These terms cover your use of phasecalc.com ("Phases," "this site"), which is built and operated by Clinton Tong ("the operator"). By using the site, you agree to them. They're written to be read, not to be impressive.
1. What this site is — and isn't
Phases provides free, educational financial calculators and written explanations. It is not financial, investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice, and using it does not create a professional or advisory relationship of any kind.
Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security, to use any particular lender, brokerage, or tax product, or to take any specific action with your money. Your situation has details these tools don't know about. Before acting on anything you calculate here, confirm it with a qualified professional who does.
2. Accuracy, and its limits
Every calculator is built carefully and checked against primary sources — statute, IRS guidance, Treasury and CFPB publications — at the time it's written. Where rules are new, unsettled, or awaiting final regulations, the relevant page says so.
Even so, this site is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Specifically, no promise is made that:
- results are accurate, complete, or current;
- the tax rules, contribution limits, or program details described still reflect the law today;
- the site will be available, uninterrupted, or free of errors.
Tax law changes, sometimes retroactively. Historical return data is historical. Every projection rests on assumptions you supply, and a model is only as good as those assumptions. Treat every output as an estimate to be checked, not a number to be relied on.
If you find a calculation that looks wrong, please email — corrections are welcome and get fixed.
3. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Clinton Tong, as operator of this site, is not liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of, or reliance on, this site or anything on it — including financial losses, lost profits, tax penalties, missed opportunities, or decisions made on the basis of a calculator's output. This applies whether the claim is in contract, tort, or otherwise, and whether or not the possibility of such loss was foreseeable.
Some jurisdictions don't allow certain limitations of liability. Where that's the case, the limitations above apply to the maximum extent the law allows.
4. Acceptable use
You're welcome to use the calculators as much as you like, for personal or professional purposes, free of charge. Please don't:
- scrape, bulk-download, or systematically copy the site's content;
- run automated traffic that degrades the site for others;
- republish the written explanations as your own;
- remove or obscure attribution from an embedded calculator (see below);
- present the calculators as your own product, or as endorsed by or affiliated with you.
5. Embedding a calculator
Some calculators are available as an embeddable widget. You may embed one on your own site, including a commercial one, at no cost, provided that:
- the "powered by phasecalc" attribution and its link back to phasecalc.com remain visible and unmodified;
- you don't alter the widget's calculations, disclaimers, or disclosures;
- you don't present the calculator as your own work or imply a partnership, sponsorship, or endorsement that doesn't exist;
- you accept that the widget may change or be discontinued, and that no availability is guaranteed.
Embedding is a permission, not a contract, and it can be withdrawn — for any site, at any time, for any reason.
6. Affiliate links
Some pages contain affiliate or referral links, disclosed where they appear. If you click one and sign up, the site's operator may earn a commission at no cost to you. Affiliate relationships never determine which option a calculator says is better; the math runs the same either way, and the code is the same code whether or not an advertiser exists for that page. See the Privacy Policy for how those links handle data.
7. Third-party links
Links to other sites are provided for convenience. This site doesn't control them, doesn't endorse them by linking, and isn't responsible for their content, products, or practices.
8. Intellectual property
The calculators, code, written explanations, and design of this site belong to Clinton Tong. The embed permission above is the exception. Financial formulas themselves, and the provisions of the tax code, belong to nobody.
9. Changes
These terms may change as the site grows. The "last updated" date reflects the current version, and continuing to use the site after a change means you accept it.
10. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules.
Contact
Questions about these terms: hello@phasecalc.com.