Your Tax Practice Needs More Than a WISP File Sitting on a Computer
Build the written plan, safeguards, vendor controls, incident procedures, and annual evidence your practice actually needs.
Start free. Complete it yourself for $19.99–$149, or get assisted implementation. A four-step WISP product ladder for tax and accounting firms — from a free readiness check to a full operating and evidence system. A WISP is not useful merely because it exists on paper. It becomes useful when the firm can explain what information it protects, who is responsible, what safeguards are in place, how risks are assessed, how vendors and users are controlled, what happens during an incident, and what evidence shows that the program is being maintained. The ladder lets a firm start at the level it actually needs instead of paying for a larger compliance package before it knows where its gaps are.
WISP Readiness Worksheet
Firms asking, “What am I missing?”
Fast diagnostic and red-flag check
Tax Preparer WISP Starter Template
Small firms under 5,000 consumers needing the basic written plan
Fill-in WISP, core safeguards, Security Six, annual review
Tax Preparer Pro DIY WISP Kit
Firms that want to build and maintain the program themselves
Guided implementation: risk, inventory, access, vendor, testing, training, incident, and annual tools
Tax Preparer WISP Compliance System
Firms that want the operating and evidence system
WISP + SOPs + controlled evidence + incident/FTC records + annual oversight
WISP Assisted Implementation
Practices that want the system populated around their firm, not fully self-implemented
You complete an intake; we help populate and organize the WISP system around your practice and return a tailored implementation package. Assisted setup — not legal review, not a compliance certification
Why now, before season
The FTC Safeguards Rule applies to your practice today — not just during filing season. The firms that struggle are the ones starting a security program in January, between client calls.
- Pre-season is when you can actually think: map data, pick safeguards, write procedures once.
- PTIN renewal and preparer-credential season is the natural moment to put the file in order.
- Every tier upgrades with full credit within 14 days — starting small now costs nothing later.
Start smaller without getting locked in
Paid tiers use a 14-calendar-day upgrade-credit policy. A Starter buyer can apply the full $19.99 purchase price toward Pro DIY within 14 days. A Pro DIY buyer can apply the full $79 purchase price toward Premium within 14 days.
Start with the level that makes sense today without losing the purchase price if the next tier becomes the better fit.
What makes this different
Built specifically for tax and accounting practices rather than for generic small-business security.
Clearly separates the fewer-than-5,000-consumer exception from the Safeguards Rule requirements that still apply.
Uses the IRS Security Six as a recognizable tax-practice operating layer without pretending it replaces the broader FTC requirements.
Separates a basic plan, guided implementation, and a full evidence system so buyers are not forced into an oversized product.
Includes tax-professional incident-response paths, including IRS Stakeholder Liaison and state reporting considerations.
The “under 5,000 consumers” exception — read it carefully
The fewer-than-5,000-consumer exception relieves qualifying practices from *some* Safeguards Rule requirements — it is not a wholesale exemption from information-security obligations.
- The exception can change as your practice grows — a system sized for the exception still needs to cover the obligations that remain.
- Starter is designed for practices under the threshold; Pro DIY and the Compliance System build the fuller program that applies regardless.
Questions
No. The fewer-than-5,000-consumer exception relieves qualifying practices from some requirements — like certain written-risk-assessment elements — while core obligations remain. If you are near the threshold or unsure, choose Pro DIY or the Compliance System.
Start with the free WISP Readiness Worksheet. If you already know you need a written plan, move directly to Starter or Pro DIY.
Starter is designed for firms maintaining customer information concerning fewer than 5,000 consumers that need the basic written plan.
Choose Pro DIY.
Choose Premium.
No. Compliance depends on the firm's actual controls, implementation, facts, systems, vendors, personnel, and applicable law.
You complete an intake; we help populate and organize the WISP system around your practice and return a tailored implementation package. It is assisted setup — not legal review, not a certification of compliance, and not a guarantee of any outcome.
These are drafting and operational aids, not legal advice or a compliance guarantee. No tier is IRS approved, FTC approved, or audit proof.
Not sure where to start?
Download the free WISP Readiness Worksheet. It will show you which parts of the program are already in place and which need work.
Get the free worksheet