As Americans stare at the tax filing deadline, some may consider enlisting the help of an AI chatbot. American Institute of CPAs Principal Manager of Tax Practice and Ethics April Walker joins her at Wealth. This is to warn Americans against relying entirely on AI to complete their taxes.
Walker suggests that AI could serve the purpose of tax education. Chatbots can provide helpful tips on commonly overlooked tax deductions and how certain types of income are taxed. “But taxes are so complex and nuanced that they can't be black and white,” Walker added, noting that AI tends to sometimes give inaccurate answers.
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This article was written by Gabriel Roy
video transcript
– As we mentioned earlier on Monday, April 15th, the tax filing deadline is only a few days away. Have you heard of it? You may be wondering how to get it done on time. You can try taking the help of an AI chat bot. But our next guest has some caveats about fully using AI to assist with filing. Here, we hear more from April Walker, lead manager of tax practices and ethics at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. I'm glad to be with you. So why should you be wary of AI chat bots and AI bots?
April Walker: Yeah. Thanks for hanging out with me, Brad. And then a previous guest reminded me that I hadn't filed my tax return yet. So, like I said, we're going to get that done by Monday the 15th.
– Immediately after this segment, in April. I have time. I have time.
April Walker: Yeah. Yeah. definitely. AI is definitely a topic that we've been talking about a lot, how it's going to change the way people work, how it's going to change many parts of our lives. Here are some good points and tips, including how to leverage AI. This is like using AI to educate people about tax information.
In general, you can ask about taxes, missed deductions, and how your income is taxed. Last night, as I was just getting ready and playing around with it, I said, Hey, this restaurant I went to, this restaurant meal I went to, is that deductible? So it will help you. We can help you stay informed, prepared, and educated.
However, taxes are very complex and nuanced and are not black and white. We know that AI can give us the wrong answers and lead us down the wrong path, so we have to be careful there. But that's because taxes aren't black and white, so you might say, well, this restaurant expense is deductible if it's normal and necessary, right?
What do you mean by normal and necessary? It may mean something different to me than it does to you. So I'm just saying, listen to the information that these great chat bots, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, have to offer. But be really careful.
– And now, April, just throwing this into the conversation. Some of the software people use includes certain chat bots and AI. How can they use that to their advantage?
April Walker: Yeah. So AI in general is not entirely new. It's like this generative AI has really exploded. But chat bots, the software that people commonly use, try to ask you questions or request something. So definitely use that to your advantage to help you figure things out and understand what you might be missing. So definitely use it.
There is also a method. I was talking to my dad on the phone trying to help him. Then my dad taught me that you can take pictures of things and import them into software. And just like that, he leans into it. Use that to your advantage so you don't have to type it all out. So this is part of AI.
– April Walker, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Thank you very much for your time. We'll free you up so you can complete and submit it as well. yes.
April Walker: Thank you very much.
– appreciate.
