Editorial, Source and Manual Verification Policy

Editorial Principles for a YMYL Revenue Website

Revenue-agency content sits close to money, taxes, government obligations, penalties, refunds and personal financial decisions. That means it cannot be written like ordinary blog content. A useful article must reduce risk, not increase it.

• Every article must answer the user’s real task, not only repeat the keyword.
• Every action step must lead to an official agency source when filing, paying, registering, checking refunds or contacting support.
• Every complex topic must include a “when to get official/professional help” note.
• No article may claim we are official, authorized, affiliated or able to process tax tasks.
• Every post should show practical information gain: documents needed, mistakes to avoid, scam warnings, contact-routing help and next steps.

Manual Verification Workflow Before Publishing

1. Identify the exact agency. Confirm whether the task belongs to IRS, a state Department of Revenue, Department of Taxation, Comptroller, Treasury, Franchise Tax Board, Tax Commission, local collector or another agency.
2. Find the official source. Use official .gov pages where possible, the FTA state agency directory, USA.gov tax pages, IRS.gov, or the agency’s verified official site.
3. Verify the action URL. Payment, login, refund, registration, filing, permit, appeals and contact links must point to the official source, not a guessed URL.
4. Check freshness. Review the current page date, tax year, form year, notice year, deadline, phone number, mailing address and portal status.
5. Test user flow. Confirm what the reader needs before clicking: SSN/ITIN, refund amount, account number, letter ID, business ID, FEIN, filing status or payment voucher.
6. Write the guide. Use short paragraphs, practical steps, warnings, tables, checklists and official links inside the steps.
7. Final risk review. Remove advice-like wording, unsupported claims, fake government tone and any instruction that could cause payment or filing mistakes.

Official Source Hierarchy

Latest and Up-to-Date Standard

Each important article should show or internally maintain a review date. Tax pages are not evergreen in the same way as general guides. A page may need review when a state changes portals, tax rates, due dates, forms, addresses, penalty rules, phone lines, refund systems, business registration steps or taxpayer-assistance procedures.

• High-change topics: payment portals, refund status, tax year rates, forms, deadlines, withholding tables, state credits and notices.
• Medium-change topics: agency addresses, customer-service phone numbers, login pages, payment-plan pages, business registration steps.
• Lower-change topics: broad explanations, terminology, source methodology and legal/privacy pages.

Step-by-Step Guide Requirements

Every article should be written as a practical workflow, not as random paragraphs. The reader should know what to prepare, where to click, what to verify, what can go wrong and where to get help.

What Makes a Guide Publishable

• The official source is identified and linked.
• The reader can complete or understand the task after reading.
• The article includes steps, checklists, warnings and source context.
• The content is not copied from official pages or competitors.
• The page clearly states independent status and avoids official-looking deception.
• The article includes a correction route and update logic.

What We Do Not Publish

• Guessed payment links, guessed phone numbers, guessed addresses or guessed forms.
• Fake “official” language, fake CPA credentials or fake government affiliation.
• Refund promises, tax savings guarantees, penalty-avoidance promises or legal advice.
• Thin pages that only say “visit official website” without helping the user prepare.
• Copied agency text without original explanation, workflow, checklist or commentary.