Taxes done twice, with Claude and TurboTax, reconciled to the dollar
A former PwC tax preparer did their own return with Claude, then again in TurboTax. Claude read the forms and statements and caught a missed credit, and the two matched to the dollar after reconciling.
Done withClaudeSpotted· by Geoffrey Doempke· Oct 21, 2026
Result An audit-defense file, built as a side effect
“I got mine done. Twice, actually: once with Claude, once with TurboTax, then reconciled the two side-by-side to the dollar.”
Spotted: found in the wild. Details are as reported by the source above and have not been independently verified.
What they did
They dropped wage forms, 1099s, a brokerage summary and blank IRS forms with their instructions into a folder. Claude classified each document and wrote the figures to a plain-text working file, then worked through bank exports, credit card statements and order histories, asking follow-up questions when something was ambiguous. Along the way they built two small skills with it: a workbook showing the return as a spreadsheet with live formulas, and a page for signing PDFs without a printer.
How it went
Claude caught things they would have forgotten, including a health insurance form that unlocked a credit. It also made mistakes: a form-filling skill checked “Married Filing Separately” instead of “Single”, which they caught before anything was mailed. They also ran the return through TurboTax, which can file with the IRS, and the two matched to the dollar once the differences were reconciled.
Try it yourself with Claude
I'll put my tax documents in [folder]: wage forms, 1099s, statements, and the blank forms with their instructions. Classify each document, extract the figures into a plain-text working file I can inspect, and ask me whenever something is ambiguous. Keep a written rationale next to every deduction. Don't file or finalize anything: I'll check every figure against [my tax software or preparer] before anything is signed or sent.
A starting prompt written by Agents in the Wild. Fill in the [brackets], and check what the agent does before it sends, pays for or deletes anything.
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