Franchise Tax Board Privacy Policy Statement

The privacy and security of your personal information is of the utmost importance to us. We collect relevant personal information through lawful means to administer the California Revenue and Taxation Code (R&TC).

We communicate the purpose for which the information will be used, at or prior to the time of collection. Any subsequent use will be consistent with the original purpose.

Your personal information will not be disclosed, made available, or otherwise used for purposes other than those specified in this policy, except with your consent, or as authorized by law or regulation.

We use security technologies and provide training to all employees to protect your personal information from loss, unauthorized access, use, modification or disclosure by internal and external sources.

Your Rights

You have the right to know what types of personal information we gather about you, and how we use it. You may review your personal information and bring any inaccuracies to our attention. To access your records, submit a request to our Disclosure Office using one of the methods listed in the Contact Us section.

Our policies regarding the personal information we collect and manage are governed by law, including the Information Practices Act (Civil Code 1798 – 1798.78), except as provided in R&TC Section 19570. Go to leginfo.legislature.ca.gov and search for Information Practices Act. You may also refer to our IPA section within our Privacy page; go to ftb.ca.gov and search for Information Practices Act (IPA)

For more information on our use, collection, and disclosure of personal information, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for 1131 to get any of the following privacy documents:

Protecting Your Privacy

We use security technologies to protect all of your information on our entire website from unauthorized viewing or corruption, by either internal or external sources, and to protect against loss, unauthorized access, viewing, use, modification, or disclosure. To help you conduct business with us safely and privately, we require that you use the latest version of your browser. For more information, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for Website help. We label any “non-secure” forms and explain that you should not use them to send confidential information.

There are things you can do to protect your privacy. Be sure to update your browser and operating system regularly. For more information on how you can protect your privacy, go to the Privacy and Data Security page at oag.ca.gov/privacy on the Office of the Attorney General website.

Any information we acquire, including information collected on our website, may be released if requested as stated in the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Civil Code 1798, et seq.).

Electronically collected personal information is exempt from requests made under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 7920.000 et seq.). We will not distribute or sell any electronically collected personal information about users to any third party without the user’s written permission, except as authorized by law.

You have the right to have any electronically collected personal information deleted, without reuse or distribution, subject to R&TC Section 19570. To request deletion of your electronically collected personal information, submit a request to our Disclosure Office using one of the methods listed in the Contact Us section.

Information we collect for specific requests

We collect the information listed below to respond to your requests.

Registration

We use your name, address, and email address to contact you about services on our website, such as when you register for events and workshops.

Conference material orders

We use your name, address, and email address to process your order or contact you if we have a problem processing your order.

Subscriptions

We use your email address to send your subscription materials, such as Tax News and e-file News. If you provide us with your Zip Code, we can send you information specific to your area. You may subscribe or unsubscribe at any time.

Email

We use your name, email address, and phone number to respond to your request.

e-Services

To use our interactive online services, you will need to provide personal information for authentication and business purposes. This information may include, but is not limited to:

  • Your social security, business identification, or tax professional identification number.
  • Information from a previously filed California tax return, as originally filed.
  • Your contact information, such as your last name, address, telephone number, and email address.

What we do with the information collected

We use the information gathered to help us improve our website, verify users, carry out duties related to information security, and to process your requests. We do not distribute or sell your electronically collected personal information to anyone outside of the Franchise Tax Board without your written consent unless authorized by law.

We may be required to comply with subpoenas, court orders, and government orders, and provide information to the extent permissible by law.

Links to other websites

Our website includes links to other websites. We provide these links as a convenience. Additionally:

  • We receive tax returns filed online through third parties.
  • We use a third party to process credit card payments.

Read the privacy policy of any website that collects your personal information. Their privacy policies are not under our control.

Cookies

When you visit a website, a small file called a cookie can be sent to your computer. This cookie collects information about how you browse the site.

Cookies are used to:

  • Identify and customize webpages for you.
  • Monitor how you use the website so we can offer improvements based on your needs.

Cookies do not contain personal or confidential information

However, cookies may contain "electronically collected personal information." According to Government Code Section 11015.5, electronically collected personal information means any information that is maintained by an agency that identifies or describes an individual user, including, but not limited to, his or her name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, medical or employment history, password, electronic mail address, and information that reveals any network location or identity, but excludes any information manually submitted to a state agency by a user, whether electronically or in written form, and information on or relating to individuals who are users serving in a business capacity, including, but not limited to, business owners, officers, or principals of that business.

"Electronically collected personal information" that we automatically collect includes your domain name or Internet Protocol address, and statistical information about which web pages you visit. If you voluntarily participate in an activity that asks for specific information (i.e., completing a request for assistance, registering for account access, sending an e-mail, or participating in a survey), more detailed data will be collected. If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of the website.

How we use cookies

Using our site requires you to allow per-session cookies.

Session cookies are:

  • Stored in the memory of your computer.
  • Only available during an active browser session.
  • Erased as soon as you close your Web browser.

If you do not enable cookies, some functions of our site may not work properly.

Go to whatismybrowser.com and search for Enable Cookies (third-party site) to find your browser and learn how to enable cookies.

Information we collect

Each time you visit our website, we automatically record the following information:

Information

Definition

Date

Date of visit.

Time

Time of visit.

Client IP Address

Your Internet Protocol Address - Your computer’s address.

Server IP Address

Internet Protocol Address of our web server – Our server’s address.

Referrer

Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the web page that sent the requested file.

HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol – Software that runs the web.

HTTP Status

Codes that indicate the condition of the request, report errors, and other necessary information; e.g., 404 Requested Page Not Found.

HTTP Request URL

The address of the web page or file you requested.

Bytes Sent

Amount of data you downloaded during your visit.

Bytes Received

Amount of data you uploaded during your visit.

User Agent

Name and version of your web browser or other software that requested information from us.

Protocol Version

Version of HTTP used by your web browser.

Cookie

A small test file, primarily used to customize webpages for the visitor. We limit our use of cookies.

How we protect your information

We follow strict rules to protect your personal data. We make sure your information is:

  • Only obtained lawfully.
  • Used for specified, explicit purposes.
  • Not disclosed, made available, or used for a purpose other than those specified, except with your consent or as required by law or regulation.
  • Used in a way that is adequate, relevant, and limited to only what is necessary.
  • Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
  • Protected against loss, unauthorized access, use, modification, or disclosure.

Notification of changes

We may change our privacy policy. When changes are made we will promptly post those changes and implement them 30 days from that posting date.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this policy, contact our Chief Privacy Officer.

Mail
Disclosure Office MS A181
Franchise Tax Board
PO Box 1468
Sacramento, CA 95812-1468
FTBAskPrivacy@ftb.ca.gov
Phone
916-845-1468

Privacy Policy effective date: April 10, 2023.

FTB 4290, Franchise Tax Board Privacy Policy Statement PDF