Tax Information Privacy and Security
EFILE LLC (herinafter refered to as "EFILE") is committed to keeping your
information private and recognizing the importance customers place on the privacy
and confidentiality of their information. While new technologies allow us to more
efficiently serve our clients, we are committed to maintaining the rigorous privacy
standards that are synonymous with our established and trusted name.
We provide our Privacy Policy to explain our online information practices and the
choices you can make about the way your information is colleced and used. Our Privacy
Policy is available throughout the website, as well as on our tax screens within
the tax program.
EFILE adheres to Federal and State regulations to ensure the security and confidentiality
of personal information you share with us during your tax preparation and efile
process. We are committed to respecting and protecting your online privacy and recognize
your need for appropriate protection and management of any personally identifiable
or tax related information you share with us. Your tax return information
will be treated with extreme care and confidentiality. EFILE strives to comply with
all applicable U.S. tax laws to protect your privacy. Our goal is to provide protection
for your personal information no matter where that personal information is collected,
transferred, or retained.
EFILE partners with third parties to provide tax and financial services. When users
sign up for these particular services, users are requested to accept third party
user agreements. If necessary, EFILE shares names or other information required
by third parties to provide these services. These third parties are not allowed
to use personally identifiable information except for the purpose of providing these
services.
Covered Web Sites
The Privacy Policy described herein is applicable to this entire web site, including
all areas where financial information is gathered and income tax data is input,
printed, and/or transmitted. It does not apply to any other online services, or
to any other web sites published and/or maintained by us.
This Privacy Policy covers all the online information practices of www.efile.com.
Other sites maintained by EFILE operate under their own Privacy and security policies.
Third party web sites operate under their own Privacy and security policies.
top
Our Commitment to Data Security
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use
of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial
procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
Internal Controls
When collecting, storing, and retrieving your personal data, extensive internal
controls are maintained throughout the process to ensure security and confidentiality.
Our Internet-based systems are protected behind firewalls, and all mission critical
servers are deployed in a cluster environment to provide an even greater level of
security and protection against system failure. All data is maintained and backed-up
on a regular schedule to provide adequate redundancy and ensure that the integrity
of information is never jeopardized.
Some of our pages utilize "cookies" and other tracking technologies. A
"cookie" is a small text file that may be used, for example, to collect
information about web site activity. Some cookies and other technologies may serve
to recall personal information previously indicated by a web user. Most browsers
allow you to control cookies, including whether or not to accept them and how to
remove them.
You may set most browsers to notify you if you receive a cookie, or you may choose
to block cookies with your browser, but please note that if you choose to erase
or block your cookies, you will need to re-enter your original user ID and password
to gain access to certain parts of the web site.
Tracking technologies may record information such as Internet domain and host names;
Internet protocol (IP) addresses; browser software and operating system types; clickstream
patterns; and dates and times that our site is accessed. Our use of cookies and
other tracking technologies allows us to improve our web site and your web experience.
We may also analyze information that does not contain personal information for trends
and statistics.
Our employees are subject to strict guidelines regarding confidentiality, and internal
access to customer data is restricted to highly trained personnel on an "as-needed"
basis.
Transmitting Information
When transmitting information between you and our server, as well as when communicating
with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for electronic filing, data security is
handled through a protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL is an established
and mature Internet security standard with two dominant features: web server authentication
and data encryption.
top
Data Encryption
Data encryption is the process of transforming legible information into a complex
arrangement of illegible information. SSL uses a private/public key combination
to encrypt data when it is sent and to decrypt data when it is received. SSL encrypts
data using a mathematical formula, also referred to as a "key."
Encryption strength is measured by the length of the key used to encrypt the data;
the longer the key, the more effective the encryption. Using the SSL protocol, data
transmission between you and our web server is performed at a standard level of
encryption strength.
Web Server Authentication
An SSL certificate is issued to ensure authentic and accurate identification of
a secured web server. This translates into a digital ID, an electronic fingerprint,
which is included in the key used to encrypt the data. Only our web server, in this
case, is able to decrypt the data that you transmit because it is the intended (and
digitally certified) secured web server for this data transmission.
The Information We Collect
This Policy applies to all information collected or submitted on our web site. If
a credit card is used to pay for the Service, in addition to tax return information,
we collect the following credit card and personal information:
- Cardholder's Name
- Credit Card Type
- Credit Card Number
- Expiration
Date
- Cardholder's Billing Address
- Daytime Phone Number
- E-mail
Address
- Employer's or Relative's Phone Number
The credit card information is used to process your transaction. This information
is not made available to anyone else.
We also collect the following information for use in answering your inquiries for
technical support when you submit an email requesting our assistance:
- Your name
- User ID
- E-mail Address
- Phone Number
- Operating
System
- Browser Type
- Connection type/speed
top
The Way We Use Information
The tax return information that we collect is used strictly for lawful purposes
and is never shared with federal, state, or other taxing authorities without your
consent. The foregoing notwithstanding, we reserve the right to disclose your information
without your consent in response to a court order, subpoena, search warrant, or
other inquiry or request from governmental or regulatory authorities, or to protect
against fraud or other criminal activities. If you choose to electronically file
your return, we will transmit your tax return to the appropriate federal and state
taxing authorities.
The IRS requires us to provide the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer
from which the return originated, as well as the e-mail address of the person who
electronically filed the return. This information is sent to the IRS at the time
you choose to submit your return to the IRS for electronic filing.
In order to electronically file your return, we must share your submitted tax information
with the appropriate tax authorities in order to complete your request. You can
control whether or not you wish your tax information shared for this purpose by
deciding whether or not to complete the tax returns forms, which are all clearly
labeled.
The above listed credit card information that we collect will be used strictly for
order processing and billing purposes, and will not be shared with any other party.
When appropriate, bank account or credit card information is also passed to our
bank for processing purposes. You will enter this information during the routine
course of a purchase. In the event that our internet service staff should need to
research and resolve any status or billing issues associated with an order, the
information will only be accessed by authorized personnel.
Our Basic Service entitles you to notification via e-mail of filing deadlines, estimate
reminders, tax law changes, as well as tax planning and financial information that
may affect your tax return. In order for us to provide you with the Basic Service,
it is required that you provide us with your e-mail address and consent to our limited
review of your tax return information with our proprietary software program to determine
whether your tax return information would trigger such notifications.
In addition to our Basic Service, we may send to you, via your e-mail address, information
and promotional messages about other products and services that we think may be
of interest to you.
Personally identifiable information is only shared as indicated in this document.
Any sharing of such information is subject to the opt-out option as discussed in
the paragraph below.
top
Consent to Use Information
By using this web site, you consent to the terms or our Online Privacy Policy and
to eFile processing personal information for the purposes given above, as well as
those explained where eFile collects personal information on the web.
Should the Online Privacy Policy change, we intend to take every reasonable step
to ensure that these changes are brought to your attention by posting all changes
prominently on our web site for a reasonable period of time.
Your use of this service means that you consent to our limited access and review
of your tax return information necessary to provide you with the Basic Service described
above.
In addition, we may provide you with promotional messages. You will have the option
to opt-out of receiving such promotional messages. Declining to receive e-mail promotional
messages will not affect our ability to deliver our basic service to you.
Third Party Services
For the purpose of providing you with additional information or services, our web
site also provides links or references to our other web sites or to third
party web sites of online information providers, advertisers, and other business
partners. When offering partner services the partner who will be receiving your
information will be clearly identified.
We are not responsible for information gathered by third party web sites. You should
review any third party sites' Privacy Policy for details regarding their policies
concerning information they gather. Any time you are preparing to navigate to a
site that is not covered by this Privacy Policy, we will indicate at the bottom
of the page that you are leaving our site.
When you select to have your tax refund transferred to your bank account, your refund
will be processed on behalf of EFILE by Republic Bank & Trust Company.
You authorize us to disclose your relevant bank information to Republic Bank &
Trust Company. Your indication within the program that you wish to either deduct
your tax preparation fee from your refund or have your refund transferred to your
bank account as your authorization.. When you select the option within our program
for a bank product, once your return has qualified for electronic filing we share
your name, address, Social Security number, phone number and other tax related information
necessary for Republic Bank & Trust Company to provide the requested service.
Republic Bank & Trust Company uses the personally identifiable information for
the purpose of providing your bank product. You may visit the site at
https://www.republictaxpayer.com to view their Privacy Policy.
Through a third party partnership with Official Payments Corporation®, you may
request to pay your balance due via credit or debit card. When you make this request,
you authorize us to disclose your relevant credit card and tax return information
to Official Payments Corporation. When you select the option within our program
to pay your balance due via credit or debit card, and your return has qualified
for electronic filing, we then share your name, address, Social Security number,
phone number, and other tax related information necessary for Official Payments
Corporation to provide the requested service. In addition, you will be asked to
disclose your card information to Official Payments. Official Payments uses the
personally identifiable information for the purpose of providing the payment of
your tax via credit or debit card as requested. You may visit the site at www.officialpayments.com
to view their Privacy Policy.
Information entered into the Tax Calculators (through Time Value Software) is used
solely to provide you with estimates of various tax situations. The information
used in these calculations is not saved. You may visit the site at www.tvalue.com
to view their Privacy Policy.
top
Retrieving Your Information
Our Service is available for starting, completing, and efiling your return from
approximately mid-January through mid-October of each tax year. To view your return
information, you may use your User ID and Password to access a free summary report
and/or pay a fee to print, view, and electronically file your actual return. Once
you have paid, you may continue to access, modify, and/or print your tax return
as often as needed during this time.
From mid-October through mid-December you can still complete and mail your return
to the appropriate filing authorities if you began it prior to mid-October.
After paying for your return, the financial information used to make your payment,
such as your credit card number, as well as the record of your payment, will not
be retrievable by you.
Disclaimer
EFILE reserves the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as
required by law and when we believe such disclosure is necessary to protect our
rights and/or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process
served through our web site.
How to Contact Us
Should you have other questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please submit
your questions using our Customer
Support Page or one of the methods below.
EFILE LLC
Email: support@efile.com
Web site: http://www.efile.com/
top