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At JTH Tax, Inc., doing business as Liberty Tax Service (referred to as "us" or "we" in this Privacy Policy), we are committed to delivering the highest customer satisfaction. With that in mind, respecting your personal privacy is of paramount concern to us. We have adopted the following privacy protection practices that apply to use of eSmart's online tax preparation service. It does not apply to other portions of our site or to services offered through our office locations.

The Information We Collect

eSmart collects such tax-related information as your name, address, income, birth date, social security number, employment and other information necessary to prepare and electronically file your tax return. You also provide us with your username, password, password prompt question and e-mail address as part of the registration process to use this service. In addition, we collect the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer from which the return originated (see the "URL and IP Address" section below for more discussion on this). If you pay by credit card, we collect your credit card type, number and expiration date. If you pay by e-check, request direct deposit of your tax refund or direct debit of your tax liability, we collect the bank name, bank account type, account number and routing number.

We will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you services contact Customer Support.  We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

The Way We Use Information

The tax return information that we collect is used to prepare and, if requested, electronically file your tax return. The return information is only used as you have authorized or as allowed by law. The IRS requires us to provide to them the 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.
Your credit card or bank account information will be shared with credit card processing companies to bill you for services purchased.

If you apply for a bank product such as a refund anticipation loan, your information will be shared with the lending bank with your express authorization. The bank's use of that information will be covered by the bank's privacy policy.

The information you give also allows us to statistically analyze site usage and improve and customize our site's content, layout, and service offerings.

We will send you service-related announcements when it is necessary to do so. For instance, we might send you an e-mail to announce the start of the IRS tax filing season in conjunction with our service availability each year, the filing status and result of your tax return, actions required to complete your e-file, or if our service is temporarily suspended for system maintenance.

Generally, you may not opt-out of these communications because our services include e-file, processing, submission, result analysis, and possibly resubmission requirements for the return to be accepted. Without these communications, you may not find out whether your return has been accepted by the IRS or not, resulting in refund delay or other difficulties.  We will also send you important tax-related information to your e-mail address.

Choice/Opt-Out

If you do not wish to receive tax information, you may opt-out of receiving these communications by following the instructions included in each e-mail.

Restrictions on Disclosing Information to Third Parties

We are not in the business of selling or renting your personally identifiable information to others. We do not reveal personally identifiable information about you to third parties (outside of any affiliate or subsidiary we may have) for their independent use, unless: (1) you request or authorize it; (2) the information is provided to complete a transaction or service for you; (3) the information is provided to comply with the law or in response to a subpoena or other legal process; or (4) the disclosure is done as part of a purchase, sale, or transfer of services or assets (for example, if substantially all of your assets are acquired by another party, your information may be one of the transferred assets).

URL and IP Address

Like many other sites, we collect information about how our customers use and navigate through our site by keeping log files. This information helps us to design our site to better suit our customers' needs. We also use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our site, gather broad demographic information, and to help identify you. Our log files are tied to your personally identifiable information so we can facilitate the resolution of site and user-specific problems.

Cookies

Cookies are pieces of information that a site transfers to a user's hard drive for record-keeping purposes. Like many sites, we also use cookies. Cookies can make using the Internet easier by, among other things, saving your passwords and preferences for you. For example, a cookie lets the site remember that you have registered, which allows us to speed up your future activities at our site, and allows you to enter your password/login ID less frequently when visiting our site. Cookies allow us to track the user's activities and determine their preferences.

You may choose to decline the cookie, however. By doing so, you may have limited access to some parts of the site. There are commercially available products that are designed to help you disable cookies. While we want you to be aware that such products exist, please note that if you choose to use them, we may not be able to provide you with personalized service. Your use of the site may also be slowed, and it may result in certain features and services not being available to you. We do not link the information we store in cookies to any personally identifiable information you submit while on our site.

Security Measures to Protect Information

To help protect the privacy of the data you transmit through our site, eSmart and Liberty Tax Service use security policies and procedures that include administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to (a) ensure the security and confidentiality of non-public customer information; (b) protect against anticipated threats or hazards to the security of such non-public customer information; and (c) protect against unauthorized access or use of such non-public customer information. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with applicable law and federal standards.

All transmissions of your tax return and credit card information between your computer and our site are SSL encrypted. We update and test our security technology on an ongoing basis. In addition, we train our employees about the importance of confidentiality and maintaining the security of your information. We are committed to taking appropriate disciplinary measures to enforce our employees' privacy responsibilities. It is also important for you to help protect against unauthorized access of your personal data by signing off of our site each time you finish using it.

Your Access to Your Personal Information

With eSmart, you always have access to certain areas of your personal information in our database. You may view and, in certain cases, update your personally identifiable information in our database. If you believe that any of your information is incorrect, notify us immediately at privacy@libtax.com and we will promptly correct any information that is inaccurate.

Inapplicability of Privacy Policies to Any Linked sites or Other Third Parties

This Privacy Policy only addresses eSmart Tax and Liberty Tax Service's use and disclosure of your personally identifiable information. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any third parties or the content of linked sites, although we encourage you to read any applicable privacy policies of such parties or sites.

Conditions of Use, Notices, and Changes to Our Privacy Policy

By using this site you agree to the terms and conditions in this Privacy Policy and the Liberty Tax Service User Agreement provided on this site. It is our goal to make our policies easy to understand. While we try to maintain consistent policies between our Privacy Policy and our User Agreement, there may be a case where the two conflict. In those rare instances, the User Agreement shall be the controlling document.

As our business changes from time to time, this Privacy Policy and User Agreement will change. We reserve the right to amend the Privacy Policy and User Agreement at any time, for any reason. Should we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by placing a prominent notice on our home page and via this Privacy Policy. The provisions contained herein supersede all previous notices or statements regarding our privacy practices.

Questions Regarding This Privacy Policy

We are a licensee of the TRUSTe privacy program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission it is to promote the use of fair information practices, and to enable individuals and organizations to establish trusting relationships based on respect for personal identity and information. Because we want to demonstrate our commitment to your privacy, we have agreed to disclose our information use practices and have our privacy policies reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe.

Should you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please e-mail us at privacy@libtax.com. Our physical address is 1716 Corporate Landing Parkway, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23454. If you do not receive acknowledgment of your inquiry or our response is not satisfactory, you should then contact TRUSTe through the TRUSTe Watchdog Dispute Resolution Process. TRUSTe will serve as a liaison with us to resolve your concerns.