WISP requirements for tax preparers in Montana
If your firm prepares tax returns or handles customer financial information in Montana, 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. Montana does not issue its own WISP. What Montana 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 Montana 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.
- Resident notice without unreasonable delay, consistent with law-enforcement delay and scope/restoration needs; Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection copy submitted simultaneously when resident notice is required.
Key takeaways
- Simultaneously submit an electronic copy of the consumer notification, the date and method of distribution, and the number of Montana residents notified to the Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection, excluding personally identifying consumer information.
- The WISP should preserve evidence, remediation steps, and annual review records.
Do Montana 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. Montana 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.
Montana requires any business that must issue a consumer notification to simultaneously submit an electronic copy of the notice and distribution details to the Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection.
What is specific to Montana?
Resident notice without unreasonable delay, consistent with law-enforcement delay and scope/restoration needs; Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection copy submitted simultaneously when resident notice is required. The plan should identify who evaluates state notice, who contacts counsel, and where the decision record is kept.
Montana makes the Attorney General copy requirement part of the same event as consumer notice. A Montana incident file should preserve the acquisition and loss/injury analysis, the resident notice date and method, the non-PII copy sent to the Office of Consumer Protection, the number of Montana residents notified, and whether any credit-report language triggers coordination duties.
State breach-notification law does not replace the Safeguards Rule. It adds a state-specific response layer when an incident affects Montana residents.
Montana residents whose unencrypted personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person in a breach that materially compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of personal information and causes or is reasonably believed to cause loss or injury.
Simultaneously submit an electronic copy of the consumer notification, the date and method of distribution, and the number of Montana residents notified to the Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection, excluding personally identifying consumer information.
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 | Montana 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 | Resident notice without unreasonable delay, consistent with law-enforcement delay and scope/restoration needs; Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection copy submitted simultaneously when resident notice is required. | Incident clock and counsel review record |
| Regulator path | Simultaneously submit an electronic copy of the consumer notification, the date and method of distribution, and the number of Montana residents notified to the Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection, excluding personally identifying consumer information. | Notification decision log |
| State statute | Mont. Code Ann. § 30-14-1704 | 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 Montana have its own WISP law?
This page does not claim a standalone Montana WISP statute for every firm. It explains how federal WISP duties should be paired with Montana breach-notification planning.
Who reviews Montana breach notice?
The incident plan should route state-law decisions through qualified counsel and preserve any Montana Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection 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
- Montana Code Annotated § 30-14-1704
- Montana DOJ reporting requirements for data breaches
- Montana DOJ reported data breaches
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