Privacy policy
This draft explains what Sourdough Tax, Inc. collects on sourdough.tax, including the free deduction scan. The final policy will be posted here with an effective date before paid filing is offered.
The short version.
- We collect contact details, state, intake answers, scan inputs, support messages, and site usage data.
- If you run a deduction scan, we may collect read-only account and transaction data through Plaid. Your bank credentials stay with Plaid and your bank.
- We use that information to run the scan, show deduction math and tax-code rules, support you, and improve the product.
- We do not sell personal information. The Meta pixel may count as sharing under California privacy law; you can opt out.
- The free scan does not require a Social Security number or a final tax return. Filing flows will require separate tax-information consents where federal law requires them.
Who we are
Sourdough Tax, Inc. is a Los Angeles company building tax software for 1099 workers. The site includes informational pages, signup flows, the free deduction scan, and related support surfaces.
What we collect
- Contact and signup details. Email, phone number if you provide one, state, and short intake answers such as prior-year filing status.
- Scan inputs. Information you provide for the deduction scan, including state, tax years, selected filing answers, and optional profile details used to estimate deductions.
- Read-only bank data. If you connect a bank account, Plaid gives us account metadata and transaction data needed to classify income and expenses. We do not receive your bank username or password.
- Scan output. Deduction categories, tax-code references, calculation evidence, filing path, open questions, and related audit events.
- Payment and customer records. Stripe may hold customer and payment records if you choose a paid filing product. We do not store card numbers.
- Usage data. Cloudflare Web Analytics measures page views, performance, browser and device type, and coarse location. The Meta pixel records that your browser visited this site and may connect that visit to a Meta account.
- Messages and calls. If you email, call, or text us, we keep the message. Calls may run through AgentPhone and may be recorded or transcribed for support quality and recordkeeping.
What the free scan does not require
The deduction scan does not require a Social Security number, final tax return documents, or a credit card. If you later choose to file through Sourdough, the filing flow may require tax return information, identity details, payment information, signatures, and consent records.
Tax information and consent
Federal law, including Internal Revenue Code §7216, restricts how tax return information may be used and disclosed. When a filing flow collects tax return information, Sourdough will use it to provide tax software, calculations, data organization, educational information, e-file transmission, support, or a certified review you authorize. Uses outside that scope require separate written consent where the IRS requires it.
How we use information
- Run the free deduction scan and show estimated write-offs, rules, and math.
- Register your signup, preserve your selected state and answers, and route you to the right filing path.
- Provide customer support by email, phone, or text.
- Process payments, refunds, and receipts when you choose a paid filing product.
- Detect abuse, debug the product, secure accounts, and keep required records.
- Measure whether the site, product, and ads work.
Service providers
We use a small set of providers. Each receives only what it needs to do its job.
- Cloudflare hosts the site, protects traffic, stores site data, and provides analytics.
- Plaid provides read-only bank connection and transaction data when you choose to connect an account.
- Stripe processes payments, refunds, receipts, and customer records.
- Resend sends email.
- AgentPhone runs phone and text support.
- Meta measures ads through the Meta pixel.
How long we keep information
We keep records while needed to provide the scan, support your account or signup, process payments, maintain security, resolve disputes, and satisfy legal, tax, accounting, audit, or fraud-prevention requirements. If you ask us to delete information, we delete what we can and keep only what we reasonably need for required records and audit trails.
Your privacy rights
California residents have rights to know, access, correct, delete, and opt out of certain sale or sharing of personal information. We extend those same request paths to everyone in the United States where practical.
To make a privacy request, email shantanu@sourdough.tax. We verify the request before acting. You may use an authorized agent; we may still confirm the request with you directly.
Children
Sourdough is a tax product for working adults. The site is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13 or sell or share personal information of anyone under 16.
Security
Traffic to the site is encrypted in transit. Access to production systems is limited to people who need it. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects you, we will notify you as required by law.
Changes
This draft may change during attorney review. Once the policy is in effect, the effective date will be posted here and material changes will be communicated as required.
Contact
Sourdough Tax, Inc. · Los Angeles, California
Privacy requests: shantanu@sourdough.tax
General support: support@sourdough.tax · (424) 487-4642