Technology
How I use AI, and what stays with me
Software does the reading, matching and checking so that my time goes to judgment. The decisions, the review and the signature stay mine.
Most of tax preparation is not judgment. It is reading a stack of forms, finding the numbers, matching them to last year, noticing what is missing, and chasing it. That work is slow, repetitive, and where mistakes get in. I built my practice around software that does it well, and kept the part that needs a licensed professional for myself.
Your documents are read on my computer, not in the cloud
Your W-2s, 1099s and K-1s are read by AI running on my own computer in my office, not sent to a cloud AI service. That is how the system is designed, and I chose it deliberately, because a tax file holds everything someone would need to open credit in your name, and the safest copy of it is the one that went to the fewest places.
The one exception, and what it can and cannot see
A question about the law itself, such as how a section of the code works, can use an outside research service, because the answer is public. Those features are built to hold back anything that identifies a client, and to refuse the request rather than send a name. The same research assistant is available to you in the portal for tax questions, with the sources shown so you can check them.
Checked against the form’s own arithmetic
Figures pulled from a document are checked against the form’s own arithmetic. Anything that does not add up is flagged for me to review, not trusted. This is the part software is better at than people: it never gets tired on the fortieth page. It is also why it is tuned to flag too much instead of too little.
What the technology does for you
- A checklist built from your prior-year return, so you are asked for what you actually need, not a generic list
- Uploads matched to the request they answer
- A questionnaire that asks only what applies to you, and turns an answer of “yes” into the document it implies
- A fee priced from a published rate card using the complexity of your documents, questionnaire and last year’s return, quoted as a flat fee before work begins
- Tax projections I prepare and walk you through, built on a calculation engine with every figure traceable to its source
- A document vault by tax year, e-signature, and a status you can see without calling me
What stays with me
I review every return. I make the judgment calls: whether an expense is deductible, how an entity should be set up, what to do when a notice arrives. I sign the return, and my name is on it. Software drafts, matches and checks; it does not decide, and it does not file anything without me.
What is still being built
My aim is for the system to read what you upload and prepare more of the return for my review, ready for the coming season. That work is in progress and I will say plainly when each part is in use for clients. Hearing that something is not ready is better than finding out in April.
Questions, answered plainly.
Does AI prepare my return?
No. Software reads documents, matches and checks figures, and drafts. I review the return, make the judgment calls, and sign it.
Is my data sent to ChatGPT or another cloud AI?
No. Client documents are read by an AI model that runs on my own computer in my office. Only questions about public tax law use an outside service, and those are built to withhold client information.
Is it more accurate than a human?
I do not make that claim. What I can say is that extracted figures are checked against the form’s own arithmetic, anything that does not add up is flagged, and a person reviews the result.
The first conversation is free.
Tell me what's going on and I'll tell you plainly whether you need me.
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