Security and Privacy Under IRS Tax Rules

📋 Overview

Tax practices are prime targets. They hold exactly what criminals want (Social Security numbers, bank accounts, and income records), often guarded by small teams without dedicated IT staff. AI has made the attacks more convincing, from error-free phishing to cloned voices and fake IRS contacts, while the rules governing taxpayer data keep tightening. Every paid preparer must meet federal security requirements and attest to them at PTIN renewal. Section 7216 makes unauthorized disclosure of client tax information a crime, and the IRS has made clear that Circular 230 duties apply in full to AI-assisted work. This session covers the threats aimed at tax professionals, the protections that prevent a breach, and the rules that govern how taxpayer data is protected and used. If you handle client tax data, you're responsible for protecting it whether or not you have an IT department. You'll learn how today's attacks on tax practices work, which protections matter most and why, what federal law and the IRS expect of you, and when using AI with client information requires written consent. You'll leave with a clear picture of your obligations and the risks worth addressing first.

👥 Who Should Attend

Tax professionals seeking IRS-compliant data security should attend.

🎯 Learning Objectives

• Recognize the AI-driven scams, account takeovers, and identity theft schemes aimed at tax practices and their clients
• Identify the core protections that prevent most data breaches in a tax practice
• Identify the federal requirements that govern how tax professionals safeguard, use, and disclose taxpayer data
• Determine when using an AI tool with client tax information requires written consent under Section 7216
• Evaluate a client consent form against the Section 7216 content requirements

🚀 What You'll Walk Away With

• You'll spot the new AI-driven phishing attempts and voice clones before they trick your staff.
• You'll understand the federal requirements behind your PTIN security attestation.
• You'll identify exactly which security protections actually stop breaches in a small office.
• You'll know when a client needs to sign a consent form before you use AI tools.
• You'll spot the gaps in a client consent form before they put you on the wrong side of Section 7216.

📚 Major Topics

1. Threats aimed at tax practices: AI-driven scams, account takeovers, and client identity theft
2. Preventing a breach: the core protections every practice needs, and why
3. The rules: federal safeguard requirements, Section 7216, Circular 230, and the PTIN attestation
4. Privacy in the AI era: client consent and safe use of AI with tax data

🏷️ Topics

❓ Questions

✍️ A Note from the Author

I started seeing more colleagues fall for sophisticated scams and realized we can't rely on basic intuition anymore. I wrote this course because your tax practice is a high-value target for criminals, and I want you to feel confident in your defenses. We'll look at how to meet your federal obligations without needing a computer science degree.