1. Who We Are

TaxSimple ("we", "us", "our") operates taxsimple.me, a free UK self-assessment tax calculator. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. What Data We Collect

Data we do NOT collect:

Your tax figures (income, expenses, etc.) — these are stored only in your browser's local storage and never sent to our servers unless you purchase a PDF report.
Your name or address (we do not require account registration).
Credit/debit card details (handled entirely by Stripe).

Data we may collect:

Email address — only if you purchase a PDF report (provided to Stripe during checkout).
Payment information — processed by Stripe; we receive only a payment confirmation and transaction ID.
Tax calculation data — sent to our server only at the moment of PDF generation, then immediately discarded after the PDF is created. We do not store this data.
Analytics data — anonymised page views via Google Analytics 4 (with IP anonymisation enabled).
Device information — browser type, screen size, and operating system via analytics (anonymised).

3. How We Use Your Data

To generate your PDF tax report (one-time processing, not stored).
To process your payment via Stripe.
To send you your PDF report via email (if applicable).
To understand how users interact with our site (anonymised analytics).
To improve the accuracy and functionality of our calculator.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we process data on the following bases:

Contract — processing your payment and delivering your PDF report.
Legitimate interest — anonymised analytics to improve our service.
Consent — any marketing communications (we do not currently send marketing emails).

5. Data Retention

Tax calculation data: Not retained. Processed in memory only during PDF generation, then discarded.
Payment records: Retained by Stripe in accordance with their data retention policy and UK financial regulations.
Email addresses: Retained only within Stripe's system for transaction records. We do not maintain a separate email database.
Analytics data: Retained for 14 months (Google Analytics default), anonymised.

6. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

Stripe (stripe.com) — payment processing. Stripe's privacy policy applies.
Vercel (vercel.com) — website hosting. Data processed on edge servers, including UK nodes.
Google Analytics 4 — anonymised website analytics with IP anonymisation enabled.

7. Cookies

We use minimal cookies:

Essential cookies: Required for Stripe payment processing.
Analytics cookies: Google Analytics (_ga, _gid) — anonymised, can be blocked without affecting functionality.

We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or retargeting technologies.

8. Your Rights (UK GDPR)

You have the right to:

Access any personal data we hold about you.
Request deletion of your data.
Object to processing based on legitimate interest.
Data portability.
Lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) — ico.org.uk.

In practice, because we store almost no personal data, there is typically nothing to access, correct, or delete. Your tax figures never leave your browser unless you purchase a report, and even then they are not retained.

9. Data Security

All data transmitted to and from taxsimple.me is encrypted via HTTPS (TLS 1.3).
HTTPS is enforced on all pages via our hosting provider (Vercel) with automatic TLS certificates.
Payment data is handled exclusively by Stripe (PCI DSS Level 1 certified).
We do not have access to your full card number at any point.

10. Children

Our service is not intended for individuals under 16. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Continued use of the service constitutes acceptance.

12. Contact

For privacy-related questions or to exercise your rights, contact us at privacy@taxsimple.me.