0423 Publ 5417 (PDF)

Official source: IRS Forms, Instructions & Publications (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5417.pdf), retrieved 2026-10-03. U.S. Government work (17 U.S.C. § 105).

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Basic Security Plan Considerations for Tax Professionals

• Know your customer information (names, addresses, email addresses, bank accounts/routing numbers)

• Have employee protocols

• New hires (training, accesses, need to know)

• Departing employees (physical and system accesses, keys/passwords/files/thumb drives)

• Protect passwords (length, upper case/lower case, numbers, special characters, phrases)

• Encrypt files and email; use anti-virus software and establish firewall protections

• Dispose properly (files, computers, printers, thumb drives)

• Know what your insurance covers and know who to contact in event of breach

This document is not intended to be all inclusive, but as a starting point for security plan development. Security plans should be appropriate for the type and size of your business.

Security Plan Resources Available to Tax Professionals

Information Security Plan for your Tax & Accounting Practice www.IRS.gov

Information Security www.NIST.gov

Safeguards Rule www.FTC.gov

Publication 5417 (Rev. 4-2023) Catalog Number 74530F Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov