Source hierarchy

  1. Controlling or administering government source: agency rule, form, instruction, statute, regulation, or official portal.
  2. Primary partner material: the provider’s own price, contract, feature, renewal, and affiliate terms.
  3. Reputable secondary explanation: used for discovery or context, never to overrule the primary source.
  4. Commercial and affiliate pages: treated as claims to verify, not evidence of a government requirement.

Publication gate

A changing claim is published only when it has a source URL, a review date, a defined jurisdiction, and language no stronger than the source supports. Facts-specific legal or tax conclusions are not generated from a generic questionnaire.

Guide structure

  • Required task: what the responsible agency says must happen.
  • Direct route: where an owner can complete or investigate the task.
  • Optional help: work a paid provider may perform.
  • Escalation: facts that require an agency, lawyer, accountant, broker, or another qualified professional.
  • Review date: when the evidence was last checked.

Affiliate independence

Partner economics may determine which commercially relevant services we research first. They may not change whether a task is described as required, free, optional, or outside scope. The direct government route stays visible even when an optional paid alternative earns a commission.

AI use

Automation can assist with source discovery, structured extraction, comparison, drafting, testing, and detecting changed language. It does not turn an unsupported claim into a fact. Material claims are tied back to sources, and pages are not generated merely because a keyword permutation exists.

Update discipline

High-volatility pages—prices, filing procedures, thresholds, current-year rates, partner terms, and new rules—receive priority review. A meaningful source change triggers review of every page that uses it.

Inspect the source ledger