Prepare tax returns for individuals or small businesses.
U.S. Workers
73,570
Median Salary
$50,560
10-Year Growth
+4.5%
Annual Openings
10,400
Typical entry: High school diploma or equivalent
11 of 11 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Interview clients to obtain additional information on taxable income and deductible expenses and allowances.
AI: Fully automatable - AI can conduct client interviews via chat or voice, elicit detailed information about income and deductions, and adapt follow-up questions to fill information gaps for tax preparation.
Use all appropriate adjustments, deductions, and credits to keep clients' taxes to a minimum.
AI: Fully automatable - AI can apply up-to-date tax rules and optimization algorithms to identify and use all appropriate adjustments, deductions, and credits to minimize client tax liability within legal constraints.
Prepare or assist in preparing simple to complex tax returns for individuals or small businesses.
AI: Fully automatable - AI systems can gather data, populate forms, perform complex calculations, and assist or fully prepare tax returns for individuals and small businesses, with human review for novel legal issues.
Compute taxes owed or overpaid, using adding machines or personal computers, and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables.
AI: Fully automatable - Computing taxes and completing form entries are deterministic, rule-based tasks that AI and software can fully automate reliably.
Furnish taxpayers with sufficient information and advice to ensure correct tax form completion.
AI: Fully automatable - AI can furnish context-sensitive instructions, checks, and advice to guide taxpayers through correct form completion, though exceptionally complex legal advice may still require a professional.
Check data input or verify totals on forms prepared by others to detect errors in arithmetic, data entry, or procedures.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated checks reliably verify arithmetic and flag data-entry inconsistencies using rule-based validation and anomaly detection, so AI can fully perform this task.
Calculate form preparation fees according to return complexity and processing time required.
AI: Fully automatable - Calculating fees from defined complexity and time rules is a deterministic, codifiable process that AI can fully automate.
Review financial records such as income statements and documentation of expenditures to determine forms needed to prepare tax returns.
AI: Fully automatable - Extracting financial data and mapping items to required forms is largely rule-based and already automatable with OCR, classification, and tax-mapping logic.
Consult tax law handbooks or bulletins to determine procedures for preparation of atypical returns.
AI: Partial - AI can rapidly search and synthesize guidance from handbooks and bulletins, but interpreting atypical cases and taking responsibility for procedural choices still requires expert human judgment.
Explain federal and state tax laws to individuals and companies.
AI: Partial - AI can explain statutory provisions and common applications clearly, but nuanced, jurisdiction-specific interpretation and authoritative advice remain best provided or validated by humans.
Answer questions and provide future tax planning to clients.
AI: Partial - AI can answer many client questions and propose planning options, but personalized, liability-bearing future tax planning requires human oversight and professional judgment.