AI Tax Risks: Why Chatbots Can't Replace Professional Filing
As tax season approaches, many taxpayers consider using AI chatbots to file returns. While large language models excel at explaining complex information, they fall dangerously short in tax preparation. Recent studies reveal frontier AI models correctly computed fewer than one-third of federal tax returns in benchmarks. The core problem: filing taxes requires precise calculations and accurate rule application, not just language processing. AI systems made recurring errors with tax tables, eligibility determinations, and computations. Unlike traditional tax software with deterministic engines that produce identical outputs from identical inputs, large language models operate probabilistically and can produce different results from the same data. Even minor formatting changes can materially alter outcomes.
