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Malkasian Accountancy, LLP has prepared tax returns for Sacramento families and businesses since 1981. The information you give us is among the most sensitive you hold, and this policy explains what we collect, what we do with it, who sees it, and what you can ask us for.
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1. Our privacy notice under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Federal law requires us to give you this notice. We collect nonpublic personal information about you from the following sources: • Information we receive from you on tax organizers, worksheets, engagement letters, applications and other documents • Information about your transactions with us, our affiliates, or others • Information we receive from a consumer reporting agency • Information reported to us or to the taxing authorities by third parties, such as Forms W-2, 1099 and 1098, and IRS or Franchise Tax Board transcripts we obtain with your authorization We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our clients or former clients to anyone, except as permitted by law or as described in section 4 of this policy. We restrict access to nonpublic personal information about you to those members of our firm who need that information in order to provide services to you. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to guard your nonpublic personal information.
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2. Information we collect through this website When you contact us Our consultation and contact forms ask for your name, email address, phone number and a description of what you need. We use that information to respond to you and, if you become a client, to open your file. When you use the client portal Signing in to the client portal involves your email address, your password and the documents you choose to upload. Your completed tax returns and the forms you sign are stored there for your access. Automatically, when you visit Like most websites, ours records basic technical information such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you visit and the site you arrived from. We use this to keep the site working and to understand which pages are useful.
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3. How we use your information • To prepare, review and file your tax returns • To answer your questions and respond to notices from the IRS or the Franchise Tax Board on your behalf • To send you appointment reminders, filing deadlines and updates about your return • To invoice you and process payment • To meet our own legal, regulatory and professional record-keeping obligations We do not use your tax information to market anything to you beyond our own accounting services, and we do not use it for any purpose unrelated to the work you have engaged us to do.
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4. Who we share it with We do not sell your information. We have never sold it and we will not. We disclose your information only in these circumstances: • With your written consent or at your direction — for example, when you ask us to send a copy of your return to a lender or a mortgage broker • To the IRS, the Franchise Tax Board and other taxing authorities, in the course of filing your returns or representing you • To service providers who help us operate the firm — our tax software, our client portal, our payment processor — who are permitted to use your information only to provide that service to us and are required to protect it • When required by law, subpoena, court order, or by the professional standards that govern our licences Federal law places strict limits on what a tax preparer may do with your return information. Under Internal Revenue Code section 7216, we cannot disclose or use your tax return information for most purposes without your specific written consent, and the penalties for doing so are criminal. If we ever ask for that consent, it will be in a separate signed document that says exactly what it covers.
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5. Text messages If you opt in to receive text messages from us, we collect your mobile number and any information you provide in the course of that conversation. We use it to send appointment reminders, filing deadline alerts, and updates about the status of your return. No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent are not shared with any third parties. You can stop receiving messages at any time by replying STOP. Reply HELP for assistance. Message and data rates may apply, and message frequency varies. Opting out of text messages does not affect the service you receive from us. We will simply contact you by phone or email instead.
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6. How we protect your information We are subject to the Federal Trade Commission's Safeguards Rule, which requires us to maintain a written information security program appropriate to the sensitivity of the information we hold. • Access to client information is limited to the members of our firm who need it to do their work • Our client portal requires a password, and information sent through it is encrypted in transit • Paper files are stored in our office and are not accessible to the public • Our staff receive training on handling client information No system is completely secure, and we cannot promise that information sent over the internet will never be intercepted. What we can tell you is what we do about it, and the measures above are reviewed regularly. We will never ask you for your portal password, and we will never ask you to send a Social Security number or a bank account number by ordinary email or text message. If you receive a message that appears to come from us and asks for either, do not respond — call us at (916) 971-9315.
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7. How long we keep your information We retain client records for 10 years after the later of the date a return is filed or our engagement ends, in order to meet our professional and regulatory obligations and to be able to assist you if a question arises about a prior year. After that period, records are securely destroyed.
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8. Your choices, and what you can ask us for • You can ask us for a copy of any return we prepared for you, at any time. Returns from recent years are in your client portal. • You can ask us what information we hold about you, and we will tell you. • You can ask us to correct information that is wrong. • You can opt out of text messages by replying STOP, and out of our email updates using the unsubscribe link. Some information we are required to keep even if you ask us to delete it, because tax and professional rules require us to retain records of the work we performed. We will tell you plainly if that applies to a request you make.
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10. Changes to this policy If we change this policy we will post the updated version on this page and change the date at the top. If a change materially affects how we handle your information, we will tell you directly.
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11. How to reach us If you have a question about this policy, or about information we hold, contact us: Malkasian Accountancy, LLP 2233 Watt Avenue, Suite 290, Sacramento, CA 95825 (916) 971-9315 · Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.