Editorial Guidelines: TopicDrill

Editorial guidelines

What we will and will not publish, and who signs off.

Our expert

Every figure on this site is checked against its primary source before publication, and re-checked when that source republishes.

Updated September 5, 2026

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Every page states its sources, names its author and, for tax and payroll content, names a reviewer who checked the figures against the primary source. We publish general information, never personalised financial advice, and we correct errors in the open.

Accuracy first

A finance page that is beautifully written and wrong is worthless. Where clarity and precision conflict, precision wins and we work harder on the sentence.

Every factual claim about a rate, threshold or limit must trace to a named source. "Roughly", "around" and "about" are acceptable only when the underlying figure genuinely varies, and then the variation is stated.

Review

Tax, payroll and retirement content is checked by a named reviewer before publication. The reviewer verifies figures against the primary source, not against another article. Their name appears on the page.

Comparisons state their ranking criteria before the ranking. If we cannot say why one product beat another, the piece is not finished.

What we will not publish

Personalised advice. We do not tell an individual what to do with their money. We are not licensed to, and doing so from a web page would be reckless.
Predictions. We do not forecast markets, rates or asset prices.
Undisclosed sponsored content. Anything paid for is labelled as such, or is not published.
Fabricated figures. If a number is not sourced, it does not appear. A blank in a table is better than an invented value in it.

AI

Drafting and editing tools may be used. Nothing is published without a person reading it, and no figure reaches the site without a person checking it against its source. AI does not generate the figures, does not review them, and does not sign off a page.

Corrections and updates

Substantive corrections are noted on the page and dated. Routine updates, such as a new tax year's figures, update the date shown without a correction note. See the corrections policy.

Independence

Editorial decides what to cover and what to say. Advertisers and affiliate partners have no input, no preview and no veto.

Every figure on this page is attributed to a named source with the date it took effect. Our reviewers check them against the primary source before publication.

About our expert

TopicDrill Editorial

Editorial team

Experience

We publish nothing without a source. Every rate, threshold and limit on this site is attributed to the IRS, the SSA, the Department of Labor or a state revenue department, with the date that figure took effect recorded alongside it.

When a source republishes, the figure is re-checked and the page's updated date moves. Where a number is disputed or varies by locality, we say so on the page rather than picking one and hoping.

Areas of expertise

Federal tax
State tax
Payroll
Small business