For all those seeing influencers out there having LLM's or other AI platforms prepare their tax returns:
I use AI every day. I build with it. I talk about it constantly. And I'm telling you: do not use ChatGPT or similar platform to file your taxes.
26% of people are now using AI to file their 2025 returns, more than double from last year (CBS News)
I get it. The IRS killed Direct File, good CPAs are expensive (we definitely aren't cheap), and these tools feel incredibly capable.
But here's what the influencer showing off their "AI-prepared return" isn't telling you:
When you feed your SSN, income, deductions, and financial life into a consumer LLM, you are handing that data to a company whose privacy policy you didn't read, on servers you have no visibility into. One expert put it plainly: "Anything I put into a prompt, theoretically someone could find it with a prompt." I was always taught: don't write anything down that you don't want on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. Think the same thing here.
Your tax return is the most comprehensive financial profile of your life. It doesn't belong in a chat window. The accuracy problem is real and it's getting worse. The hashtag#OBBBA, signed last July, changed tips deductions, overtime exemptions, business deductions, and more. Most LLMs aren't reliably current on it.
The model doesn't know when its training data ends. It will answer your question confidently either way and tends to try to give you the answer it thinks you "want." Ask a CPA if you can deduct your dog and you get "it depends." Ask an AI and it might start with "yes" and the challenge is how many people stop reading after they get the answer they wanted.
The situational judgment gap: Tax law isn't a lookup table. It's the intersection of your specific income, entity structure, state residency, DeFi activity, business expenses, and a hundred plus other variables applied to rules that are constantly changing. An LLM may or may not give you a general answer. A CPA gives you your answer (whether you like it or not).
I use AI to research, draft client communications, and explain complex concepts in plain English. That's the right lane for it.
The wrong lane: handing it your W-2s and hoping for the best.
If your taxes are simple, you can use Intuit TurboTax or H&R Block. If they're not, especially if you have crypto, a business, or any meaningful complexity, call a CPA.
The refund you "saved" by not hiring one won't cover the penalty notice you get in 18 months. And don't forget, ChatGPT is not picking up that bill.