Terms of service

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) are a binding agreement between Brightline Tax LLC, a Connecticutlimited liability company (“Brightline”, “we”, “us”), and the firm or organization that accesses brightline.tax(“you”, “your firm”, “Customer”). By creating an account, accessing or using the service you accept these Terms. If you are accepting on behalf of a firm, you represent that you are authorized to bind it.

Section 15 contains a binding arbitration agreement and a class action waiver that affect how disputes are resolved. Please read it.

1. The service

Brightline provides two software tools for accounting firms: reasonable compensation studies priced from public U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, and tax research answered with citations to primary sources. Both produce draft work product for a licensed professional to review, verify, sign and issue. We may modify, add or discontinue features; if we discontinue a material feature we will give reasonable notice.

2. Professional use only

The service is offered solely to accounting, tax and advisory firms and their personnel for use in their profession. It is not offered to consumers and is not intended for personal, family or household purposes. You must be at least 18 and legally able to enter contracts.

3. Brightline is not your accountant, lawyer or tax adviser

This is the term that matters most, and it is a condition of use rather than a disclaimer bolted on at the end. Brightline assembles figures, citations and draft language. It does not provide tax, legal, accounting, investment or other professional advice, does not exercise professional judgment, and does not act as a return preparer, tax adviser or practitioner within the meaning of Treasury Department Circular 230 or any comparable authority.

No attorney-client, accountant-client or other privileged or fiduciary relationship is created by your use of the service. Nothing produced by the service is a covered opinion, a reliance opinion, or advice on which a penalty defense may be based. You are solely responsible for the positions taken on any return, memorandum or advice you issue, and for determining whether the output is correct, current and appropriate for your client’s facts.

4. Automated output, and your obligation to verify it

Parts of the service use artificial intelligence and automated retrieval. Automated systems can produce output that is inaccurate, incomplete, out of date, or that cites authority which does not say what the output asserts. Tax law changes, and published wage data is a survey of past periods rather than a statement about any individual.

Accordingly, you agree that every output is a draft proposal requiring independent professional verification before use. You will review each citation against the underlying authority, confirm each figure against its source, and apply your own professional judgment before relying on, signing, issuing or delivering anything derived from the service. Verification labels within the product (for example marking a citation confirmed or unconfirmed) are automated aids, are provided as-is, and do not substitute for your review.

5. Third-party sources and data

The service retrieves and quotes material published by governmental and other third-party sources, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Internal Revenue Service, the Government Publishing Office, the eCFR and state revenue authorities. We do not control that material, do not warrant its accuracy, completeness or availability, and are not responsible for changes to it or for a source becoming unreachable.

6. Accounts and security

You are responsible for your account credentials, for all activity under your firm’s account, and for promptly removing personnel who leave. You will notify us at support@brightline.tax of any suspected unauthorized access. You will not share credentials outside your firm.

7. Acceptable use

You will not: resell, sublicense or provide the service to a third party as a standalone offering; use it to build or train a competing product or model; reverse engineer, scrape or attempt to extract underlying models or data; probe or circumvent security, rate limits or entitlements; upload unlawful, infringing or malicious content; upload data you lack the right to process; or use the service in violation of any applicable law or professional standard, including client confidentiality obligations and I.R.C. § 7216.

8. Plans, fees and renewal

Plans are flat per firm, billed annually, with unlimited users: Tax research $299/yr, Comp studies $499/yr, and Brightline complete $699/yr. Fees are stated exclusive of taxes; you are responsible for applicable sales, use and similar taxes. Payments are processed by Stripe and are subject to Stripe’s terms.

Subscriptions renew automatically for successive annual terms at the then-current price unless cancelled before the renewal date. You may cancel at any time from Settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period. Fees already paid are non-refundable, in whole or in part, except where refund is required by law. We may change prices effective at your next renewal, with notice before that renewal.

Comp study creation is not metered on any plan. Research plans include a monthly question allowance; the allowance current for your plan is shown in your account. A question counts when it is submitted and an answer is generated for it; an answer served from cache, and a question that fails, do not count. Reading saved answers, exporting memos and viewing citations are never metered. Allowances run by calendar month in your firm’s timezone, reset on the first of each month, and do not roll over. We will give notice before reducing an allowance for an existing subscription.

9. Free tier

There is no trial period and no expiry. A free account keeps access to the workflow for as long as it exists: unlimited draft compensation studies and five tax-research questions in total — a lifetime allowance, not a monthly one, and questions answered from cache do not count against it. Memos produced on a free account are watermarked DRAFT and cannot be signed and issued until the firm is on a paid plan. A free account is never made read-only for non-payment. If a paid plan is cancelled, the account becomes read-only at the end of the paid period; memos already signed and issued remain retrievable. Free-tier access is provided as-is and may be modified or discontinued.

10. Your data and your work product

As between the parties, your firm owns the client records, studies, research and outputs it creates (“Customer Data”). You grant us a limited, non-exclusive licence to host, process, transmit and display Customer Data solely to provide, secure and support the service. We do not sell Customer Data and we do not use it to train artificial intelligence models.Deliverables carry your firm’s letterhead and name.

You represent that you have the rights and, where required, the consents necessary for us to process the Customer Data you submit, including any client information subject to confidentiality obligations or I.R.C. § 7216.

11. Our intellectual property; feedback

We retain all right, title and interest in the service, its software, models, interfaces, methodologies and documentation, and in all aggregated or de-identified data derived from use of the service that does not identify you, your firm or any client. No rights are granted except as expressly stated. If you send us feedback or suggestions, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free licence to use them without obligation to you.

12. Confidentiality

Each party will protect the other’s non-public information with at least reasonable care and use it only to perform under these Terms. This does not apply to information that is public through no fault of the recipient, independently developed, or lawfully received from a third party, and does not prevent disclosure required by law provided reasonable notice is given where lawful.

13. Availability; no warranties

We aim to keep the service available and will give notice of planned maintenance where practical, but the service is provided without any uptime commitment unless a separate written agreement says otherwise.

THE SERVICE AND ALL OUTPUT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. WE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY AND ANY WARRANTY ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY OUTPUT, CITATION, FIGURE OR VERIFICATION RESULT WILL BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR CURRENT.

14. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER PARTY WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, OR THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY TAX, PENALTY, INTEREST, ADDITION TO TAX, DISALLOWED POSITION, EXAMINATION COST, PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY CLAIM OR REGULATORY SANCTION ARISING FROM OUTPUT YOU DID NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY.

OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE FEES YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

These limits apply regardless of the theory of liability and are an essential basis of the bargain. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including for fraud or wilful misconduct. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain exclusions, in which case they apply to the fullest extent permitted.

15. Dispute resolution, arbitration and class action waiver

Informal resolution first. Before starting an arbitration, the complaining party will send a written notice describing the dispute and the relief sought to legal@brightline.tax (or, if we are complaining, to your account email). The parties will attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute for 30 days. This period is a condition precedent to arbitration and tolls any applicable limitation period.

Binding arbitration. Except as stated below, any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the service will be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, before a single arbitrator. The seat and any in-person hearing will be in Hartford County, Connecticut, although the arbitrator may permit remote proceedings. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this section. The arbitrator decides all issues, including arbitrability, except that a court decides the enforceability of the class action waiver below. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitration will be confidential.

Class action and jury trial waiver.All claims must be brought in the parties’ individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, consolidated or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate claims or preside over any form of representative proceeding. Each party waives any right to a jury trial. If this waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim — and only that claim — will be severed and heard in the courts identified below.

Mass filings. If 25 or more claimants bring substantially similar claims represented by the same or coordinated counsel, the claims will be administered in sequential batches of no more than 25, with each batch resolved before the next begins, and any applicable limitation period tolled for claims awaiting a batch.

What is excluded. Either party may (a) bring an individual claim in small claims court with jurisdiction, and (b) seek temporary or preliminary injunctive relief in court to protect intellectual property, confidential information or account security, without waiving this section.

30-day opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing legal@brightline.tax with your firm name and account email, and the words “Arbitration Opt-Out”, within 30 days of first accepting these Terms. Opting out affects no other part of these Terms and will not affect your account.

16. Governing law and venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Connecticut, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules and excluding the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. For any dispute not subject to arbitration, the parties consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Hartford County, Connecticut.

17. Time limit on claims

Any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the service must be brought within one (1) year after the claim accrues, or it is permanently barred, to the extent permitted by law.

18. Indemnification

You will defend, indemnify and hold harmless Brightline Tax LLCand its members, officers, employees and agents from any third-party claim, and any resulting loss, liability, damages, fine, penalty, cost and reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or relating to: your Customer Data; your use of the service or any output; advice, returns or deliverables you issue; your breach of these Terms or of any law or professional standard; or a claim by your client. We will notify you of the claim, allow you to control the defense (subject to our approval of any settlement affecting us), and cooperate reasonably at your expense.

19. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate access for non-payment, for use that breaches these Terms, or where continued access presents a security or legal risk — with notice where practical, and immediately where necessary. You may stop using the service at any time. Sections 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 21 survive termination.

20. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. For material changes we will give notice by email or in-product before they take effect, and the “Last updated” date above will change. Continued use after the effective date is acceptance. If you do not agree, stop using the service and cancel; your then-current paid period is unaffected.

21. General

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement and supersede prior discussions. You may not assign them without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition or sale of assets. If a provision is held unenforceable it will be limited or severed and the rest will remain in effect. No failure to enforce is a waiver. Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control. The parties are independent contractors. There are no third-party beneficiaries. Notices to us go to legal@brightline.tax and to the registered agent for Brightline Tax LLC on file with the Connecticut Secretary of the State; notices to you go to your account email.