On-Line Taxes, Inc. (we, us) recognize your need for the appropriate protection and management of your personally identifiable information ("Personal Information") that we may acquire in connection with your use of our web site (the "Web Site"), tax preparation software (the "Software"), and the services offered on our web site (the "Services"). Accordingly, we have instituted this privacy policy ("Privacy Policy") to inform you how we collect, use, and store your Personal Information.

Acceptance of and Changes to Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is a part of and subject to the On-Line Taxes User Agreement and the On-Line taxes Professional Tax Preparer User Agreement (each, the "Agreement"). Accordingly, when you click the "I Agree" button, or access or use the Web Site, Software, or the Services, you agree that you have read, understand, and agree that we can collect, use, and disclose your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree or are not comfortable with any part of this Privacy Policy, you should indicate that you do not agree to the Agreement (including this Privacy Policy) and you may not use the Web Site, Software, or the Services.

When you receive notification of a change in our Privacy Policy, you should review the new Privacy Policy carefully to make sure you understand our practices and procedures.

Information Collection and Use of Personal Information

We collect Personal Information from you for the purpose of providing the Web Site, Software, and Services. Further, we use your Personal Information to allow you to prepare and file tax returns, collect your tax refund, and use the other Services that we offer.

Tax Information – We collect the information that you provide to us when you complete and file any tax return using the Software and the Services. This information includes, but is not limited to: your name, social security number, address, income, dependents, and other financial information. We may also use this information to contact you regarding your use of the Services. Further, if you make a claim for a refund under the limited warranty in the Agreement, we will use any Personal Information that you have provided in order to evaluate your claim.

You may review and change this Personal Information at any time before the IRS or state taxing authority accepts your tax return by simply logging on to the Web Site and accessing your tax return. After the IRS or state taxing authority accepts your tax return, you cannot change the Personal Information contained in that tax return. However, you may access that tax return through your account on the Web Site up until October 20 of the next tax year following acceptance by the applicable taxing authority.

Registration Information – When you register to use the Software and the Services or simply register to receive the On-Line Taxes newsletter, we collect your name and email address to provide you with the On-Line Taxes newsletter. To be removed from the newsletter list, simply click the "unsubscribe" link on the On-Line Taxes newsletter. If you register to use the Services and the Software, we will also use this information to provide you with customer service. Please contact On-Line Taxes Customer Service if you believe that you have provided On-Line Taxes with an incorrect email address or to change your email address.

Financial Information – We collect credit card, banking, and other financial information ("Financial Information") from you in order to allow you to pay to use the Software and Services and, in some cases, to receive your tax refund via direct deposit. You will know when we are collecting Financial Information from you, because you will provide it to us via the Web Site. At times, however, we will obtain relevant information that we need from third-parties. For example, if you choose to pay with a credit card, you will need to provide us with your credit card information. As another example, if you choose to receive your refund through direct deposit, you must provide us with your bank information. We do not use Financial Information for anything other than to process transactions. If you would like to review or request changes to your Financial Information, please contact On-Line Taxes Customer Service and we will allow you to review your Financial Information and we will make any changes that we believe are applicable.

Disclosure of Personal Information

We will generally not disclose your Personal Information to unaffiliated third-parties. Specifically, we do not sell or rent your Personal Information to third-party advertisers, "spammers", or anyone else who we know will use it for their own advertising or marketing purposes. We will, however, disclose your Personal Information under the limited circumstances listed below:

Tax Returns. When you prepare and file a tax return using the Software and Services, that tax return, and the Personal Information that you include in it, will be provided to the taxing authority with whom the tax return is filed. The IRS and any applicable state taxing authority will use this information to process your return. In addition, each year the IRS analyzes data from tax returns to monitor tax-filing trends, improve its processes, prevent fraud, and promote its services. The IRS currently requires that all returns filed through the Free File program (including those filed through the Services) indicate that they originated from the Free File program, and may use that information consistent with IRS rules governing the collection and use of taxpayer data. On-Line Taxes does not control and takes no responsibility for IRS use of Personal Information.

Third-Party Providers. If you ask us to do so, we may disclose certain Personal Information to third-party service providers who help us maintain the Web Site, Software, or the Services through the Web Site. For example, Santa Barbara Bank and Trust provides refund anticipation loans and "pay from refund" services. If you request either of these services, we will disclose the Personal Information contained in your tax return to them so that they can process and evaluate your request for these services. We will also disclose your Financial Information to the institutions and companies who will process your payment for the Services. Where possible, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that these third-party service providers are obligated to protect your Personal Information on our behalf.

Tell-A-Friend. If you use our referral service to inform a friend about our Web Site, we will ask you for your friend’s name and email address. We will contact your friend using our Web Site and use your name and email address to inform your friend that you referred them to us.

Emergencies and Disclosure Required by Law. We reserve the right to disclose your Personal Information without your consent to prevent an emergency, to protect or enforce our rights, to protect or enforce the rights of a third-party, as required or permitted by law (including, without limitation, to comply with a subpoena or court order), in response to an inquiry or request from regulatory authorities, or to protect against fraud. You should note that the taxing authorities frequently request information regarding our users’ use of the Software and Services, and we comply with such requests.

SSL and Data Security

Our Web Site uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption using a Verisign certificate to protect Personal Information. We restrict access to our users’ information that we keep in our offices. Only employees who need such information to perform a specific job are granted access to it.

We cannot and do not act as insurers of the security of your Personal Information, particularly when it is transmitted over the Internet. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any disclosure of data due to errors in transmission, unauthorized third-party access or other acts of third-parties, or acts or omissions beyond our reasonable control.

Non-Personal Information

We collect information from you that cannot be easily used to personally identify you in most cases, such as your browser type, the URL of the previous web site you visited, and your IP address ("Non-Personal Information"). We use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the Web Site, track a user’s movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. Further, our server is hosted by IBM, and IBM monitors traffic for the purposes of maintaining the security of our Web Site. We may set an indicator (cookie) on your computer to assist in gathering the information. The indicator will expire the next day and become inactive.

The IRS requires that your IP address be linked to your Personal Information. Accordingly, we treat your IP address as "Personal Information" and will protect it as such, as outlined in this Privacy Policy. In addition, in an attempt to detect fraud, we provide your IP address to the applicable taxing authority when you file your tax return using the Services.

A Note About Children’s Privacy

The Web Site, Software, and Services are intended for users ages eighteen and older. Individuals under eighteen years old are not allowed to use the Web Site, Software, or Services. Accordingly, we will not knowingly collect or use any Personal Information from individuals we know to be under the age of eighteen. In addition, if notified, we will delete any Personal Information in our database that originates from anyone under the age of eighteen. However, a parent or guardian may input data for a taxpayer under the age of eighteen.

Better Business Bureau

Your privacy is important to us. By participating in the Council of Better Business Bureau's BBBOnLine ® Privacy Program we have made a commitment to meet the programs' strict requirements regarding how we treat your information and have it verified by BBBOnLine ®. Further information about this program is available at www.bbbonline.org.

Customer Support

If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact our Customer Service Department.