AI tools like Gemini and Copilot can't do your tax return for you – but they might be able to help
With less than five weeks until Tax Day, some filers are turning to artificial‑intelligence chatbots for help.
A local tax expert warns that while AI can be useful, it can also make costly mistakes, and you're the one who pays for them.
Mike Valenti, tax director at Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors, says AI can be a starting point for tax prep.
How can AI help me with my taxes?
Valenti says AI can help:
- Organize receipts
- Get plain‑English summaries of tax concepts
- Brainstorm common deductions to ask a pro about
"It's not the end-all, be-all for you," he said. "But it's a good start."
Don't take these tax tips from AI chatbots
But he warns that AI gets risky when it comes to specific details about your return. Valenti says chatbots often lack nuance. That can be a big problem as tax rules change and many deductions phase out based on income, for example.
Valenti says AI might be able to explain a deduction correctly, but not whether you qualify. It might also pull information from the wrong tax year or use outdated or unreliable sources.
Even Google's Gemini chatbot flagged its own limits when asked to help prepare a return, saying it's "not a replacement for certified tax software or a CPA." AI tools are also known to "hallucinate," or make things up, according to Valenti.
He says AI should not be used to:
- Prepare your entire return
- Handle complex situations
- Decide whether you qualify for certain deductions or credits
- Upload personal information
Uploading your W-2, 1099, Social Security number or other sensitive personal information is not a good idea, according to Valenti.
"There is nothing secure about these clients," he warned.
Ultimately, you are still responsible for what's on your return. Even if a chatbot gives confident answers, the IRS holds you accountable.
"You can't write back to the IRS and say, 'ChatGPT told me this was OK,'" Valenti said.
With complex tax rules, especially for people filing in multiple states, Valenti says a CPA or enrolled agent is still the safest option.
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