Privacy
Policy.

1. Information we collect

Information you provide directly

• Inquiry and contact information. Name, email address, phone number, preferred contact method, new or returning client status, requested service, filing states, service indicators, and free-form messages.
• Identity and household information. Names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, identity documents, marital and dependent information, and authorized representatives.
• Tax, financial, and business information. Tax forms and returns, income, deductions, credits, payments, accounts, assets, liabilities, transactions, basis and ownership information, payroll and bookkeeping records, entity records, and tax-authority correspondence.
• Engagement and transaction information. Signed agreements and authorizations, portal activity, communications, appointments, service preferences, invoices, payment status, and records of services requested or delivered.
• Other information you choose to provide. Information in emails, telephone or video conversations, text messages, uploaded files, questionnaires, organizers, and other correspondence.

Information from other permitted sources

With your authorization or as permitted by law, we may receive information from a spouse, dependent, entity owner, officer, employee, fiduciary, authorized representative, employer, financial institution, brokerage, payroll or bookkeeping provider, prior tax professional, government agency, taxing authority, identity-verification provider, or other person involved in the engagement. We may also receive information generated through our tax, accounting, e-file, payment, portal, communications, and security service providers.

Website and technical information

When you use our website, hosting and security systems may automatically receive technical information such as your Internet Protocol address, browser or device type, operating system, referring page, pages or features requested, access time, approximate location derived from an IP address, and security, diagnostic, or error logs. We use this information to deliver the website, maintain security, prevent abuse, diagnose problems, and understand basic operation of the service.

2. How we use information

We use personal information as reasonably necessary to:

• Respond to inquiries; evaluate fit, conflicts, capacity, scope, and pricing; and communicate about a possible engagement.
• Establish and manage client relationships; verify identity and authority; provide tax preparation, filing, bookkeeping, payroll, consulting, notice, and other agreed services.
• Prepare, review, transmit, and support federal, state, local, and other authorized filings; communicate with taxing authorities; and maintain engagement records.
• Process invoices and payments, prevent fraud, enforce agreements, protect legal rights, and manage insurance, quality, and professional-risk matters.
• Operate, secure, troubleshoot, maintain, and improve our website, portals, systems, workflows, client service, and business continuity.
• Meet legal, regulatory, professional, recordkeeping, due-diligence, reporting, and security obligations, and respond to lawful process.

We do not use tax return information for unrelated marketing or another purpose requiring taxpayer consent unless we first obtain a separate consent that satisfies applicable law. Declining an optional consent will not affect tax preparation services except when the requested disclosure or use is necessary to perform the service you request and the law permits us to condition the service on that consent.

3. When we disclose information

We disclose personal information only as described below, as directed by you, or as otherwise permitted or required by law. We do not sell personal information, rent client lists, or disclose nonpublic personal information to unaffiliated third parties for their own marketing.

• Taxing and government authorities. We may disclose information to the IRS, state and local tax agencies, FinCEN, courts, and other government bodies to prepare, file, support, or respond regarding authorized matters.
• Service providers. We may use tax and accounting software, e-file transmitters, secure portals, document and cloud storage, website hosting, email, telephone and text, e-signature, payment processing, identity verification, printing and delivery, cybersecurity, IT support, records management, and business-continuity providers. They receive only information reasonably necessary for their role and are expected to protect it under applicable contractual and legal obligations.
• People involved in the engagement. We may communicate with a spouse, joint filer, entity representative, employee, fiduciary, attorney, adviser, prior preparer, financial institution, or other person when you authorize it, when the person is our client for the same engagement, or when law permits the disclosure.
• Professional advisers and protection of rights. We may disclose information to legal counsel, accountants, insurers, auditors, quality or peer reviewers, and other professional advisers when permitted by law and reasonably necessary to obtain advice, manage risk, or establish, exercise, or defend legal rights.
• Legal and safety obligations. We may disclose information to comply with law, subpoena, court order, regulatory request, professional duty, security-incident response, or lawful investigation; to report suspected crime; or to protect clients, Gear, service providers, or others from fraud, abuse, or harm.
• Business continuity or transfer. If Gear reorganizes, combines with another practice, transfers client records, becomes unable to operate, or sells all or part of the practice, information may be reviewed or transferred only as permitted by law, professional obligations, and any required notice or consent.

4. Joint returns, entities, and authorized contacts

For a joint individual return, both spouses are clients for that engagement, and information provided by either spouse may be shared with the other as permitted by law and the engagement terms. A spouse should not expect that information concerning the joint engagement will be withheld from the other spouse. If a conflict develops, including separation or divorce, we may pause work, limit communications, obtain consents, or withdraw.

For an entity engagement, the entity is the client unless a written agreement states otherwise. We may receive instructions from people we reasonably believe are authorized to act for the entity. You are responsible for identifying authorized contacts, limiting their authority, and promptly telling us when access or authority changes.

5. Website storage, cookies, and analytics

We do not currently use advertising cookies, advertising pixels, or cross-site behavioral advertising on the website. The hosting platform and essential security or network services may use necessary technologies or logs to deliver content, balance traffic, prevent abuse, maintain sessions, and protect the service.

If we later introduce nonessential analytics, advertising, browser storage, or similar tracking, we will update this policy and provide any notice or choice required by law.

6. Security and incident response

We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal and taxpayer information. Depending on the system and risk, safeguards may include access controls, authentication, encryption, secure transmission, backups, malware and threat protection, vendor oversight, written policies, training, and incident-response procedures. We restrict access to people and providers who need information for authorized work.

No method of storage or transmission is completely secure. If we determine that a security incident affects your information, we will investigate, contain, and respond to it and provide notice when required by applicable law. You can help by using strong unique passwords and multifactor authentication when available, protecting your devices, verifying unexpected requests, and promptly reporting suspected account or identity compromise.

7. Retention and disposal

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose collected and to meet tax, accounting, legal, contractual, professional, insurance, security, dispute, and business-continuity needs. Retention varies by record type and engagement. We generally retain tax engagement records for seven years after completion, subject to longer or shorter periods required or permitted by law, professional standards, litigation holds, or firm policy.

Prospect inquiries, website records, security logs, communications, payment records, and administrative records may follow different retention schedules. When information is no longer required, we may delete, destroy, anonymize, or aggregate it using measures appropriate to its sensitivity. A client portal is a delivery and collaboration tool, not permanent archival storage; clients should keep their own copies of important records.

8. Your choices and privacy requests

You may contact us to request access to or correction of contact information, update communication preferences, ask about our privacy practices, or request deletion of information. We may need to verify your identity and authority before acting. We may deny or limit a request when the information must be retained, disclosure would affect another person’s rights, the request conflicts with tax-preparer or professional duties, or law provides an exception.

Depending on where you reside and the law applicable to Gear, you may have additional rights concerning access, correction, deletion, portability, or certain uses of personal information. We will respond to valid requests as required by applicable law and will not discriminate against you for exercising a legal privacy right.

Gear does not sell personal information or use it for cross-context behavioral advertising. Therefore, we do not presently offer a sale or targeted-advertising opt-out mechanism. If our practices change, we will update this policy and provide required choices.

9. Communications

We may contact you through email, telephone, text message, secure portal, video meeting, or mail concerning an inquiry, engagement, document request, deadline, filing, invoice, security matter, service announcement, or legal notice. Message and data rates may apply to text messages. You may ask us to stop optional promotional messages, but we may continue transactional, service, security, legal, and recordkeeping communications.

10. Children’s information

Our website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information directly from a child under 13 through the public website. A parent, guardian, fiduciary, or authorized client may provide information about a dependent or minor when reasonably necessary for tax or related services. That information receives the same safeguards described in this policy.

11. Third-party services and links

Our website, messages, or portal may link to government agencies, payment services, scheduling tools, financial institutions, or other third-party sites. Their privacy and security practices are governed by their own policies. A link does not mean that Gear controls or endorses a third party’s data practices. Review the third party’s terms before providing information.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in law, technology, services, vendors, or business practices. The effective date at the top shows when the current version took effect. We will make the updated policy available through our website or normal client communications and provide additional notice when required by law. Material changes apply prospectively unless law permits otherwise.

13. Contact Gear Tax Services

Questions, concerns, and privacy requests may be directed to: