SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota (Dakota News Now) – Tax season is upon us for many people, and it can be difficult to manage your taxes on your own. For those who want to do this, a quick shortcut is to use artificial intelligence. But one SDSU instructor disputes that idea.
AI has been gaining attention as a buzzword in recent years, and as tax season approaches, some people may be considering using AI to manage their tax information. But SDSU instructor Victoria Dubbelde says that’s a bad idea and should be avoided for now.
Dubbelde has been teaching an accounting and tax class since 2012, and this spring she had students in her class use AI platforms like ChatGPT to file their taxes.
“The fake tax return that I entered into the AI today was correct and resulted in a refund of $2,558,” D’Averde said. “When AI completed their tax returns, in some cases for students, taxpayers ended up paying more than $700. That’s a big difference between getting back $2,500 and paying more than $700.”
There are also significant risks when entering personal information into AI prompts.
“Once you enter all your personal information, social security number, name, address, and other PII, it’s retained,” Dubbelde says. “In particular, some of these free AI platforms have the ability to distribute some of that information, but it doesn’t necessarily keep it secure.”
Dubbelde says AI is currently more useful for tax questions.
“Questions about what types of expenses are deductible for businesses, general tax questions about what is included in itemized deductions, can this be deducted, etc.,” she said.
D’Averde said it’s best not to use AI for tax purposes at this time, due to the risk that companies could obtain personal information and issue incorrect tax refunds.
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