The TL;DR Version: I use your info to prep your taxes, not to fund a secret moon base or sell you life insurance. It stays in a digital vault, never gets sold, and only goes to the IRS because they insist on it. Privacy is a core value here, not a chore I am trying to dodge.
1. Information I Collect
I collect only the information necessary to provide tax preparation services and respond to your inquiries.
Contact and intake information, collected when you submit a contact form, book a consultation, or begin the engagement process:
- Name, email address, and phone number
- General description of your tax situation
- Preferred return type or service category
Tax and financial information, provided by you during the engagement to enable preparation of your return:
- Social Security Numbers or ITINs for you and any dependents
- Income documents (W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, brokerage statements)
- Deduction and credit records (receipts, charitable contribution records, healthcare documents)
- Prior-year tax returns, if applicable
- Bank account information for direct deposit of any refund
- Any other documents you upload to the client portal or provide during the engagement
I do not collect payment card numbers. Any fees are collected through separately secured invoicing.
2. How I Use Your Information
Your information is used exclusively for the following purposes:
- Preparing, reviewing, and filing your federal and state tax returns
- Communicating with you about your return, documents, or questions
- Complying with IRS and state agency requirements
- Maintaining records as required by applicable professional standards
- Responding to your contact form submissions and scheduling requests
Your information is never used for marketing purposes, shared with data brokers, sold to any third party, or used to build profiles for advertising.
3. The Cybersecurity Fortress
I treat your data like a state secret because, well, that used to be my job. My background in Cyber Operations means your financial records are handled with a level of paranoia that would make a spy proud.
- Encryption that actually works: Everything goes through a secure portal. If you try to email me a PDF of your W-2, I will politely (but firmly) tell you to use the portal.
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA): Because a password is just a suggestion to a hacker. Your documents require a second "handshake" to get in.
- No "Junior" Assistants: It is just me. No interns, no offshore teams, and no one else poking around your files.
- A Social Media Blackout: I have no social presence for this firm. Your tax data will never end up in a data-sharing algorithm or a targeted ad for lawnmowers.
- Digital Shredding: Once the law says I can let go of your files, they are gone. Permanently.
4. Disclosure and Third-Party Sharing
I do not sell, rent, or share your personal or financial information with any third party except in the following limited circumstances:
- Tax authorities: your return is filed electronically with the IRS and applicable state tax agencies as required and authorized by you through your signature.
- Legal obligation: I may disclose information if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental authority.
- With your explicit written consent: for example, if you request that I coordinate with a financial advisor or attorney on your behalf.
No other disclosure occurs. I do not use your information for any purpose beyond direct service delivery.
5. Third-Party Services
This website and practice use a limited number of third-party tools. Their involvement with your data is described below:
- Drake Software: industry-standard tax preparation software used to prepare and e-file your federal and state returns. Your tax data is processed within Drake's secure environment.
- TaxDome: the secure client portal used to exchange documents, collect e-signatures, and communicate during the engagement. All files uploaded or shared pass through TaxDome's encrypted infrastructure.
- Proton Calendar: used to manage consultation scheduling. When you book a call, you interact with Proton's end-to-end encrypted calendar service. Proton is headquartered in Switzerland and subject to Swiss privacy law, among the strongest in the world.
- Proton Mail: all business email is handled through Proton Mail, which provides end-to-end encryption by default. Contact form submissions are routed to a Proton Mail inbox. No email content is accessible to third parties, including Proton itself.
- Google Fonts: fonts are loaded from Google's servers when you visit this site. This involves a standard web request to Google, which may log your IP address per Google's policies. No personal information from this site is transmitted.
Drake Software and TaxDome are industry-standard tools used by tax professionals nationwide. Each maintains its own privacy policy, linked above. Proton services (Mail, Calendar, Drive) are used for all business communications, scheduling, and file storage because of their end-to-end encryption and Swiss jurisdiction. Beyond the services listed here, no analytics platforms, advertising networks, or tracking services are in use on this site.
6. AI and Automation
I use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation tools to assist with tax law research, administrative workflows, and website optimization. This allows for higher efficiency and accuracy in the research process.
Strict Privacy Boundary: Your personal and financial information is never shared with, processed by, or used to train public AI models. All tax preparation is performed personally by the preparer, and sensitive client data remains strictly within the secured, non-AI environments described in this policy.
7. Data Retention
Tax records are retained for a minimum of seven (7) years from the date of filing, consistent with IRS guidance on the statute of limitations for audits and amended returns. After this period, records are securely deleted unless you request otherwise or applicable law requires longer retention.
Contact form submissions and general correspondence are retained for the duration of the client relationship and for a reasonable period thereafter for reference and legal purposes.
You may request deletion of your records at any time. See Section 8 for details. Note that records required to be retained under applicable law or professional standards cannot be deleted before the applicable retention period expires.
8. Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access: request a copy of the personal and financial information I hold on file for you
- Correction: request that inaccurate information be updated or corrected
- Deletion: request deletion of your records, subject to retention requirements noted above
- Portability: request that your tax documents be returned to you or transferred to another preparer
To exercise any of these rights, contact me at info@willingertax.com. I will respond within 10 business days.
9. Cookies and Tracking
This website does not use cookies for tracking, analytics, or advertising. There are no tracking pixels, no Facebook Pixels, no Google Analytics, no retargeting scripts, and no behavioral profiling tools of any kind deployed on this site. Your browsing activity here is not monitored, recorded, or shared with any advertising network.
Your browser may cache static assets (fonts, stylesheets) for performance purposes. This is standard browser behavior and involves no data collection on my part.
10. Changes to This Policy
I may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in practice or applicable law. Material changes will be noted with an updated effective date at the top of this page. I encourage you to review this policy periodically.
Continued use of the services after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
11. Contact
Questions, requests, or concerns regarding this privacy policy may be directed to:
- Email: info@willingertax.com
- Phone: (231) 769-2213
- Mail: Willinger Tax Consulting, LLC, Muskegon, MI