H&R Block And OpenAI Partner To Revolutionize Tax Prep
A Harris poll finds 45% of respondents are considering using AI in future tax preparation.
It might be time to update the axiom that the only certainties in life are '...death and taxes…' as growth in AI awareness and adoption on the job appear to be a certainties as well. Ninety-four percent of workers and 99% of C-suite leaders who took part in a McKinsey survey stated that they know about or use generative AI tools.
It's equally certain that U.S. tax filers will increase their usage of AI tools to prepare tax returns as the most recent Harris poll finds 17% of filers say they used AI programs to assist with filing — while 45% will consider using AI for future tax purposes.
In a bid to meet that anticipated demand for AI tax prep help, tax-prep titan H&R Block and OpenAI have announced a strategic collaboration to bring generative AI to Block's suite of offerings.
The effort is designed to equip H&R Block's network of more than 60,000 tax pros with powerful AI capabilities, augmenting their capacity to more quickly and precisely deliver personalized and effective support to millions of clients across the country.
The agreement uses OpenAI's chatbot models in combination with Block's deep tax knowledge and expertise — especially from The Tax Institute. Block's TTI is made up of tax lawyers, CPAs and enrolled agents. TTI constantly tracks and examines tax code updates at the local, state and federal levels to ensure the firm's tax experts have a firm grasp on the latest tax regulations. The integration of generative AI into the tax mix strives to simplify the provision of accurate, tailored tax advice in real-time.
'Millions of hardworking taxpayers trust H&R Block to ensure the best possible outcome at tax time. By pairing OpenAI's advanced AI technology with the unparalleled tax knowledge of The Tax Institute, H&R Block's tax experts can deliver more personalized, highly nuanced guidance, streamline tax preparation, and improve the experience for millions of Americans,' said Ronnie Chatterji, Chief Economist of OpenAI in the joint statement.
The AI boost to the toolkit of tax preparers is described as a 'force multiplier' that has the potential to enhance the accuracy and velocity of tax work, especially in the processing of complicated tax cases.
'Whether from life changes to changing tax laws, tax preparation has become increasingly complex for taxpayers and tax professionals. We've seen the success of AI Tax Assist in building the confidence of our DIY clients and enabling them to prepare their taxes when it is most convenient,' said Scott Manuel, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer at H&R Block.
'We are confident the collaboration with OpenAI will have a similar impact on enhancing our tax professionals' ability to provide highly personalized, real-time support for our clients.'
The first phase of the AI integration will roll out later this year, with a full blown launch scheduled in time for the 2026 tax season. The agreement also has a joint research component where both companies will study and assess the actual effects of AI on professional tax preparation, with the goal of creating scalable solutions for future AI apps and solutions.
This AI team up is a followup to H&R Block deployment of AI across its solution set. In December 2023, the company launched AI Tax Assist, a generative AI experience that aims to simplify the tax preparation process for consumers, the self-employed and small businesses.
With nearly 70 million Americans doing their own taxes, the integration of AI tools such as AI Tax Assist and future OpenAI features for tax pros is a positive shift to modernizing tax services and the growing AI tax prep trend.
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