How your documents are protected
You are sending us Social Security numbers, income records and bank details. Here is what happens to them, and what you should be asking any preparer before you send anything.
What we do
- Documents encrypted in transit and at rest
- Access limited to your assigned preparer and reviewer
- Individual staff accounts with multi-factor authentication
- Client dashboard upload rather than email for sensitive files
- Documents retained only as long as required, then securely destroyed
- Written information security plan, as required of U.S. tax preparers
Please do not email your SSN
Email is not a secure channel and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. Use the dashboard upload for anything containing a Social Security number, and if you have already emailed something sensitive, tell us — we will move it into secure storage and confirm.
What to ask any preparer
These are reasonable questions to put to us or to anyone else you are considering. A firm that cannot answer them clearly is telling you something.
- Do you have a PTIN, and what is it?
- Are you an EA, CPA or attorney — and can I verify that?
- Who exactly will see my documents?
- How do I send documents securely?
- Do you have a written information security plan?
- Will you sign my return as the preparer?
- How long do you keep my records, and how are they destroyed?
A preparer must sign your return
Anyone paid to prepare a federal return is required to have a PTIN and to sign it as the preparer. A preparer who completes your return but leaves the signature blank — a “ghost preparer” — is a serious warning sign, and the IRS treats it as one.
If something goes wrong
Tax identity theft usually shows up as a rejected e-file — someone has already filed using your Social Security number. If that happens we help you file Form 14039, submit your return on paper, and work through the IRS Identity Protection process with you.
If you believe your information has been compromised at any point, tell us immediately rather than waiting to be certain. Speed matters far more than certainty at that stage.
Questions about security or your data: tax@universaltaxfiler.com · +1 949 431 2999. See also our privacy policy.