Website Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Tax Resolution Services of Hawaii, Inc., a Hawaii corporation doing business as Kokua Tax ("we," "us," or "our"), respects the privacy of the people who visit our website. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through the website located at kokuatax.com, including www.kokuatax.com (the "Site"), how we use it, who we share it with, and what choices you have.

This Policy applies to information collected through the Site. It does not govern information you provide to us after you become a client under a signed engagement agreement, which is handled under that agreement and under the federal rules described in Section 4 below.

This Policy is incorporated into our Terms of Service. By using the Site, you agree to both.

2. Information We Collect

Information you give us

When you complete a contact form, request a consultation, request a guide or other resource, or otherwise write to us through the Site, we collect what you choose to provide. Depending on the form, that may include your name, email address, telephone number, a description of your tax situation, the taxing authorities involved, an approximate amount owed, the tax years or periods concerned, whether returns are unfiled, whether you have received notices, and how you heard about us.

Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, our hosting provider and our security tools automatically record technical information including your IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, the pages you view, the page that referred you, and the date and time of your visit.

Consent records

Where you tick a box consenting to be contacted by telephone or text message, we record the exact wording of the consent shown to you, the date and time you gave it, and the IP address it was given from. We keep that record so that we can demonstrate the consent you gave.

Marketing and source information

We record how you arrived at the Site—for example the search engine, advertisement, or referring website—together with any campaign identifiers contained in the link you followed.

3. How We Use Information

We use the information described above to:

• respond to your inquiry and answer your questions;
• assess whether we are able to help with your situation, and tell you if we are not;
• arrange, confirm, and remind you about consultations;
• send you a guide or other resource you have requested;
• communicate with you about our services, where you have consented to that;
• operate, secure, maintain, and improve the Site;
• understand which sources bring people to us, so we can direct our effort sensibly; and
• comply with our legal, regulatory, and professional obligations.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not rent or trade it. We do not use information submitted through the Site for any purpose unrelated to your inquiry or to our services.

4. Taxpayer Information—Special Protections

We are a tax practice, and information furnished to us in connection with the preparation of a return or the resolution of a tax matter is subject to federal law that goes well beyond ordinary privacy practice.

Internal Revenue Code section 7216 makes the knowing or reckless unauthorized disclosure or use of tax return information a criminal offense for a tax return preparer.

Internal Revenue Code section 6713 imposes civil penalties for the same conduct.

Federal safeguards requirements applicable to tax practitioners require us to maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards protecting client information, and to obtain contractual assurances from service providers who may encounter it.

In practice this means we do not disclose or use taxpayer information for any purpose other than providing the services you have engaged us for, except where you consent in writing or the law requires it. Anyone working on our systems who might encounter such information—including contractors—is bound in writing to the same restrictions before they are given access.

5. Communications and Your Consent

If you give us your email address or telephone number, we will use them to respond to your inquiry and to discuss our services with you.

If you separately tick a consent box authorizing calls or text messages, we may contact you at the number you provided, including by automated dialing system, prerecorded message, and SMS, for marketing and follow-up. That consent is never a condition of buying any service. Message and data rates may apply and message frequency varies. You can withdraw consent at any time—reply STOP to any text message, use the unsubscribe link in any email, or contact us using the details in Section 14. Reply HELP to any text for assistance.

Withdrawing consent to marketing does not stop us sending you messages we need to send about a matter we are actively handling for you.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies. Some are strictly necessary—they keep the Site working, remember your preferences, and support security tools such as spam and bot protection. Others help us understand how the Site is used in aggregate, so we can improve it.

Most browsers let you refuse or delete cookies through their settings. Blocking strictly necessary cookies may stop parts of the Site working properly.

7. How We Share Information

We share personal information only in the circumstances set out below.

Service providers

We use third parties to run the Site and communicate with you—including website hosting, email delivery, form processing, spam and bot protection, appointment scheduling, and customer relationship management. They may process your information only on our instructions, only to provide services to us, and are bound to protect it.

Professional advisers

We may share information with our own legal, accounting, or insurance advisers where necessary.

Legal requirements

We may disclose information where required by law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or other legal process, or where necessary to protect our rights, our clients, or the safety of any person.

Business transfer

If the firm is merged, acquired, or its assets sold, information may transfer as part of that transaction, subject to the protections in this Policy.

We do not share personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

8. Data Security

We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information against loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include restricting system access to named individuals who need it, requiring multi-factor authentication, requiring written confidentiality and security commitments from contractors before access is granted, and reviewing those arrangements periodically.

No method of transmitting or storing information is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. This is one reason we ask you not to send sensitive tax documents through the Site.

9. How Long We Keep Information

We keep inquiry information for as long as needed to respond to you and, where the inquiry does not become an engagement, for a period of 180 days afterwards in case you come back to us. Consent records are kept for as long as we may need to evidence the consent given. Information relating to clients is retained under the retention requirements applicable to tax practice records specified in your engagement letter for services to be rendered.

10. Your Choices and Rights

You may:

• ask what personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• ask us to delete information, where we are not required to keep it;
• withdraw consent to marketing calls, texts, or emails at any time; and
• ask us to stop contacting you altogether.

Contact us using the details in Section 14 and we will respond within a reasonable time. We may need to verify your identity first. Some information cannot be deleted where we are required by law or professional obligation to retain it.

11. Children’s Privacy

The Site is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has provided us with information, contact us and we will delete it.

12. Third-Party Links

The Site may link to other websites or embed third-party tools. We do not control them and are not responsible for their privacy practices. Their own policies govern what they do with your information.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. The revised version takes effect when posted to the Site and the “Last Updated” date above will change. Where a change materially affects how we handle information already collected, we will take reasonable steps to tell you.

14. Contact Us

Questions about this Policy, or requests concerning your information, may be directed to: