Protect every taxpayer record
Your clients trust you with their most sensitive financial data. Our data protection solutions ensure that trust is never compromised.
Why tax practices are targets
Tax preparers are prime targets for phishing emails impersonating the IRS, clients, or software vendors.
Criminals encrypt taxpayer data and demand payment, with tax season being peak attack season.
Stolen tax returns are sold on the dark web for identity theft and fraudulent refund claims.
Employees or contractors with access to sensitive data pose a significant risk without proper controls.
Multi-layered data protection
Endpoint Protection
Advanced antivirus and EDR solutions that detect and block threats before they compromise your data.
Network Security
Firewall management, VPN configuration, and network monitoring to secure your practice infrastructure.
Dark Web Monitoring
Continuous scanning of dark web marketplaces and forums for your firm's credentials, client data, and stolen tax records.
Data Backup & Recovery
Automated, encrypted backups with rapid recovery to ensure you never lose taxpayer data.
Protect taxpayer data through its full lifecycle
Tax data moves through intake, preparation, review, filing, storage, sharing, backup, and disposal. A practical protection program identifies which systems and people touch the information at every stage, then applies safeguards that match the risk. Start by documenting where taxpayer records arrive, where working copies are created, which vendors can access them, and how long each copy is retained.
Controls should work together. Strong authentication does not compensate for an unprotected shared folder, and encryption does not replace access review or tested recovery. Define who can approve access, require secure channels for documents, keep devices and applications updated, monitor important accounts, separate backup credentials, and test restoration. Record the decisions in the WISP so the written plan matches what the practice actually does.
Bellator can help turn that inventory into a prioritized remediation plan and operating evidence. The goal is not a generic policy binder; it is a repeatable process that reduces exposure while supporting the way the tax practice serves clients.
Priority implementation checklist
- Map taxpayer data from collection through disposal
- Assign owners for systems, vendors, and access decisions
- Use MFA and least-privilege access for sensitive systems
- Encrypt appropriate data at rest and in transit
- Maintain isolated backups and test restoration
- Review the WISP after material operational or technology changes
Authoritative starting points: IRS Publication 4557, IRS Publication 5708, and the FTC Safeguards Rule compliance guide.
From requirement to defensible practice
Turn IRS and FTC expectations into a WISP your office can follow
A useful compliance path makes the obligation clear, identifies the evidence to retain, and connects written policy to the safeguards used every day.
- Know what applies
- Document the evidence
- Make the safeguard operational
A defensible path
- 01
Confirm the requirement
Separate what is required from recommendations and vendor language.
- 02
Map it to your environment
Connect the rule to people, devices, data, vendors, and current procedures.
- 03
Close and document the gaps
Prioritize changes and keep evidence that the process is being followed.
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Keep exploring Tax security & WISP
Understand what tax professionals need to document, protect, and prepare before an IRS or FTC review.
- Common question: free WISP templateStart with a written information security planUse a practical WISP framework built around the safeguards tax practices need.
- Common question: IRS Publication 4557 requirementsRead the Publication 4557 guideSee how the IRS expects tax professionals to safeguard taxpayer data.
- Common question: IRS WISP requirementsReview the WISP requirementsWork through the required sections and the evidence your practice should retain.
- Common question: FTC Safeguards Rule checklistUse the FTC Safeguards checklistTranslate the rule into a clear list of security and documentation tasks.
- Common question: tax practice incident response planPrepare a tax-office incident planKnow who to contact, what to preserve, and how to respond to a client-data incident.