WISP requirements for tax preparers in Massachusetts
If your firm prepares tax returns or handles customer financial information in Massachusetts, the written plan itself is federal. 16 CFR 314.3(a) requires a comprehensive information security program written in one or more readily accessible parts, and it has no small-firm exemption. Massachusetts does not issue its own WISP. What Massachusetts adds is a breach-notification layer that decides who you have to tell, and how fast, if customer information gets out.
Key facts
- The WISP itself is required of Massachusetts firms at any size: 16 CFR 314.3(a) has no consumer-count exemption.
- Under 5,000 consumers, 16 CFR 314.6 does lift four duties, including the written incident response plan at 314.4(h). It does not lift the plan.
- Notice to affected residents, the Attorney General, and OCABR as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay; notice may be delayed only if law enforcement determines that notice would impede a criminal investigation.
Key takeaways
- Notify the Massachusetts Attorney General and the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, including the nature of the breach or unauthorized use, resident count, steps taken or planned, and whether the organization maintains a written information security program.
- The WISP should preserve evidence, remediation steps, and annual review records.
Do Massachusetts tax preparers need a WISP?
Yes, if they are covered by the FTC Safeguards Rule or IRS tax-data security expectations, they should maintain a written plan. Massachusetts state breach-notice duties make incident planning especially important.
The WISP should start with federal obligations because the Safeguards Rule supplies the security-program structure.
Massachusetts requires notice to the Attorney General, the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, and affected residents; OCABR guidance also asks organizations that experience a breach to report whether they have a written information security program.
What is specific to Massachusetts?
Notice to affected residents, the Attorney General, and OCABR as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay; notice may be delayed only if law enforcement determines that notice would impede a criminal investigation. The plan should identify who evaluates state notice, who contacts counsel, and where the decision record is kept.
Massachusetts is a state where breach response and WISP evidence meet directly: ch. 93H breach notices sit beside 201 CMR 17.00 written information-security-program expectations. A Massachusetts incident file should preserve the discovery date, regulator submissions to both AGO and OCABR, the resident notice text, any Social Security number credit-monitoring analysis, and the answer to whether the firm had a WISP when reporting.
State breach-notification law does not replace the Safeguards Rule. It adds a state-specific response layer when an incident affects Massachusetts residents.
Massachusetts residents whose personal information was acquired or used by an unauthorized person, or used for an unauthorized purpose, after a known security breach or unauthorized use.
Notify the Massachusetts Attorney General and the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, including the nature of the breach or unauthorized use, resident count, steps taken or planned, and whether the organization maintains a written information security program.
What should the WISP say?
It should describe real safeguards, assign responsibility, map vendors and systems, and include an incident-response path that reaches state-law review quickly.
For a small firm, the strongest plan is plain and evidence-backed: MFA records, backup tests, access reviews, training, vendor lists, and remediation dates.
The plan should never promise a control that is not actually in place.
| Topic | Massachusetts planning note | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Federal WISP | Use 16 CFR Part 314 as the program backbone | WISP and annual review |
| IRS tax data | Account for taxpayer records, PTIN practice, portals, and e-file workflows | System inventory and access list |
| Breach notice | Notice to affected residents, the Attorney General, and OCABR as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay; notice may be delayed only if law enforcement determines that notice would impede a criminal investigation. | Incident clock and counsel review record |
| Regulator path | Notify the Massachusetts Attorney General and the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, including the nature of the breach or unauthorized use, resident count, steps taken or planned, and whether the organization maintains a written information security program. | Notification decision log |
| State statute | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93H, §§ 3-4 | Source URL retained in page sources |
FAQ
Is this legal advice?
No. Policywright is a documentation product, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. A qualified lawyer should review state-law reliance or breach-notification decisions.
Does a small firm still need a written plan?
Yes. The Safeguards Rule requires a written information security program for covered financial institutions, and IRS guidance tells paid tax preparers to maintain a written data security plan.
What if a control is not in place yet?
A serious WISP should not pretend. It should identify the gap, assign an owner, set a target date, and preserve a dated remediation record.
Does Massachusetts have its own WISP law?
This page does not claim a standalone Massachusetts WISP statute for every firm. It explains how federal WISP duties should be paired with Massachusetts breach-notification planning.
Who reviews Massachusetts breach notice?
The incident plan should route state-law decisions through qualified counsel and preserve any Massachusetts Attorney General and Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation regulator-notice analysis.
Sources
- FTC Safeguards Rule, 16 CFR Part 314 (eCFR)
- FTC, Safeguards Rule: What Your Business Needs to Know
- FTC, Safeguards Rule notification requirement now in effect (16 CFR 314.4(j), eff. May 13, 2024)
- IRS Publication 5708, Creating a Written Information Security Plan
- IRS Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data
- IRS Form W-12, PTIN Application and Renewal
- IRS Publication 1345, Handbook for Authorized IRS e-file Providers
- Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93H, Section 3
- Massachusetts data breach notification requirements
- Massachusetts data breaches reporting hub
- Massachusetts breach notification requirements and WISP guidance
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