Privacy Policy

We collect the information you provide during intake and throughout your engagement: contact details, household and dependent information, income and entity details, real estate activity, and the tax documents you upload. We also record account activity such as sign-ins, document views and downloads, and changes to your records.

Your information is used to deliver the tax planning, advisory, and preparation services in your engagement, to operate and secure the portal, and to meet our professional and legal recordkeeping obligations. We do not sell your information, and we do not use your tax documents for advertising.

Access is limited to you, the advisors assigned to your engagement, and firm administrators. Records are isolated at the database level so one client cannot reach another client's data. Documents you mark or we classify as highly sensitive are further restricted.

We rely on vetted providers for cloud hosting and database services, file storage, email delivery, video meetings, and payment processing. They process information on our instructions under contract. Payment card details are handled by our payment processor; we do not store full card numbers.

Information is encrypted in transit and at rest by our hosting platform. Documents are kept in private storage and delivered through short-lived signed links — there are no public document URLs. Sign-in requires a password screened against known breached password lists, email verification, and optional app-based multi-factor authentication. Repeated failed sign-ins temporarily lock an address, idle sessions expire, and access to documents and records is logged.

These are the controls we have implemented. We do not claim certification or independent audit under any law or security framework.

Tax returns, supporting documents, engagement letters, and blueprints are retained for the periods required by our professional obligations — generally seven years after the relevant tax year — then archived and securely deleted. Access and audit logs are kept for a minimum of seven years. You may request deletion of information we are not required to keep.

You can update your contact details and communication preferences at any time in Settings. Service email related to your engagement is required while your account is active; SMS and marketing messages are optional, recorded separately, and can be turned off at any time. Reply STOP to any text message to opt out.

To request a copy of your data, correction of inaccurate information, or closure of your account, use the request tools in Settings or contact privacy@thetaxessentials.com. We acknowledge requests within 10 business days.

If we become aware of unauthorized access to your information, we investigate immediately, contain the issue, and notify affected clients and any required authorities without undue delay. Report a suspected security issue to security@thetaxessentials.com.

Questions about this policy: privacy@thetaxessentials.com. See also our Terms of Use.