Important: TaxHound's software does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Premium subscribers receive a focused qualification review as described in Section 6 below. By using TaxHound, you acknowledge and agree to the following terms.
1. General Disclaimer
TaxHound is a tool designed to help you calculate Research and Development (R&D) tax credits under federal and California state tax laws. TaxHound helps you upload and organize your data — including HR and payroll files, time surveys, invoices, and prior year tax returns. It generates surveys to assess whether your projects qualify, determines qualifying expenses from supplies and contracts, and computes estimated R&D tax credit amounts based on the information you provide.
All calculations and outputs generated by the TaxHound software are estimates only and are based solely on the data and responses you provide. The software does not independently verify, audit, or validate your data, and results may not reflect the latest tax laws or regulations. On its own, TaxHound's software is not a substitute for professional tax advice.
TaxHound's Premium subscription includes support hours with a tax professional who holds a valid Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) and has extensive experience reviewing R&D tax credits for businesses of all sizes — from startups to large multinationals. Premium subscribers receive a qualification review as described in Section 6. Starter subscribers receive support hours for onboarding, data setup, and upload guidance only.
2. Your Responsibility
(a) Accuracy of Your Data. You are responsible for making sure all information you provide to TaxHound — including employee data, payroll figures, project descriptions, time allocations, and invoice details — is accurate, complete, and consistent with your financial records. TaxHound relies on your data as provided and does not independently verify it against your books, accounting systems, or source documents. If your data is inaccurate or incomplete, the results will be too, and TaxHound is not liable for errors caused by bad inputs.
(b) Your Numerical Inputs. You are solely responsible for the accuracy of all dollar amounts, wages, hours, and other numerical data you enter into TaxHound. This includes payroll figures, invoice amounts, time allocations, gross receipts, and prior year R&D spending. TaxHound's qualification review (Section 6) does not cover, verify, or take responsibility for any of these numerical inputs — only whether your activities appear to qualify.
(c) Your Representations. When you answer survey questions, categorize invoices, describe projects, or allocate employee time, you are making representations about your business activities. TaxHound does not verify whether these representations are truthful or accurate. Any errors, omissions, or misrepresentations in your responses are solely your responsibility.
(d) Your Overall Tax Return. R&D tax credits are one component of your tax return. You are solely responsible for your overall tax return, including making sure your claimed credits tie to your financial statements, that your return is filed correctly, and that all positions taken are substantiated. TaxHound does not prepare, review, sign, or take responsibility for any tax return or any part of your tax return other than the R&D credit qualification assessment described in Section 6.
(e) Tax Compliance. You are responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local tax laws. It is your obligation to determine whether claiming an R&D credit is appropriate for your situation and to ensure all requirements are met.
3. Not a Tax Return Preparer
TaxHound does not prepare or sign your tax return. TaxHound's software generates estimates and supporting schedules based on your inputs, and TaxHound's tax professional may review whether your activities appear to qualify for R&D credits (see Section 6). Neither the software outputs nor the qualification review constitutes preparation of a tax return or any portion thereof. Your tax return preparer — not TaxHound — is responsible for reviewing, preparing, and signing your tax return, including any Form 6765 or state equivalent attached to it.
4. Disclaimer of Warranties
THE TAXHOUND SOFTWARE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT TAXHOUND WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY REGARDING THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY TAX CALCULATIONS GENERATED BY THE SOFTWARE.
THE QUALIFICATION REVIEW PROVIDED TO PREMIUM SUBSCRIBERS (AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 6) IS BASED ENTIRELY ON THE PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS AND ACTIVITY INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE REVIEW WILL IDENTIFY EVERY QUALIFICATION ISSUE, THAT YOUR CREDITS WILL BE ACCEPTED BY THE IRS OR ANY STATE TAXING AUTHORITY, OR THAT THE REVIEW WILL PRODUCE ANY PARTICULAR TAX OUTCOME. THE QUALIFICATION REVIEW DOES NOT COVER AND MAKES NO WARRANTY REGARDING YOUR NUMERICAL INPUTS, CALCULATIONS, OR DATA ACCURACY.
5. Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL TAXHOUND, ITS PARTNERS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF TAXHOUND (INCLUDING THE QUALIFICATION REVIEW), REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH DAMAGES ARE BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY.
IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO TAXHOUND IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.
YOU SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT TAXHOUND SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM IRS AUDITS, TAX PENALTIES, INTEREST, OR TAX DEFICIENCIES RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF TAXHOUND, RELIANCE ON ITS SOFTWARE OUTPUTS, OR RELIANCE ON ANY QUALIFICATION REVIEW PROVIDED UNDER SECTION 6.
6. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless TaxHound and its partners, employees, agents, licensors, and suppliers from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from: (i) your use of TaxHound or any data or content you submit; (ii) inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading data or representations you provide; (iii) your violation of these Terms of Service; (iv) your violation of any third-party rights, including intellectual property rights; (v) any claim that your use of TaxHound caused damage to a third party; (vi) any tax filing, claim, or position taken on your tax return; or (vii) any credit claimed based on activities that do not actually meet the requirements for R&D tax credits.
7. R&D Credit Qualification Review (Premium Subscribers)
What's included. Premium subscribers receive a focused review of whether their projects and activities appear to qualify for R&D tax credits, within their included support hours (10 hours). This qualification review is based on the project descriptions, activity summaries, and survey responses you provide through TaxHound. The review is performed by TaxHound's tax professional and covers the subjective, qualitative aspects of R&D credit eligibility — such as whether an activity involves technological uncertainty, whether there was a process of experimentation, and whether the research is technological in nature.
What's NOT included. The qualification review is limited to whether your activities appear to qualify. It does not include:
- Review, verification, or validation of any dollar amounts, payroll figures, wages, invoice amounts, time allocations, gross receipts, or other numerical data you entered
- Review of TaxHound's credit calculations or computed amounts
- Review of your overall tax return or any non-R&D-credit tax positions
- An audit or verification of your underlying books, financial statements, or accounting records
- A guarantee that your credits will be accepted by the IRS or any state taxing authority
- Preparation or signing of any tax return or form
- Legal advice or representation in the event of an audit or dispute
Your data, your responsibility. The qualification review is based entirely on the descriptions and representations you provide through TaxHound. If your project descriptions are inaccurate, incomplete, or do not reflect your actual business activities, the review cannot catch that. You remain solely responsible for the accuracy of all data — both qualitative descriptions and numerical inputs — and for the decision to claim any credit on your tax return.
Scope and availability. The review is subject to the support hours included in your plan. If the review cannot be completed within the included hours due to complexity or volume, additional hours may be purchased at TaxHound's then-current hourly rate. TaxHound reserves the right to decline a review that falls outside its area of expertise.
You, or a qualified tax professional acting on your behalf, must independently verify all outputs generated by TaxHound — including any reviewed qualifications — for accuracy and completeness before claiming any R&D tax credits on any tax return.
8. IRS Circular 230 Notice
In accordance with IRS Circular 230, any tax guidance provided through TaxHound — whether generated by the software or provided during support hours — is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii) promoting, marketing, or recommending any tax-related matter to another party.
9. Dispute Resolution
You and TaxHound agree to resolve any disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms, your use of TaxHound, or any qualification review provided under Section 7, through the following process. Please read this section carefully — it affects your legal rights, including your right to file a lawsuit in court and to have a jury trial.
(a) Informal Resolution First. Before initiating any formal dispute resolution, you agree to contact us at legal@taxhound.io with a written description of your claim, including the facts, the amount in dispute, and the relief you are seeking. TaxHound will have thirty (30) days to attempt to resolve the dispute informally. You may not initiate mediation, arbitration, or any court proceeding until this 30-day period has elapsed.
(b) Mediation. If the dispute is not resolved informally within thirty (30) days, either party may initiate mediation administered by JAMS in Alameda County, California. The mediator shall be selected by mutual agreement or, failing that, by JAMS. Each party shall bear its own attorneys' fees and one-half of the mediator's fees and costs. Mediation shall be completed within sixty (60) days of initiation unless the parties mutually agree to extend.
(c) Binding Arbitration. If mediation does not resolve the dispute, either party may initiate binding arbitration administered by JAMS under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures. The arbitration shall be conducted by a single arbitrator in Alameda County, California. The arbitrator shall have the authority to award any relief that would be available in court, including damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys' fees where authorized by statute. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. Each party shall bear its own attorneys' fees unless the arbitrator determines that a party's claim or defense was frivolous, in which case the arbitrator may award reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party.
(d) Class Action and Jury Trial Waiver. YOU AND TAXHOUND AGREE THAT EACH PARTY MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE MORE THAN ONE PERSON'S CLAIMS AND MAY NOT PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU ARE WAIVING YOUR RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY AND TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.
(e) Exceptions. Notwithstanding the above, either party may: (i) bring an individual action in small claims court in Alameda County, California, if the claim falls within the court's jurisdictional limits; or (ii) seek emergency injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent imminent, irreparable harm — including but not limited to unauthorized access to data, misappropriation of intellectual property, or breach of confidentiality obligations.
(f) Governing Law. These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this arbitration agreement.
(g) Opt-Out Right. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to legal@taxhound.io within thirty (30) days of first accepting these Terms. Your notice must include your name, email address associated with your TaxHound account, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration. If you opt out, disputes will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Alameda County, California, and you hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.
10. Changes to These Terms
TaxHound reserves the right to update these Terms of Service at any time. If we make significant changes, we'll let you know by posting the updated Terms and changing the "Last Updated" date above. Your continued use of TaxHound after changes are posted means you accept the new Terms. If you don't agree, please stop using TaxHound.
11. Termination
You can stop using TaxHound at any time by closing your account. TaxHound may also suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without cause or notice. Upon termination, your right to use TaxHound ends immediately. Sections 2 through 9, as well as Sections 10 through 13, survive any termination of these Terms.
12. Severability
If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest of the Terms remain in effect.
13. Entire Agreement
These Terms of Service are the complete agreement between you and TaxHound regarding your use of the service.
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By using TaxHound, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service.