Terms of Service
Please read these terms carefully before using DeductSam. They describe what the service does, what it does not do, and the rules that govern your use.
These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you and DeductSam LLC ("DeductSam," "we," "us," or "our"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy.
1. The Service
What DeductSam does
DeductSam is an expense, mileage, and income tracking tool for self-employed individuals, freelancers, independent contractors, rental hosts, and small business owners. It helps you organize records, surface deductions worth discussing with a preparer, and produce a year-end package to hand off. The Service helps you:
- Capture and categorize business expenses
- Upload and match receipts to transactions
- Identify potential tax deductions you may have missed
- Track invoices and income
- Run a set of defined tax-position checks against the data in your own workspace
- Generate Year-End Packets to share with a tax preparer
- Sync bank and credit card transactions (Pro plan)
Strategy checks — what they are and what they are not
Parts of the Service run defined tests against the data in your workspace and report what each test found — for example, whether the figures you entered meet a stated threshold, and what documentation a position of that kind normally requires. These checks are deterministic: the same data produces the same result, and the result describes the test, not you. A check never determines that you qualify for a deduction or credit, and nothing the Service reports is a determination of your eligibility or a filing position. Each check also lists what DeductSam cannot verify. Whether a position is actually available to you, and whether to take it on a return, is a decision for you and your tax preparer.
The Service does not prepare, sign, review, or file tax returns, and does not represent you before any tax authority.
What DeductSam does not do
DeductSam is not a tax filing service. We do not:
- Prepare or file your tax returns
- Provide official tax advice that carries the weight of a licensed professional opinion
- Guarantee that any specific expense qualifies as a deduction under your circumstances
- Represent you in an IRS audit or tax dispute
- Provide legal or accounting services of any kind
Sam's suggestions are educational starting points. The final decision about what to deduct belongs to you and, ideally, to a qualified tax professional who knows your complete financial picture.
2. Accounts and Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old and a legal resident of the United States to use the Service. By creating an account, you represent that this is true.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately at admin@deductsam.com if you believe your account has been compromised.
You may not share your account or allow others to access the Service using your credentials except through the team member and accountant access features available on higher-tier plans.
3. Subscription Plans and Billing
Plans
DeductSam offers the following subscription plans:
- Free — $0. Manual expense & income entry, receipt upload, mileage log, payroll tracking, the Year-End Packet, and a monthly allotment of Sam messages.
- Pro — $24.99/month or $250/year. Everything in Free, plus automatic bank sync, unlimited Sam, Tax Health, Tax Opportunities, Analytics, invoicing, asset & depreciation tracking, unlimited workspaces, and team access.
Free trial
New accounts start on the Free plan — no payment method required. You may start a 14-day free trial of Pro at any time; a valid payment method is required to start it, and each customer may use one Pro trial. If you do not cancel before the trial ends, your paid subscription begins automatically. If you cancel during the trial, you keep Pro until the trial ends, are never charged, and then move to the Free plan — your data remains yours.
Billing
Subscriptions are billed in advance on a monthly or annual basis. Billing is processed by Stripe. By subscribing, you authorize DeductSam to charge your payment method on a recurring basis at the applicable price until you cancel.
Annual plans are billed as a single charge at the start of your subscription year. You save compared to monthly billing (approximately 17%).
Price changes
We reserve the right to change subscription prices. We will provide at least 30 days' advance notice by email before any price change takes effect. If you do not cancel before the price change takes effect, your continued use constitutes acceptance of the new price.
Cancellation
You may cancel your subscription at any time from Settings › Subscription. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. You will continue to have access to the Service until the end of the period you have already paid for.
Cancellation of an annual plan in the middle of the year does not entitle you to a prorated refund for unused months, unless required by applicable law.
Refunds
Monthly subscriptions: we do not offer refunds for partial months.
Annual subscriptions: if you cancel within the first 14 days of an annual subscription, you may request a full refund by contacting admin@deductsam.com. After 14 days, annual subscriptions are non-refundable, except where required by applicable law.
We may make exceptions at our discretion for extenuating circumstances. Contact us and we will do our best to find a fair resolution.
4. Getting Paid Through Invoices (Stripe Connect)
The Service lets you connect your own Stripe account so your clients can pay your invoices. This section describes that arrangement. It has nothing to do with your subscription to DeductSam, which is covered in Section 3.
Your account, your relationship with Stripe
Connecting creates a Stripe Standard account in your name. You accept Stripe's own agreement directly with Stripe, and you are the merchant of record for every payment your clients make. DeductSam is not a party to the transaction between you and your client, and does not provide payment processing, money transmission, or escrow services.
DeductSam takes no fee, and never holds your money
DeductSam charges no platform fee on invoice payments. Payments are created as direct charges on your own Stripe account: the money goes into your Stripe balance and is paid out to you by Stripe on your schedule. It never enters a DeductSam account or balance, not even briefly. Stripe's own processing fees are charged to you by Stripe under your agreement with them.
Disputes, chargebacks, refunds, and failed payments
Because you are the merchant of record, chargebacks, disputes, refunds, and failed payments are between you, your client, and Stripe. They are governed by your Stripe agreement, and any amounts charged back or refunded come out of your Stripe balance. DeductSam does not receive dispute or refund notifications from Stripe, does not monitor them, and cannot intervene in or resolve them. Stripe notifies you directly.
An invoice marked paid does not correct itself
When a client pays through a payment link, the Service marks that invoice paid. If the payment is later refunded, reversed, or charged back, the invoice stays marked paid until you change it. That is not automatic, because DeductSam does not receive those events. This matters beyond the invoice list: an amount marked paid is counted as income, and therefore flows into your gross receipts, your tax estimates, and your year-end packet. If a payment is reversed, you must undo the payment on that invoice yourself (in the invoice's menu) so your records and any figures derived from them stay accurate. You are responsible for the accuracy of the records you keep in the Service.
5. Acceptable Use
You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to:
- Use the Service to prepare tax filings with knowingly false or fabricated data
- Attempt to circumvent, disable, or interfere with security features of the Service
- Scrape, crawl, or automate access to the Service in ways not authorized by us
- Use the Service to store or transmit malicious code
- Violate any applicable law, including tax law, data privacy law, or consumer protection law
- Use the Service if you have been suspended or banned by DeductSam previously
DeductSam is for personal and small business financial management. It may not be used to manage the finances of publicly traded companies, registered investment vehicles, or financial institutions.
6. Your Data
You own your data. By using the Service, you grant DeductSam a limited license to store, process, and transmit your data solely for the purpose of delivering the Service to you. We do not claim ownership of your financial data.
You are responsible for the accuracy of the data you enter. DeductSam's AI analysis is only as good as the information you provide. Entering incorrect data (wrong amounts, wrong categories, fabricated business purposes) can lead to inaccurate deduction estimates and, in a filing context, potential legal consequences — consequences that are your responsibility, not ours.
You can export and delete your data at any time. See our Privacy Policy for details on data retention.
7. Intellectual Property
The DeductSam application, its design, code, Sam AI personality, and all associated intellectual property are owned by DeductSam LLC. These Terms do not grant you any rights in our intellectual property except the limited right to use the Service as described here.
You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Service, nor may you reverse-engineer or attempt to extract source code from the Service.
8. Third-Party Services
The Service integrates with third-party providers including Plaid, Stripe, OpenAI, and Resend (with Square support coming soon). Use of these integrations is subject to their respective terms of service and privacy policies. DeductSam is not responsible for the actions or policies of these third parties.
Plaid's end user privacy policy is available at plaid.com/legal. Stripe's terms are available at stripe.com/legal.
9. Disclaimers
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. DEDUCTSAM MAKES NO WARRANTIES REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF ANY OUTPUT OF THE SERVICE, INCLUDING AI-GENERATED SUGGESTIONS, TAX ESTIMATES, AND THE RESULTS OF THE STRATEGY CHECKS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 1.
SAM'S SUGGESTIONS ARE EDUCATIONAL ESTIMATES BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE IRS GUIDANCE AND THE DATA YOU PROVIDE. THEY ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL TAX ADVICE. DEDUCTSAM CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT ANY DEDUCTION WILL BE ACCEPTED BY THE IRS OR ANY STATE TAX AUTHORITY.
10. Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, DEDUCTSAM WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE — INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: TAX PENALTIES, INTEREST, AUDIT COSTS, ERRORS IN YOUR TAX RETURN, OR LOST BUSINESS — EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
DEDUCTSAM'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CLAIMS ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or limitations on liability. In those jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
11. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless DeductSam and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from: (a) your use of the Service in violation of these Terms; (b) your violation of any applicable law; or (c) content you submit to the Service that infringes the rights of a third party.
12. Termination
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time for violation of these Terms, fraudulent activity, or at our sole discretion with reasonable notice. If we terminate your account without cause, we will refund any unused prepaid subscription fees.
You may terminate your account at any time by deleting it from Settings or contacting us at admin@deductsam.com.
13. Governing Law and Disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising under these Terms will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in California, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.
Before initiating any legal action, you agree to attempt informal resolution by contacting us at admin@deductsam.com. Many issues can be resolved quickly through direct communication.
14. Changes to These Terms
We may modify these Terms from time to time. We will provide at least 14 days' notice of material changes by email or by displaying a notice in the app. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the new Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, please cancel your subscription and stop using the Service.
15. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Contact us at:
DeductSam LLC
Email: admin@deductsam.com