The Internal Revenue Service is quietly unleashing chatbots and other artificial intelligence tools on tax returns this filing season, right as more taxpayers hand their homework to automated assistants. Tax pros say that speed cuts both ways: the same turbocharged tech that helps you whip through forms can also surface mistakes faster, turning a tiny error into a tagged return. The basic rule for most filers is simple: a bot can help sort your paperwork, but it will not take the hit if the numbers are wrong.
Financial adviser Jenny Groberg told KUTV that the agency is using chatbots to scan filings and compare them with patterns from similar taxpayers. "AI can help you get things organized," Groberg said in the interview, "but you sign the tax return — and you pay the penalties and interest if you're wrong." Her point is blunt: no matter how smart the software sounds, the legal responsibility still lands squarely on the person whose name is on the return.
That growing use of automation is laid out in government paperwork. The Department of the Treasury's FY 2025 Agency Financial Report notes that the IRS reported more than 100 projects involving AI as of April 2025 and that the agency rolled out a collections chatbot in 2021. The report also says the IRS has folded statistical and machine learning techniques into audit selection, which makes it easier for the agency to spot inconsistencies.
On the other side of the table, tax firms and preparers are racing to adopt generative AI. The Thomson Reuters Institute's 2026 AI in Professional Services Report found that roughly one third of tax firms are already using generative AI and many more plan to bring it in. That mix of more filers leaning on AI tools and the IRS running automated screening raises the odds that a bad prompt or a machine-made mistake could land a return in manual review.
Groberg told KUTV that some taxpayers are more likely to light up those systems than others: self-employed workers, people in cash-heavy businesses such as restaurants and salons, social media influencers and high earners. "They're really going after the bigger payers — $400,000-plus," she said, adding that the tools look hard for mismatches between 1099s or W-2s and what employers report. For freelancers and small businesses, that means meticulous recordkeeping is less of a nice-to-have and more of a survival skill.
The IRS has also warned that fraudsters are using AI to mimic the agency and to craft more convincing phishing scams. Its annual "IRS Dirty Dozen" list puts AI-enabled impersonation high on the threat board. The agency urges taxpayers to steer clear of unsolicited links and to consider added identity protections, such as enrolling in the Identity Protection PIN program to help block fraudulent filings. The IRS offers details on how that IP PIN program works.
How to reduce your audit and scam risk
Tax professionals say the safest move is to use AI as a helper, not the decider. Let it organize documents or point you to relevant rules, but double check every 1099 and W-2, keep receipts and backup, and have a qualified preparer review anything you plan to sign. According to the Thomson Reuters Institute report, firms that insist on human review of AI-generated work see fewer cleanup headaches later and less professional liability.
Filing early, keeping clean records and confirming where your refund is supposed to go all make it easier to respond if the IRS comes back with questions. The bottom line has not changed: AI can speed up your tax prep, but it does not transfer legal responsibility. Treat chatbots as assistants, insist on human oversight for the final return, and use protections like an IP PIN if you are worried about someone filing in your name.
