Privacy Policy

Athena Tax & Advisory

‍Last Updated: July 1, 2026

1. Who We Are

Athena Tax & Advisory ("Athena," "we," "us," or "our") provides bookkeeping, tax preparation, tax planning, and outsourced accounting services to small businesses in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect information we receive through our website and in the course of providing services to clients.

Athena Tax & Advisory is the legal business name under which these services are provided. (Business address and registered agent for service of process to follow.)

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly:

  • Name, email address, phone number, and mailing address
  • Business information (entity type, EIN, revenue figures, financial statements)
  • Tax return information, including prior-year returns, W-2s, 1099s, and supporting documentation
  • Banking and financial account information necessary to perform bookkeeping and accounting services
  • Social Security Numbers or Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, where required for tax preparation
  • Communications you send us by email, phone, or through our client portal

Information collected automatically:

  • IP address, browser type, device information, and pages visited on our website, collected through standard analytics tools

The specific tools currently in use are Google Tag Manager, which serves as a container for other tracking tags, the Meta Pixel, the Google Ads tag, the Elfsight Google Reviews widget, and Finsweet Attributes for website functionality. The Meta Pixel and Google Ads tag are used for advertising purposes, including measuring ad performance and showing you relevant ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Google. Our website also uses a custom script that captures marketing campaign source information, such as which ad or link a visitor came from, and associates it with form submissions, including name, email, and phone number, to help us understand which marketing efforts generate leads.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Prepare and file tax returns on your behalf
  • Perform bookkeeping, reconciliation, and financial reporting services
  • Provide tax planning and advisory services
  • Communicate with you about your account, services, and deadlines
  • Comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including IRS recordkeeping requirements
  • Improve our website and services

4. Tax Return Information (IRC Section 7216 Disclosure)

This section is legally required for any business that prepares tax returns, and the exact wording matters. Do not modify this section without attorney review.

Federal law, specifically 26 U.S.C. Section 7216 and its accompanying Treasury Regulations, restricts how tax return preparers may use or disclose information you provide in connection with the preparation of your tax return. Absent your written consent, we may only use your tax return information to prepare your return, and may only disclose it as specifically permitted by law (for example, to the IRS, or to other tax preparers within our firm working on your return).

If we ever request your consent to use your tax return information for any other purpose, such as offering you an additional service, that request will be presented to you separately, in the form required by law, and you will have the right to decline without affecting your ability to have your return prepared by us.

One example where this applies: if Athena ever wants to use a client's tax return figures in a testimonial, case study, or similar example, even in anonymized form, that is a use of tax return information beyond preparing the return, and requires the specific separate written consent described above before it happens.

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information with:

  • Service providers who support our operations, such as our accounting software provider (e.g., QuickBooks Online), our secure document portal, and our email and scheduling tools
  • Government agencies, such as the IRS or California Franchise Tax Board, as required to file returns or respond to a legal request
  • Successor entities, in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of the business, subject to the same protections described here

Confirmed service providers with access to client information include GoHighLevel (our client communication and marketing platform), Webflow (our website host), Intuit ProConnect Online (our tax preparation software), and TaxDome (our secure client document portal).

6. Data Security

Because we handle sensitive financial and tax information, federal law (the FTC Safeguards Rule, part of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) requires us to maintain a written information security program appropriate to the size and complexity of our practice.

This policy is supported by Athena's Written Information Security Program (WISP), which documents our specific administrative, technical, and physical safeguards for protecting client data as required under the FTC Safeguards Rule.

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect client information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.

7. Your California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

  • Know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose
  • Request deletion of your personal information, subject to our legal obligation to retain tax records for the periods required by law
  • Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information (Athena does not sell personal information)
  • Non-discrimination for exercising these rights

To exercise these rights, contact us at [email protected].

Because we are legally required to retain certain tax and financial records for the periods described in Section 8 below, a deletion request may not apply to those specific records for as long as we are required to keep them under federal or state law. Deletion requests apply fully to any other personal information we hold that is not subject to a legal retention requirement.

8. Data Retention

We retain client tax records and financial information for a minimum of three years from the date a return is filed, consistent with IRS recordkeeping guidance, and in some cases for six to seven years or longer where required, for example in cases involving underreported income or a bad debt deduction, or indefinitely if a return was never filed or was fraudulent.

9. Cookies and Website Tracking

Our website uses Google Tag Manager to load additional tracking tags, including the Meta Pixel and the Google Ads tag, both of which set advertising cookies used to measure ad performance and show relevant ads to you on Facebook, Instagram, and Google. Our website also uses a custom script that stores marketing campaign source information in your browser's local storage and associates it with any form you submit, to help us track which marketing efforts bring in clients.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

11. Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy can be directed to:
Athena Tax & Advisory, [email protected], (818) 640-6808