Privacy policy

How Valley Income Tax and Payroll collects, uses and protects your information.

We only collect what the work requires. Depending on the service, that may include:

• Identifying information — name, address, phone number, email, date of birth, Social Security or ITIN numbers, and the same for a spouse and dependents where a return requires it
• Financial information — W-2s, 1099s, income and expense records, bank and credit card statements, prior year returns, payroll records, invoices and receipts
• Business information — entity type, EIN, licenses, revenue and expense detail, employee and contractor records
• Information you volunteer through our intake forms or in conversation
• Basic technical information when you use this website, such as pages visited

We do not buy personal information about you from third parties, and we do not run advertising or tracking networks on this site.

• To prepare, review and file your federal and state tax returns
• To process payroll and the associated tax deposits and filings
• To maintain your books and produce financial reports
• To advise you on planning, entity structure and compliance
• To communicate with you about your engagement, deadlines and documents
• To meet our own legal, licensing and recordkeeping obligations

We use your information for the engagement you hired us for — nothing else.

We have never sold client information and we will not. We do not rent, trade or share it for marketing purposes, by anyone, including us.

We disclose your information only in these circumstances:

• With your permission. Federal law (IRC §7216) requires your written consent before we disclose or use tax return information for anything other than preparing your return. If a lender, attorney or family member needs a copy, we need your consent first.
• To taxing authorities. Returns and filings go to the IRS, the California Franchise Tax Board, the EDD and other agencies as the filing requires.
• To service providers who help us do the work. Tax preparation software, our secure client portal, payroll processors and payment processors. They are bound to protect your information and may use it only to provide their service to us.
• When the law compels it. A valid subpoena, court order, or agency demand.

We maintain a written information security program as required by the FTC Safeguards Rule and IRS Publication 4557. In practice:

• Electronic files are stored in access-controlled, encrypted systems; documents you send through our client portal are encrypted in transit and at rest
• Paper records are kept in a locked office with limited access
• Access is limited to people who need it to do your work
• Devices carry current security software and require authentication
• We review our safeguards periodically and after any material change to our operations

No system is perfect. If a breach affects your information, we will notify you as required by California law and applicable federal rules.

Please use our secure client portal for anything containing a Social Security number, account number or financial statement. Ordinary email is not encrypted and we discourage sending sensitive documents that way. Our website intake forms are for general background — do not enter Social Security numbers or account numbers into them. You are always welcome to bring documents to the office instead.

We retain client records for at least seven years, which covers IRS and California statute-of-limitation periods and our professional obligations. Some records are kept longer where law or prudence requires. When records are destroyed, they are shredded or securely deleted.

• You may request a copy of the returns and documents we hold for you
• You may ask us to correct inaccurate information
• You may withdraw a consent you previously gave, going forward
• You may ask us to stop sending reminders or newsletters at any time
• California residents have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act; note that information subject to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is treated under that federal framework

To exercise any of these, call or email us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity first.

Our site does not use advertising trackers. Intake form submissions are transmitted to our office and stored with our records. Some pages link to outside services — our client portal and our payment processor — and once you leave our site, that provider's own privacy policy governs your information there.

This website is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13 through it. We do handle dependents' information when a return requires it, provided by the parent or guardian.

If we change this policy we will post the revised version here with a new effective date. Material changes affecting how we handle existing client information will be communicated directly.

Questions about your privacy

Speak with us directly — we are a local office and you can reach a person.