Tax return information is protected by federal criminal law, professional ethics rules, and this firm’s own written governance — in that order of severity, and we honor all three. This page lays out exactly what binds us and what we’ve built on top of it.
Section 7216 of the Internal Revenue Code makes it a federal crime for a tax return preparer to knowingly or recklessly disclose or use your tax return information for any purpose other than preparing your return — punishable by fines and imprisonment, per violation. Its companion, §6713, adds civil penalties on top. This is not a best practice we chose; it is a criminal statute we operate under, and we treat it that way.
Under the Treasury regulations, any use or disclosure beyond preparing your return generally requires your consent — and not a buried checkbox. Consents must be knowing, voluntary, in writing, and specific: naming what information, who receives it, and for what purpose — signed before the use or disclosure, never after. That is the legal floor behind our consent-first policy.
The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (ET §1.700.001) prohibits a CPA in public practice from disclosing any confidential client information without the client’s specific consent, subject only to narrow exceptions such as a valid subpoena or summons, a professional practice review, or a board or ethics inquiry. The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy enforces its own parallel confidentiality rule — the license itself is on the line.
Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, professional tax preparers are treated as financial institutions and must maintain a written information security program covering how client data is secured, who can access it, and how incidents are handled. Ours is written, maintained, and actually followed — not a binder on a shelf.
Client data moves only through technology vendors we have vetted and qualified in writing, with documented security terms and re-qualification triggers when anything changes. Never consumer-grade cloud apps. Never public AI tools.
Where the law requires your written consent before technology touches your return information, we obtain it before the work begins — written so you can actually understand what you’re agreeing to, and free for you to decline.
Your data lives at The Westland Bunker — a Tier 3 data center with gated, manned entry, backup power, and redundant internet — behind Multi-Factor Authentication, Smart Lockout, and Knowledge-Based Authentication. Documents move through the encrypted portal, never loose email.
No offshore processing pools, no unlicensed preparers, no AI output delivered without professional review — and no client used as a marketing prop. That last one has its own page: our client list, fully redacted, on purpose.
It’s the federal law that makes your tax return information legally different from ordinary business data. A preparer who knowingly or recklessly uses or discloses it for anything beyond preparing your return commits a federal crime — with civil penalties stacked on top under §6713. Practically, it means we cannot sell your information, cannot use it to market unrelated products, and cannot hand it to third parties without your specific, written, advance consent or a legal exception. The law has teeth, and it’s pointed at us, not you — which is exactly how client protection should work.
Only through narrow legal channels: disclosures to the IRS in connection with your return, a valid court order or subpoena, and a few similar exceptions written into the statute and the AICPA rule — a professional practice review, or a licensing board inquiry. Outside those, the answer to any request for your information is no, regardless of who’s asking. Where the law permits, we inform clients when compelled process arrives; what we never do is volunteer information because someone asked persuasively.
You may see a consent where technology-assisted workflows involve a use or disclosure the regulations say requires one — each names exactly what information is covered, who receives it, and for what purpose, signed before anything happens. And yes, you can decline: consent must be voluntary to be valid at all. Declining may change which workflows we use on your engagement, but it never changes whether we serve you or the confidentiality every framework on this page requires.
Every tax return prepared and signed by a licensed CPA or IRS Enrolled Agent. Everything runs through the secure portal and e-signature.
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