Tax Preparers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 80% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 81% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 19% of the time, stays with people.
Prepare tax returns for individuals or small businesses.
76,480 people do this job in the US. $54,920 a year.
Reviewed on October 1, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work32 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people8 h
Tax Preparers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 32 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 8 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Prepare tax returns (about 13 h, a person checks); Compute taxes and complete forms (about 7 h, a person checks); Review records to choose forms (about 5 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 48%
- 33%
- 3%
- 16%
- 0%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 80% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 60%. Today's estimate: 80%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.074% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 201st largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 3 of its 12 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.12% to 0.12% (released February and March 2025); 0.12% to 0.17% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.1% to 0.074% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.12% | 152 of 708 | 5 of 12 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.12% | 138 of 703 | 5 of 12 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.12% | 141 of 655 | 4 of 12 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.1% | 148 of 672 | 4 of 12 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.17% | 107 of 677 | 4 of 12 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.1% | 167 of 434 | 3 of 12 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.074% | 201 of 447 | 3 of 12 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates almost none of this job's working time as physical work, so robots do not reach it.
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
19% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Advise taxpayers on form completion, the in-person work, 5%
- Answer questions and plan ahead, the in-person work, 5%
- Interview clients on income and expenses, the in-person work, 5%
- Explain tax laws to clients, the in-person work, 5%
What becomes checking the machine
80% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 1% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Prepare tax returns, costly if wrong, 33%
- Compute taxes and complete forms, costly if wrong, 17%
- Review records to choose forms, costly if wrong, 12%
- Apply deductions and credits, costly if wrong, 11%
- Check returns prepared by others, costly if wrong, 3%
- Answer questions and plan ahead, costly if wrong, 1%
What to learn
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 48% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- Handling protected records. Much of the work touches protected personal records: knowing what may be shared with a model, and how, is part of the job.
- Running AI inside the business systems. About 33% of the time is work inside business systems, which a model can do only once it is connected: knowing the systems well enough to set that up and watch it.
- The conversations. About 19% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 12 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare or assist in preparing simple to complex tax returns for individuals or small businesses.Working the return through from the client's records and entering it in the software.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 33% | 2.1 h50 min to 5 h | Documents 50%, systems 50% | 99%Half by now |
| Compute taxes owed or overpaid, using adding machines or personal computers, and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables.Working the figures and entering them on the forms in the tax software.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 17% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Systems 70%, documents 30% | 100%Half by now |
| Review financial records, such as income statements and documentation of expenditures to determine forms needed to prepare tax returns.Reading the client's statements and receipts to see which forms the return needs.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.1 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Use all appropriate adjustments, deductions, and credits to keep clients' taxes to a minimum.Working through which adjustments, deductions and credits the client qualifies for, and entering them.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 11% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Documents 80%, systems 20% | 100%Half by now |
| Answer questions and provide future tax planning to clients.Talking the client's questions and next year's plan through, with some figures worked out.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | In person 80%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Interview clients to obtain additional information on taxable income and deductible expenses and allowances.Asking the client at the desk about income and deductions, with notes in the file.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 33 min17 min to 1.3 h | In person 80%, systems 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Furnish taxpayers with sufficient information and advice to ensure correct tax form completion.Explaining to the client at the desk or by phone what each form needs.Done several times a day by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | In person 70%, conversation 30% | Stays with people |
| Explain federal and state tax laws to individuals and companies.Explaining the rules to clients in the office or by phone.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | In person 70%, conversation 30% | Stays with people |
| Check data input or verify totals on forms prepared by others to detect errors in arithmetic, data entry, or procedures.Reading another preparer's forms for arithmetic and entry errors.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 1.1 h | Documents 80%, systems 20% | 100%Half by now |
| Consult tax law handbooks or bulletins to determine procedures for preparation of atypical returns.Looking up the handbook rules for an unusual return.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 1% | 33 min13 min to 1.7 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Calculate form preparation fees according to return complexity and processing time required.Pricing the return from its forms and the fee schedule, then entering the fee.Done daily by most who do it. | 0.9% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | Documents 70%, systems 30% | 100%Half by now |
| Schedule appointments with clients.Calls with clients and the booking entered.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 0.5% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | Conversation 70%, systems 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Tax Preparers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 80% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 81% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Tax Preparers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Prepare tax returns (99% of the task's time now); Compute taxes and complete forms (100% of the task's time now); and Review records to choose forms (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Tax Preparers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Advise taxpayers on form completion; and Explain tax laws to clients. Together such tasks are about 10% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Tax Preparers learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; briefing a model and checking its drafts; and handling protected records. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 19% of the working time stays with people, 80% becomes checking a model's work and 1% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Tax Preparers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.074% went to this job's tasks, the 201st largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 3 of its 12 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 13%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Tax Preparers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds almost none of the working time is physical work, so robots do not reach it.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 12 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on October 1, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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