Insurance for tax preparers.

Errors and omissions, cyber, and office coverage for tax preparers and enrolled agents, from one seasonal desk to a year-round practice that adds preparers every spring.

What tax preparers usually carry

Tax preparers errors and omissions
Cyber and identity theft response
Business owner’s policy
Workers’ comp for seasonal staff
Employment practices liability
Crime and fidelity

Watch for these in a tax preparer’s policy

Penalties versus the taxMost policies pay the penalties and interest your mistake caused, but not the tax the client owed all along. Clients often expect both.
Contract preparersPreparers who work for you as contractors may not be insureds on your policy. List them, or require their own E&O.
Stolen taxpayer dataTax files hold names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers. A breach brings notice letters and identity monitoring, which cyber pays for and E&O usually does not.
A written security planPaid preparers are expected to keep a written data security plan, and many cyber applications ask about it before they will quote.
Claims that surface years laterA return can be examined years after you filed it, so claims arrive late. Keep your retroactive date when you switch policies, and buy a tail if you close.

What landlords and business clients ask tax preparers for

General liability for the leaseEven a seasonal storefront lease usually requires general liability naming the landlord, with proof before you get the keys.
Your E&O on fileBusiness clients with payroll and sales tax filings often ask to see your coverage before they sign.
How you protect their dataBusiness clients increasingly ask about your safeguards for taxpayer data, and whether cyber coverage backs them.

Questions tax preparers ask

Straight answers.

The questions we hear most, answered plainly.

Does E&O pay to fix a return I got wrong?

It pays what the client lost because of the error, such as penalties and interest. The time you spend amending the return is usually your own cost.

Do I need coverage if I only prepare returns during tax season?

Yes. Claims come in all year, often after a notice arrives months later. A claims-made policy has to be in force when the claim is made, not only when you filed.

What if someone files a fake return with my client’s data?

That is identity theft, and cyber coverage is what answers: forensics, client notices, credit monitoring, and claims from clients. Most E&O policies exclude data breaches.