PRIVACY POLICY FOR TAXNET.COM
This privacy policy explains the types of information we may collect from you, and informs you how we may use or disclose that information. We are providing this privacy policy as required by law. Protecting your privacy is fundamental to our business at TaxNet, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of HR Block Digital Tax Solutions, LLC ("TaxNet"). We honor all applicable privacy regulations, and we further strive to operate our business in a manner that justifies your choice of TaxNet® services.

We describe below our general practices regarding information collection through our Internet Web site at www.taxnet.com.

What Does This Privacy Policy Cover?

This privacy policy applies to consumers who are TaxNet.com clients or former clients. It describes the privacy practices of TaxNet in its provision of online tax preparation and related services. TaxNet offers tax preparation services via online, Web-based tax preparation service that is maintained on our computers. This policy covers information collected through the TaxNet Web site. This policy does not apply to your use of any tax preparation services or products of any TaxNet affiliates as those companies may be subject to different regulations and/or may have different operating practices. Any use of a product or service provided by a TaxNet affiliate will be subject to that company's privacy policy.

TaxNet is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build users' trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. Because TaxNet wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, we have our privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe.

NOTE: The TRUSTe program covers only information that is collected through the TaxNet web site.

If you do not receive acknowledgment of your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you may then contact TRUSTe at http://truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php.

We May Collect the Following Types of Information About You.
  • We may collect personal information when you prepare or electronically file your tax return using our Web-based tax programs and services. This information, referred to in this policy as "tax return information," includes, for example, your name, address and certain other data such as your social security number, income and deductions data, and other information about you and your dependents that you provide to prepare or file your tax return.
  • We may collect information in connection with transactions you complete or propose to complete with us, our affiliates or their franchisees. This information may include, for example, your name, address and certain other "nonpublic personal information" such as checking, debit and credit account numbers, balances and payment history, income, assets, and social security number. This information may also include system information, such as your operating system version, internet protocol (IP) address and the number of times you electronically file using the software and the Web site from which your tax return preparation originated. The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") requires us to collect certain system information in connection with electronic filing.
  • We may collect information about you from the IRS and other third parties, such as credit reporting agencies, in connection with tax preparation or other services you complete or propose to complete with us, our affiliates, or non affiliated third parties. This could include, for example, information about the status of your tax return, tax refund, electronic payment of tax preparation or e-filing fees, or tax return related loans.
  • We, our affiliates, or non-affiliated third party service providers with whom we have business relationships may collect information about you when you inquire about services or request information from us, or when you enter our contests, submit rebate forms, seek technical support, register your software or create an account on our Web site. This information may include, for example, your name, telephone number, mailing address and e-mail address, system information and configuration, account number and demographic information.
  • Portions of our site are made available to you without registration. When you use calculators and other tools on segments of our site that do not require registration, we may collect data that is not personally identifiable from such tools, such as the number of people who use a certain tool. We may also set cookies, GUIDs or clear gifs (as explained below) based upon your use of calculators and other tools. These cookies, GUIDs, and clear gifs help us to customize offers, tools and functions based on your particular interests.
  • We collect other information about you and your use of our services through the use of various technologies to help manage our Web sites, to save our customers time, and to understand more about the way our customers interact with us. These technologies include cookies, clear GIFs and log files. Because the operation of these technologies is not visible to users, we believe in being open and upfront about the way we use these technologies and their purposes. Click here for Internet Definitions.
  • The third party service we use to manage these technologies is WebTrends on Demand. For more information about the practices of this company or to decline cookies from these third-party ad servers you may visit their Web sites directly at http://reports.webtrends.com/privacypolicy.asp. You may also adjust your Internet browser settings to decline cookies placed directly by TaxNet; however, this will impair your ability to use the TaxNet tax preparation Web site and services.
  • The IRS requires TaxNet to retain filed tax returns for a period of at least three years. It is TaxNet's policy that if you start, but do not complete a tax return in our online tax programs, we will generally keep the tax return information you provide until the end of the tax season.
How We May Disclose Your Information.

TaxNet's disclosure of your information is controlled by Section 7216 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Gramm Leach Bliley Act of 1999, certain other laws, and TaxNet policies. The information we collect as described above may be disclosed as set forth below.
Section 7216 of the Internal Revenue Code requires that we have your consent ("opt in") before we disclose your tax return information to affiliates or third parties except the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and law enforcement officials, and except for certain other lawful purposes. Some information that is identical to some of your tax return information, such as name and address, may not be subject to Section 7216 if we also collect this information for purposes other than filing your tax return.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires us to give you the option to limit the sharing of certain creditworthiness information with our affiliates. Such information includes that which is used, expected to be used, or collected for the purpose of establishing your eligibility for consumer credit, insurance and related products and services, and is not related solely to your transactions or other communications with us. You may direct that this information not be disclosed to TaxNet affiliates by declining to sign the Section 7216 consent described above.
  • We may disclose your information as described below where you have provided consent under Section 7216, or as otherwise permitted by applicable laws. We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our customers or former customers to anyone except as permitted by law.
  • We may disclose your information to service providers who perform business functions on our behalf or to financial institutions for joint marketing. Services such organizations could perform on our behalf may include, for example, check printing, data processing and analysis, contest supervision, and surface or e-mail production. We require all TaxNet service providers and financial institutions to have written contracts with us that specify appropriate use of your information, require them to take steps to safeguard your data, and prohibit them from making unauthorized or unlawful use of your information. If a state law requires us to give you the right to opt-out prior to any disclosure of your personal information for joint marketing, we will not disclose your information for such purposes without your consent.
  • We may disclose your information to affiliates or non-affiliated third parties for other purposes permitted or required by law. Such purposes may include, for example, processing or fulfilling a service you request, or selling or transferring our business or assets. We may also make your tax return information accessible to our HR Block tax preparation affiliates and franchisees so that if you request additional tax preparation services from our affiliates or franchisees, they will be able to access your information.
  • The IRS requires that we disclose certain information to it in connection with your electronic filing of a tax return. This information may include your internet protocol (IP) address.
  • We may disclose your information to affiliates or non-affiliated third parties when we have a good faith belief that such disclosure is required by law. This may occur in connection with a court order, subpoena or other legal process, or a judicial, administrative or investigative proceeding that produces a request for information from TaxNet.
How You Will Know If Our Privacy Policy Changes.

If we make a material change to this privacy policy, including a material change in the way we disclose your personal information or a material change of policy due to a sale or transfer or our business, we will notify you at least 30 days prior to the effective date of such a change. We will notify you by using one of the following methods: (1) we will post a notice on our Web site describing the change; or (2) we will send you e-mail notifying you of the change. You may also have additional rights under state or federal law in the event of a change in our Privacy Policy.

Updates or Changes to Your Personal Information.

If you are a user of a TaxNet online tax preparation product and your personal account information changes or if you feel that the information that we have collected about you is inaccurate, you may update the information by signing into your account. TaxNet cannot change information in your filed tax return. You must file an amended tax return to make changes to a filed tax return.

How We Protect Your Information.

TaxNet maintains policies and procedures designed to restrict access to your personal information in several ways. These include programs and specifications for physical security and records retention and disposal; computer and communication security measures reflected in system design, password protection, and data management practices; and other measures to restrict access to the data we hold in physical and electronic forms. When you enter sensitive information in our online tax programs, we encrypt that information using secure socket layer (SSL) technology.

Third Party Products and Services and Links to Third Party Sites.

TaxNet.com may contain links to third party Web sites or offers for services from third parties. Examples may include offers for refund anticipation loans or other loans offered through a third party bank, tax payment options and promotions for capital gains or investment software, tools or services. For any such third party products or services, you should carefully read the privacy policies of the third parties providing such products or services. This privacy policy applies solely to services provided by TaxNet, and not to products or services offered by a third party. When you request products or services of a third party on our Web site, you are providing consent to us to provide your personal information to such party to fulfill your request. If you are a member of a third party site that has a relationship with TaxNet, that site may use Internet cookies or similar means to determine if you purchase a product or service at TaxNet in order to credit your account at such site with a bonus or incentive; however, TaxNet does not pass any personally identifiable information to such third party site.

Children Under Age 13

Because of the financial nature of the services we provide, we do not market our site to children under the age of 13.

How You May Control Use of Your Information.

We give you choice and control over the use of your personal information. You may limit marketing communications from TaxNet as follows:
  • TaxNet may use information you provide (subject to your consent, where required) to communicate with you about products and services available through TaxNet or third parties. If at any time you wish to limit your receipt of such marketing communications, submit your request thorough email support by clicking on the "Support" link under the Quick Help Center. At your request and subject to the limitations below, we will make reasonable efforts to limit all such marketing communications to you. In addition, when we send you marketing emails, we will generally include in each email a method to enable you to indicate your preference not to receive further emails.
  • Even if you opt-out from marketing communications, we may still provide you with information and notices that we deem important or required to complete your transactions with us. These may include legal notices, information about the status of your tax return or tax return filing, and other information or inquiries about your accounts and transactions with TaxNet and its affiliates.
The above paragraphs only apply to personal information TaxNet obtains through the TaxNet Web-based tax services or software programs, so you could still receive offers through TaxNet, its affiliates or franchisees where they obtain your contact information through other sources. In order to opt-out from communications from our affiliates or franchisees, you may contact each such affiliate or franchisee separately in accordance with their policies.

Contact for Questions or Concerns.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this privacy policy, contact TaxNet by clicking on the "Support" link at the bottom of the page.

TAXNET, INC. ACCURACY OF CALCULATIONS

If the Tax Program makes an arithmetic error that results in your payment of a penalty and/or interest to the IRS or any state Revenue Authority (collectively "Taxing Authority") that you would otherwise not have been required to pay, Block will reimburse you, after you pay the Taxing Authority, for the amount of the penalty and interest paid by you up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), but only if you meet all of the following conditions:
  1. The penalty or interest must not be due to an incorrect entry of data by you or any third party (including through any automated tax data import feature). The penalty or interest must not be due to your failure to follow instructions in the Tax Program, your failure to correct and resolve errors identified by the Tax Program, a claim for an improper or unsupportable deduction, a failure to report income, your failure to provide all necessary information to Block, or any other reason outside the control of Block.
  2. You notified Block at Attn: OTP Claims, HR Block Digital Tax Solutions, 4400 Blue Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri 64130 within 30 days after you learned of the mistake or received a notice from any tax authority regarding your tax return. In addition, you sent Block complete documentation of the penalty and interest including all correspondence to and from each tax authority, a copy of your tax returns as filed with each tax authority, proof that you paid the penalty and/or interest, and any other relevant information Block reasonably requests.
  3. You took any action reasonably requested by Block, including filing an amended tax return if necessary, to limit any further penalties and interest from accruing.
  4. The penalty and interest was for a return filed before April 15, 2008, or if the filing date is properly extended, before October 15, 2008. However, if you filed your return late, Block will not pay interest from April 15, 2008 to the date you actually file your return.
  5. The penalty or interest pertains only to your individual tax return and not a business return.
  6. You have complied with all terms and conditions of this Agreement, including the license restrictions and you have not intentionally provided any false information in connection with your account registration or tax return.
  7. You paid the applicable fee, if any, to Block for license of the Tax Program(s) at the time of the initial filing or printing of your tax return.
Block will reimburse you for penalties and/or interest paid by you in the above situations to state tax authorities only for those individual states for which you have paid Block for use of the state portion of the Tax Program and used such Tax Program to file the state tax returns. Under no circumstances will Block pay additional taxes due. In no event will Block reimburse you for more than an aggregate of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in interest and penalties owed to the IRS and any state revenue authorities based upon all tax returns you filed for the 2007 tax year, regardless of whether the tax returns are federal or state returns. THIS SECTION 7 STATES BLOCK'S ENTIRE OBLIGATION AND LIABILITY, AND YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY, FOR ANY ERRORS IN YOUR RETURN CAUSED BY THE TAX PROGRAM OR BY BLOCK OR HRB.

The rights and benefits afforded by this Section 7 are personal to the original licensee purchasing the License to the Tax Program from Block or from its authorized reseller; they may not be assigned or otherwise transferred to any other party and do not apply to any family members of the original licensee.

Policy effective date: December 2007 TaxNet® is a registered trademark of TaxNet, Inc. © 2007 TaxNet, Inc. All rights reserved.
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