Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

This Privacy Policy applies to The Tax Lead Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (Company Number: 14111081), whose registered office is at 37 Orsett Road, Grays, Essex RM17 5DS.

The Tax Lead Limited is the data controller responsible for your personal data collected through this website and in connection with our accountancy and tax advisory services.

We are regulated by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and process personal data in compliance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at: [email protected]

2. Data We Collect

We collect personal data in the following ways:

Information you provide directly

• Contact forms: Name, email address, phone number, company name, enquiry details and the service you are interested in
• CV submissions (careers): Name, email address, phone number, CV documents, cover letters, employment history and qualifications
• Client onboarding: Full name, date of birth, address, national insurance number, UTR number, company details, financial information and identity documents required for our regulated services
• Email and telephone communications: Any personal information contained in communications you send to us
• Newsletter subscriptions: Email address

Information collected automatically

• Website usage data: IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, time spent on pages, referral source and other analytics data
• Cookies: See Section 7 for details of cookies we use

Information from third parties

• Information from HMRC, Companies House or other public sources as part of providing our accountancy and tax services
• Information from referral partners such as Fernside Accounting Ltd, with your knowledge

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

• Responding to enquiries: To respond to contact form submissions, email enquiries and telephone calls
• Providing our services: To deliver accountancy, tax advisory and compliance services you have engaged us for
• Client onboarding and identity verification: To comply with our Anti-Money Laundering (AML) obligations and ACCA regulatory requirements
• HMRC and regulatory submissions: To prepare and submit tax returns, accounts and other regulatory filings on your behalf
• Invoicing and payments: To issue invoices and process payments for our services
• Recruitment: To assess CV submissions and contact candidates regarding career opportunities
• Marketing communications: To send newsletters and tax updates to those who have subscribed — you may unsubscribe at any time
• Website improvement: To understand how visitors use our website and improve its content and functionality
• Legal compliance: To meet our obligations under applicable law, including tax law, AML regulations and ACCA rules

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:

• Contract performance (Article 6(1)(b)): Processing necessary to perform a contract with you or take steps prior to entering into a contract — including providing our accountancy and tax services
• Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)): Processing necessary to comply with our legal obligations, including HMRC requirements, AML regulations and ACCA regulatory rules
• Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): Processing for our legitimate business interests, including responding to enquiries, improving our website and communicating with prospective clients — where these interests are not overridden by your rights
• Consent (Article 6(1)(a)): Where you have given clear consent — including newsletter subscriptions, cookie consent and CV submissions for future recruitment. You may withdraw consent at any time

5. Sharing Your Data

We do not sell your personal data. We do not share your personal data with third parties for their own marketing purposes. We may share your data with the following parties in limited circumstances:

• HMRC: When submitting tax returns, VAT returns or other regulatory filings on your behalf as part of our services
• Companies House: When filing confirmation statements, annual accounts or other statutory documents
• Our technology providers: Including Web3Forms (contact form processing), website hosting providers and cloud storage providers — all bound by appropriate data processing agreements
• Professional advisers: Including solicitors or other specialists where necessary to provide our services to you, under strict confidentiality obligations
• ACCA: As our regulatory body, we may be required to disclose information as part of our regulatory obligations
• Legal and regulatory authorities: Where required by law, court order or regulatory authority
• Fernside Accounting Ltd: Our sister company, only where you have been referred between firms with your knowledge and consent

Any third parties who process personal data on our behalf are required to do so only in accordance with our instructions and are bound by appropriate data processing agreements.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and in accordance with our legal obligations. Our standard retention periods are:

• Client files and tax records: 7 years from the end of the relevant tax year, in accordance with HMRC requirements and our ACCA obligations
• AML and identity verification records: 5 years from the end of the client relationship, in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017
• General enquiry and contact data: 2 years from the date of last contact, unless you become a client
• CV and recruitment data: 12 months from submission, unless you request earlier deletion
• Newsletter subscriber data: Until you unsubscribe
• Website analytics data: 26 months (standard analytics retention)

After the relevant retention period, personal data is securely deleted or anonymised.

7. Cookies

Our website uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — to improve your browsing experience and understand how our website is used. We use the following types of cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies: Essential for the website to function. These cannot be disabled
• Analytics cookies: Used to understand how visitors interact with our website, including pages visited and time spent. We use this data in aggregate and anonymised form only
• Functional cookies: Used to remember your preferences and improve your experience

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our website. For full details of the cookies we use, please see our Cookie Policy.

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (Subject Access Request)
• Right to rectification: You have the right to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data
• Right to erasure: You have the right to request deletion of your personal data where it is no longer necessary for us to retain it, subject to our legal obligations
• Right to restriction: You have the right to ask us to restrict processing of your personal data in certain circumstances
• Right to data portability: You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format
• Right to object: You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time — without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within one calendar month. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

9. Data Security

We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, loss, destruction or alteration. These measures include:

• Secure encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS) for all data transmitted via our website
• Password-protected and access-controlled systems for client files
• Restricted access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
• Regular review of our data security practices
• Confidentiality agreements with all staff and contractors who handle personal data

In the unlikely event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the ICO within 72 hours and, where required, notify you directly.

10. International Data Transfers

Our offshore operations in Dhaka, Bangladesh may involve the transfer of certain data outside the UK. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with UK GDPR, including:

• Contractual clauses that provide equivalent protections to UK data protection law
• Strict confidentiality agreements with all offshore team members
• Access controls and security measures consistent with our UK standards

Client-facing data and sensitive personal information are handled exclusively by our UK team. Our Dhaka team handles only the operational data necessary to support accounting workflows, under UK supervision.

11. Children’s Data

Our website and services are not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child, please contact us immediately at [email protected] and we will delete it promptly.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or business operations. When we make significant changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Continued use of our website or services after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or our data processing practices, please contact us:

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been breached. The ICO can be contacted at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.