Privacy Policy

Overview

This Privacy Policy explains what information HomeTaxCalc.com (the 'site') collects, how we use it, and the choices you have. We operate a free calculator and education site, and our approach to privacy is deliberately minimal: we collect only what we need to run the site, serve relevant advertising, and answer messages you send us. This policy applies to all pages on hometaxcalc.com and our associated calculator network.

By using the site you consent to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please discontinue use. We will post any material change on this page and update the effective date at the top. Where the law requires explicit consent — for example, non-essential cookies in regions under the GDPR — we request it through our cookie notice before setting those cookies.

Information We Collect Directly

We collect information you choose to send us. If you use the contact form or email us, we receive your message, the address you used, and any details you include such as a state or county name. We use this only to reply and, where you report a data error, to verify and correct it. We do not sell contact messages or add them to a marketing list.

We do not require an account to use any calculator, so we never collect a username, password, or billing information through the site itself. Any paid product would be handled by a separate processor and described in its own terms at that time.

Information Collected Automatically

Like most websites, we and our advertising partners automatically receive standard technical data: IP address, browser type, device type, referring page, and the pages you view. This helps us understand which calculators are useful, spot broken pages, and keep the site fast and secure. We generally process this data in aggregate and do not use it to identify you personally.

We also use cookies and similar technologies, described next. You can disable cookies in your browser; the calculators will still work, though some convenience features and ad personalization will not.

Cookies and Advertising

The site displays advertising through Google AdSense. Google and its partners use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. The DoubleClick cookie, in particular, helps Google and its partners show relevant ads. This is standard industry practice and helps keep the site free.

You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings or the widely used opt-out page at aboutads.info. You can also manage cookies through your browser. Under frameworks such as the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework, where required we present a consent choice before non-essential cookies are set, and we honor a global privacy control signal where supported.

Analytics

We may use privacy-respecting analytics to measure traffic and performance — for example, which guides load slowly or which calculator is used most. Analytics typically rely on first-party cookies or aggregated logs and are configured to minimize personal data. We use these insights only to improve the site, not to build advertising profiles.

Because analytics and advertising cookies can overlap, the same controls described in the cookies section apply. Disabling advertising cookies also limits most analytics personalization, which is fine for a visitor who simply wants to use a calculator.

How We Use Information

We use collected information to operate and improve the site: serving and measuring ads, diagnosing errors, responding to messages, and understanding which content helps homeowners. We may aggregate usage data to report broadly (for example, 'the escrow calculator is our most-used tool') without exposing individuals.

We do not use your contact messages to advertise to you, and we do not share them with advertisers. The line is simple: data that runs the site stays with the site; data that personalizes ads is handled by our advertising partners under their own notices, which we link to so you can control them.

Third-Party Vendors

Key third parties include Google (AdSense and associated ad and analytics services) and, for any linked sibling calculator sites, those operators. Each acts as an independent controller for the data it processes and provides its own privacy controls. We encourage you to review Google's privacy and advertising policies, because your ad choices there govern personalized ads across the web, not only on our pages.

We do not transmit your contact messages to advertising vendors, and we do not place advertising cookies in a way designed to tie a calculator input (such as a home value you typed) back to your identity. Inputs stay in your browser session unless you choose to send them to us.

Data Retention and Security

We keep contact messages only as long as needed to resolve your request and maintain a record of corrections; we periodically delete older threads. Technical logs used for security and performance are retained on a rolling basis, typically a short window, and then discarded or anonymized.

We protect data with standard measures appropriate to a small publisher: restricted access, transport encryption (HTTPS), and least-privilege handling. No website can guarantee absolute security, but we work to keep your information confidential and to limit what we store in the first place.

Your Rights (GDPR and CCPA)

If you are in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, you have rights to access, correct, export, or delete personal data we hold about you, and to object to or restrict certain processing. If you are a California resident, you have rights to know what we collect, to delete it, and to opt out of any 'sale' or 'sharing' of personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA;because we use advertising cookies, we treat the GDPR/CCPA opt-out signals as applying to ad personalization.

To exercise any right, email us from the address associated with your request and describe what you need. We will verify your identity lightly and respond within the timeframes the law requires, generally within one month for GDPR requests and within forty-five days for CCPA requests, extended where permitted.

Children's Privacy

The site is intended for adults managing household finances and is not directed to children under thirteen. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If a parent or guardian believes a child has submitted information to us, contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as our practices or the law evolve. Material changes are reflected by a new effective date at the top of this page, and where required by law we will request renewed consent. We encourage you to revisit this page occasionally; continued use after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact Us About Privacy

Questions about this policy or a privacy request can be sent through our contact page. Please label the subject 'Privacy' and tell us your region if you are invoking GDPR or CCPA rights, so we route it correctly. We answer every privacy request we receive.

Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control

Some browsers send a 'Do Not Track' signal and newer ones send a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal. Where our consent tooling supports it, we honor GPC as an opt-out of non-essential, cross-site advertising cookies, because respecting a user's expressed choice is the point of those signals.

If your browser or region does not surface such a signal, the cookie notice and your ad-network controls remain available, so you are never without a way to limit tracking. We prefer explicit, visible controls over silent defaults.

A Note on Our Cookies

Strictly necessary cookies keep the site functioning, such as remembering your dark-mode preference; these do not require consent. Non-essential cookies — advertising and analytics — are the ones we ask about and that you can decline without losing calculator use.

Because the exact cookie names change as vendors update their tags, we describe cookies by purpose rather than a fixed list that would go stale. The functional categories (necessary, analytics, advertising) are what matter for your choices.

International Visitors

The site is published in the United States and aimed at US property taxes, but it is reachable worldwide. If you visit from the EEA, UK, or California, the rights described above apply to you, and we apply the corresponding safeguards to data tied to your visit regardless of where you live.

Non-US visitors should note that US property tax rules do not apply to them; the content is informational about the US system. We do not target other jurisdictions and we do not knowingly collect data from users where we lack a lawful basis to do so.

Children and Student Visitors

Although the site is not directed at children, students researching a civics or economics assignment are welcome and we try to make the explanations classroom-friendly. Teachers may link to a guide for non-commercial educational use; we only ask that the link points to the live page so students see the latest rates.

If a school discovers a student has submitted personal information through our contact form, a parent or teacher can email us referencing 'Privacy' and we will delete it under our children's-privacy commitment above, with no questions that put the student on the spot.