Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 29, 2026.

1. Introduction and scope

Master Tax USA INC (“Master Tax USA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a tax preparation, bookkeeping, and business advisory firm with offices at 2134 Broadway, Suite 101, Astoria, NY 11106. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, share, and protect personal information through our website at mastertaxusa.com and through our professional services. It applies to clients, prospective clients, and visitors to the website. It does not modify the terms of any engagement letter you have signed with us; in case of conflict between this policy and a signed engagement letter, the engagement letter controls for that engagement.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you provide

When you contact us, request a consultation, or engage us for services, you may provide:

• Contact information such as name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
• Identifiers used by tax authorities, including Social Security Number, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, Employer Identification Number, and date of birth.
• Information about your dependents, spouse, or other household members reported on a return.
• Tax documents and supporting records, including W-2, 1099, K-1, 1098, brokerage statements, business books and records, receipts, and prior year returns.
• Financial account information needed for direct deposit, direct debit, or ACH payment of fees, including bank routing and account numbers.
• Information about real estate, investments, foreign accounts, cryptocurrency activity, and other reportable items.
• Communications you send to us by email, web form, telephone, SMS, fax, or in person.

2.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit the website, our hosting infrastructure may automatically collect technical information such as IP address, user agent and device characteristics, referring URL, pages viewed, and approximate location derived from IP. Your browser also requests typeface files from third-party font networks and, on pages that display our office location, map tiles from Google Maps; those requests reveal your IP address to those providers. We use a small number of first-party cookies for site functionality, listed in Section 8. We do not use cookies or similar technologies to build advertising profiles, and we do not currently run a third-party advertising or behavioral-analytics tag on the website.

2.3 Information you enter into the AI assistant

The website includes an AI assistant, identified in the widget as “Mona AI.” It is software, not a person. If you use it, we collect the messages you send, the replies generated, and a session identifier stored in your browser. Those messages are sent to Google’s Gemini service to generate a reply, and the conversation is stored in our database. See Sections 4.7 and 8.

Do not enter Social Security Numbers, ITINs, EINs, bank account or card numbers, or other sensitive identifiers into the assistant. It is not a secure channel for those items. Using “Reset chat” starts a new conversation; it does not delete the earlier transcript from our records.

2.4 Information from third parties

We may receive information about you from third parties, including:

• Referrals from existing clients, attorneys, or financial advisors.
• Prior tax preparers or accountants, where you authorize us to obtain your records.
• The Internal Revenue Service and state tax authorities, where you authorize us by Form 8821, Form 2848, or equivalent state forms to obtain your transcripts or correspond on your behalf.

3. How we use information

We use information to:

• Provide tax preparation, tax planning, bookkeeping, accounting, and business advisory services.
• Prepare and electronically file federal, state, and local tax returns and informational returns.
• Communicate with you about your engagement and our services.
• Verify identity, prevent fraud, and meet our anti-money-laundering and know-your-client obligations where applicable.
• Bill for services and collect fees.
• Maintain workpapers and records as required by professional standards and law.
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations, including IRS rules applicable to Authorized e-file Providers.
• Operate, secure, and improve our website and internal systems.

4. Disclosure to third parties

4.1 Service providers and software vendors

We use service providers and software vendors that support our work, such as tax-preparation and accounting software, secure document exchange, and information-technology support. Where a service provider or subprocessor handles client information, we require written confidentiality and use-limitation terms and select providers we have determined are capable of maintaining appropriate safeguards.

The providers that support this website and the services delivered through it currently include:

• Vercel, for website hosting and delivery.
• Cloudflare, for the database and document storage that hold website and client records.
• Google, whose Gemini service generates the AI assistant’s replies and assists with reading uploaded documents, and whose Maps embed displays our office location.
• Stripe, for subscription checkout and recurring billing. See Section 4.7.
• Cal.com, for the consultation booking form. Information you enter into that form, such as your name, email address, and any note you add, is collected by Cal.com and shared with us so we can hold the appointment.
• Resend, for transactional email such as sign-in links and status notifications, and, where we enable it, Twilio for text-message notifications.

This list describes the providers in use as of the “Last updated” date. We may add, change, or remove providers, and we will update this section when we do.

4.2 Tax authorities

With your authorization on the relevant return or form, we transmit return information to the Internal Revenue Service, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, the New York City Department of Finance, and other applicable state and local tax authorities for the purpose of filing your returns and responding to authority notices.

4.3 With your consent

We disclose information to other parties at your direction, for example to your bank, attorney, financial advisor, or lender. Any non-return-preparation use or disclosure of tax return information requires separate written consent that meets the requirements of Internal Revenue Code Section 7216 and Treasury Regulation Section 301.7216.

4.4 Compelled disclosure

We may disclose information when required by subpoena, court order, or other lawful process, or when we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Master Tax USA, our clients, or others. Where permitted by law, we will provide notice to affected clients before producing records.

4.5 Business transfers

If Master Tax USA is involved in a merger, acquisition, succession planning event, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, client information may be transferred subject to confidentiality obligations and applicable professional rules.

4.6 No sale or sharing for cross-context behavioral advertising

We do not sell personal information for monetary consideration and we do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended.

4.7 Payment processing

Subscriptions offered on our Pricing page are paid through Stripe-hosted checkout. Card details are entered on Stripe’s pages, not on this website, and this website does not collect or store your card number. Stripe processes that payment information as its own controller under its own privacy notice, and provides us with the transaction details we need to administer the subscription, such as the plan purchased, the amount, the billing status, and the name and email address you gave at checkout. See our Subscription Terms and Refund Policy.

4.8 Automated and AI-assisted processing

We use Google’s Gemini service in two places: to generate the replies of the website AI assistant described in Section 2.3, and, in our preparation workflow, to help read values from documents that our deterministic parsers do not recognize. Output that assists preparation is reviewed by a person before it is used, and figures presented to clients come from our own calculation records rather than from the model.

Where processing of tax return information involves a service provider, including an automated or AI-assisted tool, we treat that processing as subject to Internal Revenue Code Section 7216 and Treasury Regulation Section 301.7216, and we will obtain the separate written consent those rules require where they require it. See Section 5. We do not use automated processing to make decisions about you that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

5. Internal Revenue Code Section 7216

Federal law restricts what tax return preparers may do with tax return information. Under Internal Revenue Code Section 7216 and Treasury Regulation Section 301.7216, we may use tax return information to prepare your return and to perform auxiliary services in connection with that preparation without separate consent. Any other use or disclosure, including using your tax return information to offer non-tax products or services, requires your separate written consent in the form prescribed by the Internal Revenue Service. We will provide that consent form for your review before any such use or disclosure.

6. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and FTC Safeguards Rule

Tax preparers and accountants are treated as “financial institutions” under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Federal Trade Commission Safeguards Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 314). Consistent with those rules, we maintain a Written Information Security Program (WISP) designed in accordance with the Safeguards Rule and intended to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of customer information. Specific implementation details are maintained in our internal program documentation. Under federal law we also provide an annual privacy notice to consumers who obtain a financial product or service primarily for personal, family, or household purposes; this Privacy Policy, taken together with any standalone notice we provide, constitutes that notice.

7. State law rights

7.1 California (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act. Subject to verification and exceptions in the statute, you may have the right to:

• Know what categories of personal information we have collected.
• Access the specific pieces of personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate personal information.
• Delete personal information, subject to exceptions, including records we are required to retain.
• Receive a portable copy of your personal information.
• Opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under the CPRA.
• Limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information to uses necessary to perform services.
• Be free from retaliation for exercising these rights.

Personal information collected, processed, sold, or disclosed in connection with a financial product or service that is subject to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and its implementing regulations is generally exempt from the CCPA. We rely on that exemption where it applies and apply the CCPA to other categories of personal information.

Categories of personal information we have collected in the past twelve months: identifiers; California Customer Records Act categories; characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law (where reported on a return); commercial information; internet or other electronic network activity information; geolocation data (approximate, derived from IP); professional or employment-related information; education information; financial information; and inferences drawn from the foregoing for the limited purpose of preparing returns and advising clients.

7.2 New York (SHIELD Act)

New York’s Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (SHIELD Act) requires reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards for the private information of New York residents and notification of affected residents in the event of a breach of security. Our WISP and incident response procedures are designed to meet these requirements.

7.3 Other state consumer privacy laws

Residents of states with comprehensive consumer privacy laws, including Virginia (Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act), Colorado (Colorado Privacy Act), Connecticut (Connecticut Data Privacy Act), Utah (Utah Consumer Privacy Act), Texas (Texas Data Privacy and Security Act), and other states with laws in effect at the date of last update above, may have rights to access, correct, delete, obtain a copy of, and opt out of certain processing of personal data, including profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. We do not engage in such profiling. To exercise these rights, contact us using the details below. We will generally respond within forty-five (45) days, with a single extension where reasonably necessary and permitted by law. Financial information regulated by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act may be exempt from these state laws.

7.4 European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland (GDPR)

If you visit the website from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the following information applies:

• Controller. Master Tax USA INC, 2134 Broadway, Suite 101, Astoria, NY 11106, USA. Contact: info@mastertaxusa.com.
• Lawful bases. We process personal data based on performance of a contract (preparing your tax return or providing services), compliance with legal obligations, our legitimate interests in operating and securing our business, and your consent where required.
• Rights. Subject to applicable law, you may request access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, and portability, and you may object to processing based on legitimate interests. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
• Supervisory authority. You may lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority.
• Automated decision-making. We do not make decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects based solely on automated processing.
• International transfers. Our services are operated from the United States. Personal data submitted to us will be transferred to and processed in the United States.

8. Cookies and tracking

We use a small number of first-party cookies for site operation. We do not use cookies to build advertising profiles, and we do not currently set third-party advertising or behavioral-analytics cookies. The cookies we set are:

• mtu_chat_session, set when you use the AI assistant so that a conversation continues across messages and page loads. It expires after 30 days.
• mtu_session, set when you sign in to a client or staff account, to keep you signed in. It is set only if you sign in.

Both are set as HTTP-only cookies scoped to this website. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or to be alerted when cookies are set; refusing them may prevent the assistant or sign-in from working. We currently do not respond to browser-based “Do Not Track” signals, but we honor opt-out preference signals (such as Global Privacy Control) where required by applicable law.

9. Children’s information

The website is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13 in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Information about minor dependents reported on a tax return is provided by a parent or guardian for the purpose of preparing that return. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us through the website, contact us so we can delete it.

10. Data retention

We retain client records consistent with federal recordkeeping rules applicable to tax return preparers and authorized e-file providers, the New York Tax Law, and applicable professional obligations. Workpapers, signed engagement letters, e-file authorizations, copies of returns, and source documents are retained for the period required by Internal Revenue Service rules and applicable state law (typically not less than three years from the return filing date, and longer where statute, regulation, or the matter requires it). When records are no longer required to be retained, we delete or destroy them in a manner appropriate to their sensitivity.

Transcripts of conversations with the AI assistant, and website account records, are retained while they remain useful for supporting you, for security and abuse investigation, and for our recordkeeping obligations. Selecting “Reset chat” starts a new conversation and does not delete the earlier transcript. To ask us to delete a transcript, contact us using Section 15.

11. Data security

We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. These safeguards are part of our Written Information Security Program described in Section 6. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee that information transmitted over the internet is free from interception. Do not send sensitive information through unencrypted email; use the telephone number below or request a secure submission method.

12. Breach notification

If we determine that an unauthorized acquisition of unencrypted or unsecured personal information has occurred, we will notify affected individuals and applicable authorities consistent with:

• The New York SHIELD Act and General Business Law Section 899-aa, including notice to the New York Attorney General, the New York Department of State, and the New York State Police where required.
• The FTC Safeguards Rule, which requires us to notify the Federal Trade Commission of any notification event involving the unauthorized acquisition of unencrypted customer information of 500 or more consumers, as soon as possible and no later than 30 days after discovery.
• IRS data-theft reporting expectations applicable to tax return preparers, including notification to the appropriate IRS Stakeholder Liaison and to state tax authorities.
• Other state breach notification laws applicable to affected residents.

13. International transfers

We are based in New York and our services are operated from the United States. If you submit information to us from outside the United States, you understand that your information will be received in the United States.

14. Your choices and rights

You may decline to provide information, although that may prevent us from completing your engagement. You may unsubscribe from marketing emails by following the instructions in those emails; transactional or engagement-related communications continue while we are providing services. You have the rights described in Sections 7.1 through 7.4 depending on your jurisdiction.

15. How to exercise your rights

To submit a privacy request, contact us by email at info@mastertaxusa.com or by phone at (718) 726-0333, with “Privacy Request” in the subject line. We will verify your identity before fulfilling a request, using information already in our records or by reasonable additional verification. You may use an authorized agent where permitted; we will require written proof of authorization. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be communicated by reasonable means before they take effect.

17. Contact us

Master Tax USA INC
Attention: Privacy Inquiries
2134 Broadway, Suite 101
Astoria, NY 11106
Phone: (718) 726-0333
SMS: (347) 379-0673
Fax: (347) 503-3791
Email: info@mastertaxusa.com or blockny@gmail.com

This document is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. If you have questions about how this policy applies to your situation, please contact us.