transactions only for business purposes such as processing payments or refunds.
TaxSlayer uses a third-party payment processor, CardConnect by Fiserv, to provide secure credit card transactions. CardConnect is compliant with requirements for payment gateways set forth in the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). CardConnect utilizes PCI-validated point-to-point encryption (P2PE) to cryptographically protect your credit card account information through the entire life cycle of a credit card transaction. By using P2PE, your account data (cardholder data and sensitive authentication data) is unreadable until it reaches the secure decryption environment. CardConnect’s P2PE solution is validated by the PCI Security Standards Council.
CardConnect utilizes tokenization to protect your sensitive credit card account data. Tokenization is the process of replacing your credit card number with an algorithmically generated, irreversible number that cannot be traced back to the original information. If you opt to store your credit card information for your convenience in making future purchases, the CardConnect payment system allows TaxSlayer to utilize the token associated with the card, not the card number itself.
We retain Tax Return Information for at least three tax years to comply with our legal obligations or as needed to provide services. Other information may be retained for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you services, contact us at [email protected].
As a tax preparer, you are responsible for retaining and protecting all tax return data as prescribed by the IRS. You acknowledge and agree to comply with all recordkeeping requirements, including those of the IRS, applicable to you as a tax preparer. We are not obligated to store your tax documents or tax return data, or to provide copies of returns or tax return data, other than to the extent required by applicable law and regulation.
You have control over your personal data and how it’s collected, used, and shared. You have the right to access your personal information held by TaxSlayer that you either input directly or information collected as described above, subject to our data retention policy above.
As a tax preparer, you are responsible for handling data subject requests from your taxpayer-customers for information within your possession or control. For example, you agree to delete all personal information of your taxpayer-customer, not other subject to a legal exception, where requested by your taxpayer-customer and deletion is required by applicable laws and regulations.
If you are a taxpayer using the Platform, you agree to submit data-related requests directly to your tax preparer. For example, you shall request your tax preparer to delete your personal information that is within your preparer’s possession or control.
Request a copy of your information.
Upon request, TaxSlayer will provide you with certain personal information you specifically request by contacting customer support at [email protected] or via a request sent to our address provided below. Your information will be provided in a machine-readable format.
Change or correct personal information
You may view, manage, and/or make changes to your personal information by visiting your account online at www.taxslayerpro.com and selecting "Account Hub Login"; by emailing our customer support; or via mail as set forth in the Contact Us section below.
Delete your personal information
To the extent provided by a state privacy law applicable to you, you have the right to ask us to delete your Personal Information. To request deletion of your Personal Information, please send us a verifiable request to TaxSlayer LLC, 945 Broad Street, Augusta, Georgia 30901 or by email at [email protected].
This right of deletion applies to Personal Information that is covered by the applicable state privacy law, subject to any legal exceptions. We may retain certain information that is (1) protected as financial information under federal law, (2) required for the security, integrity, or another internal purpose of the business, or (3) required by the IRS to be maintained in our systems. For example, if a return was e-filed, we retain tax return information for at least three tax years to comply with our legal obligations.
Please keep in mind that if you have filed a return and ask us to close your account, you will not be able to access previously filed returns online. Be sure to download or print a copy of any accepted returns.
Opt out of Cookies
We (or our vendors) may use cookies, pixels, web beacons, and similar technologies (collectively “Cookies”), to collect or receive information when you interact with our Platform, in order to deliver and improve our products and services to you, and to support and manage our tax return preparation software business. A Cookie may be sent to a browser by a website you visit to help that website remember, often through a unique identifier, information about your visit.
You can click on the “Your Privacy Choices” link in the website footer to opt out of third-party cookies and similar technologies that are not required for website functionality. You should clear your cookies in your browser after you opt out. Note that if you opt out of cookies, no information will be shared with those vendors.
Additionally, we provide the following information about the vendors that use Cookies on our Platform. Our vendors may help us with a variety of functions including marketing, advertising, analytics, customer engagement, and tag management. In some jurisdictions such as California, the term “Service Provider” may have a distinct meaning. The list provided below includes all vendors (including those that California may consider “Service Providers” and “Third Parties”).
We endeavor to keep this list current, but since business structures and relationships may change, the information below may not always be comprehensive or up to date. For an updated list of our vendors, please contact us at [email protected].
Please refer to the vendor’s privacy policy for more information about their Cookies and your choices about each vendor’s Cookies.
Required Cookies: These Cookies are required to allow the technical operation of our Services. We use these cookies to authenticate you, run your session securely while you’re logged in, help detect and prevent fraud, and provide you with our Services. This category also includes Cookies that are used to help remember your site preferences and choices so that we can deliver Services, monitor our Services, and offer you enhanced functionality when using our Services.
Analytics Cookies: Analytics Cookies are generally placed on our website by our service providers and are used to help us understand how you access our Platform so we can make improvements to your tax return preparation experience.
Advertising Cookies: Advertising Cookies (also referred to as “Targeting Cookies”) are used to provide ad measurement services, target and deliver relevant ads, and track ad campaign performance and efficiency. For example, we and our ad partners may use information collected to serve you interest-based ads on our website or on other websites. Please note that even if you opt out of Advertising Cookies, you may still see advertisements, but they may not be tailored to your interests.
We may share some information about your website experience that is not sensitive or financial in nature with third parties that operate cookies on our site. We do not share sensitive personal information (including financial information you provide to prepare your tax return) with any business except service providers that provide a service related to our tax preparation software business. These service providers are contractually obligated to use that information only for the purpose of providing services to TaxSlayer and to protect such information from disclosure to other parties. Under the GLBA, you may not opt out of sharing with our service providers.
Again, you may choose to opt out of certain technologies used on TaxSlayer’s website, including Advertising Cookies (also known as “Targeting Cookies”). However, the choice to opt out of certain technologies may affect, alter, or eliminate the functionality of certain features of or the products and services offered by TaxSlayer.
You can click on the “Your Privacy Choices” link in the website footer to opt-out of third-party cookies and similar technologies that are not required for website functionality. You are not able to opt out of Required Cookies. After you opt out, remember to clear your cookies in your browser.
Finally, you can also set your Internet browser (e.g., Chrome, Safari, Edge, Internet Explorer, etc.) to warn you each time a cookie is being sent or to turn off all cookies (except Flash cookies). Check your browser’s Help menu to find out how. You may also use third-party tools to identify and make additional choices about many technologies, including cookies. Note that if you use a different browser, or use a new or different device, you may need to renew your cookie preferences.
Additionally, most mobile devices allow you to manage how other technologies, such as unique identifiers are set and used. For example, the Advertising ID on Android devices or Apple’s Advertising Identifier can be managed in your device’s settings. Please reference your mobile operating system support documentation to learn more.
The following websites provide more information about your choices to opt-out of tracking through certain third-party advertising and analytics Cookies:
Opt out of email or SMS communications
To unsubscribe from receiving general marketing messages from us, please go to our unsubscribe page.
Do Not Track Signals
TaxSlayer takes privacy and security seriously and we strive to provide various options regarding how your information is collected, used, and shared, as further described above. With regard to “Do Not Track” (“DNT”) signals, we currently do not respond to DNT signals in browsers.
If you have questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, you may contact customer support at [email protected].
You can also write us at:
TaxSlayer Pro Privacy
945 Broad St
Augusta, GA 30901
Any claim, controversy, or dispute arising out of or in connection with this Privacy Policy shall be subject to the informal resolution and arbitration provisions in our Terms of Service. If you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that you feel has not been addressed satisfactorily, you may also contact our U.S.-based third party dispute resolution provider (free of charge) at https://feedback-form.truste.com/watchdog/request.
TaxSlayer is committed to complying with all applicable state privacy laws, and we will update this section as needed. As a provider of tax preparation software, TaxSlayer may be considered an exempt financial institution (or some of the data that TaxSlayer collects may be exempt) under certain U.S. state privacy laws. In addition, TaxSlayer may not necessarily meet all threshold requirements under state privacy laws. We will update this section as needed.
California law provides California residents with additional rights regarding our collection and use of your personal information. To learn more about your California privacy rights, read our Privacy Notice for California and Other States.
If you make a privacy request under state privacy laws, we will respond as required by applicable law or otherwise in our discretion.
We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time. Any material changes to our policy will be immediately posted and made available to consumers on our website. Notification of changes may be made by email or by means of a notice on the Website.