Ask HN: Why hasn't AI replaced Tax filing software
[hidden]
[hidden]
I had Claude fill out my forms on TurboTax and TaxAct, and got my estimated tax payments. And instead of paying the $150 to file, I had Claude go and fill the same forms out on FreeTaxUSA and compared the values and they were within a few dollars of the other platforms, and I filed.
[4 comments hidden]
[3 comments hidden]
I don't know the financial penalties of a faulty Tax filing in America since this is just done automatically for individuals in Sweden by our IRS-equivalent. But I assume this is something you don't want to mess up. If so, apply an general stochasticity argument for why AI isn't end-to-end responsible for much at all where details and correctness really matters.
[2 comments hidden]
Having said that, I used Claude to do my taxes this year. I generally use the free fillable forms provided by the IRS so I don't use a program that tries to abstract it all away. It was much easier to do with Claude than manually this year.
[hidden]
[hidden]
[2 comments hidden]
[hidden]
If you’re thinking by an independent, motivated do-gooder, TurboTax costs around $100 for most people, and few people are going to use some untested solution to save that small amount of money, vs. the scare of being fully liable for one’s own tax mistakes. FreeTaxUSA is even cheaper.
[hidden]
[hidden]
[hidden]
[hidden]
In contrast, I found Gemini to be pretty good at directing me to verify my own answers at IRS.gov. It was able to answer correctly but of course, Gemini is not a tax attorney so I did need to pore over the official documents myself.
IRS.gov is really good about documenting everything in plain, accessible English. Gemini is really good about surfacing summaries and overviews and answering thorny questions, that would probably cost $$$ from a CPA.
IRS.gov is perhaps the agency that has the most to offer the consumer in the Information Age with an open web. I don't know how people accessed IRS Publications before website downloads, but today it's easy as pie for IRS to just blat out all their info and their website is really easy to use. It's almost as if they want to empower the taxpayer to know how to file a good return and pay them the correct amounts...
I still used commercial tax software to produce the return; my situation is not complex but essentially I just paid for convenience + peace of mind.
toomuchtodohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRS_Direct_File You are trying to solve a politics and people problem with non deterministic, unnecessary tech[6 comments hidden]
You are trying to solve a politics and people problem with non deterministic, unnecessary technology.
“Why does the system insist on inefficiency to suck $80B/year out of taxpayer pockets?” is easy to answer. That is the purpose, by design.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha...
If we want better outcomes and systems, we need to elect better people. It’s that simple. Better luck next time.
https://fedscoop.com/democrats-bill-would-bring-irs-direct-f...
https://www.warren.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/doc/b...
Kevin_Flynn> You are trying to solve a politics and people problem with non deterministic, unnecessary technology. Exactly this. https://www.gao.gov/pr[3 comments hidden]
Exactly this.
https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-107611
During fiscal year 2024, IRS spent about $1.5 billion to modernize systems that handle some of its most critical taxpayer services and business functions.
...
In March 2025, IRS paused these programs to reevaluate priorities and start new IT modernization efforts.
This pattern has been repeating for decades.
Spend billions. Throw results in trash. Repeat.
Also, lets not forget, 99% of the IRS could be abolished with a simplified tax code and process, and the reason that doesn't happen, is because then 99% of grift would stop as well.
If government is the wizard of oz, the tax code are the levers behind the curtain that get pulled to modify the publics behavior.
If private companies are handling electronic filings, that private sector activity is taxable. Its an asset to the IRS. If the IRS is doing it internally, its a liability and an expense.
Kevin_FlynnYes, I said it. Your work, your transactions, your expenses in complying with the law, your penalties for non-compliance, your headaches and[hidden]
Your work, your transactions, your expenses in complying with the law, your penalties for non-compliance, your headaches and suffering, etc, etc etc.
These are all assets to the IRS. You serve them.
true_religionThe pattern doesn't hold. In 2021, they spent ~230 million. 2010 to 2021, they spent between 260 to 320 million per year. The only reason th[hidden]
The only reason that billions are being spent today is that in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), granted $80 billion mandatory spending boost for the next 10 years in order to modernize tech for the first time in 60 years.
The goal was that if they could identify people who were underpaying on taxes, they'd be able to recoup that benefit, and at the same time reduce inflation. This is a strategy that China has taken, and is currently using to great effect by identifying off-shore tax shelters and shadow companies that benefit the ultra-rich then taxing them as they always should have been.
As for the US, all seemed to be going well until Doge stepped in and began to claw back funding, so the IRS was forced to change its initiatives to fit the current administrations theme.
I doubt we'll be seeing any tax shelters unveiled soon.
yolp5> You are trying to solve a politics and people problem with non deterministic, unnecessary technology. But blockchain will solve political [2 comments hidden]
But blockchain will solve political corruption
toomuchtodoThis was a joke, right?[hidden]