A useful year-end tax planning brief connects three things: what changed in the client’s business, which tax rules apply, and what the client can still do about it. AI can help prepare that brief by organizing the facts, surfacing research questions, and drafting from verified sources.
That is a manageable project for November: take one client, investigate a few material questions, and prepare a brief another professional can review before the planning meeting.
Start with a small, approved client fact packet
Give the assistant enough context to identify meaningful questions. A profit-and-loss statement becomes more useful when it comes with the client’s tax year, entity type, accounting method, jurisdictions, and known plans for the remaining months.
For a first pilot, prepare:
- year-to-date profit-and-loss statements and balance sheets with a clear cutoff date and prior-year comparisons;
- prior-year returns, book-to-tax adjustments, carryforwards, and relevant owner information, including S corporation stock and debt basis;
- relevant depreciation, payroll, and estimated-payment schedules;
- confirmed changes in ownership, operations, locations, and major transactions;
- planned decisions and a list of missing or unreconciled information.
Use the firm’s approved systems. Before sharing tax-return information, check applicable disclosure and use restrictions, obtain consent where required, and review vendor retention, model-training, and access terms. Test the workflow with synthetic facts first.
The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility’s June 2026 AI guidance addresses these responsibilities, including protecting client data and verifying AI-generated facts, citations, and calculations.
Turn changes in the financials into research questions
Ask the assistant to explain what triggered each question and what additional facts would determine the answer. This gives the reviewer a useful connection back to the file.
| Signal in the client file | Research question to investigate | Facts to request |
|---|---|---|
| A proposed equipment purchase | Which cost-recovery rules and elections could apply for this year? | Asset description, acquisition and readiness dates, business use, financing, and jurisdictions |
| A large change in projected profit | Which tax assumptions and estimated-payment scenarios need updating? | Reconciled projection, owner-level information, payments, and withholding |
| Employees or activity in another state | Which state obligations or conformity questions need research? | Work locations, dates, activities, sales, and existing registrations |
| A planned retirement contribution | Which plan rules, limits, and action dates apply? | Plan documents, compensation, employee information, and administrator confirmation |
These are research candidates. An account balance or industry label cannot establish all the facts needed to recommend a strategy.
Keep the initial list short. Three material questions that the firm can resolve are enough for a useful pilot.
A December equipment purchase
A fictional calendar-year California S corporation is evaluating an $80,000 equipment purchase in December. October financials and a vendor quote establish a research question:
Confirm the asset, acquisition date, business use, and when it will be ready and available for use. Research the applicable 2026 federal cost-recovery rules and California treatment. Identify elections, limitations, and owner-level facts needed before projecting savings.
Suppose the reviewer confirms an $80,000 depreciable basis in qualifying machinery acquired in December 2026, placed in service on December 20, and used entirely for business. The corporation has not elected out of federal bonus depreciation. The reviewed brief can then show:
| Issue | Reviewed conclusion |
|---|---|
| Federal deduction | Under these assumptions, 100% bonus depreciation produces an $80,000 deduction under IRC §168(k). |
| California treatment | California does not conform to federal bonus depreciation. Calculate the state deduction and track separate basis using the applicable FTB guidance. |
| Owner’s tax savings | Still require a projection, including shareholder basis and other applicable loss limitations; see IRC §1366(d). |
Tax savings depend on the reviewed projection. Retain the invoice and placed-in-service evidence with the research record.
Attach authority to each planning idea
For every idea the reviewer keeps, prepare a compact research record:
- Question and facts: identify the taxpayer, tax year, jurisdiction, and material facts.
- Authority: record the exact citation, an openable source link, and the relevant text or a clearly labeled paraphrase.
- Application: explain how the rule fits the facts, including effective dates, elections, limitations, and unresolved questions.
- Decision: record what the reviewer approved, what needs more work, and which assumptions may enter the projection.
TaxMCP supplies research tools that bring source-linked tax authority into compatible AI assistants. The assistant can retrieve relevant Code provisions, regulations, IRS guidance, and supported state sources while preparing this record. Check source coverage and plan access for the jurisdictions and materials the engagement needs.
Open and review the authorities in context. A real citation can still support a different proposition, apply to a different period, or leave a material exception unresolved. The tax research memo walkthrough shows how to develop the analysis once the facts and sources are established.
A prompt for the first planning brief
Use this with approved inputs and a connected research source:
Prepare an internal year-end tax planning research brief for the taxpayer, tax year, and jurisdictions specified below. First organize confirmed facts, assumptions, and missing information. Identify up to three material planning questions from the supplied records, and explain the evidence that triggered each question. For each question, retrieve applicable authority with exact citations and openable source links. Address effective dates, elections, limitations, state differences, and facts that could change the result. Mark any proposition you cannot verify. Keep projected savings pending until a reviewer approves the legal treatment and calculation inputs. Finish with follow-up questions, action dates requiring verification, and decisions for the reviewer. Wait for review before drafting client recommendations.
The free Tax Research Skill provides a reusable research method. A firm can add its preferred brief format and review requirements so the next client starts with the same process.
Bring the reviewed brief into the planning meeting
After review, use the firm’s tax projection system to compare supported scenarios. For equipment, compare buying in December, buying next year, and making no purchase, including cash requirements, financing costs, current taxes, and future deductions. Reconcile inputs to the client file and keep federal and state assumptions visible.
For every proposed action, record its verified deadline, responsible person, dependencies, and required evidence. Different actions can have different timing requirements; the brief should show which date governs each one.
AI can then draft the client agenda or presentation from the approved record. Each recommendation should explain the decision, expected effect, remaining uncertainty, and next step in language the client can use.
Judge the pilot by the total work required to reach that point: preparation time, research time, reviewer corrections, and follow-up. A brief that makes the next decision easier is a useful result to repeat across the firm’s year-end planning work.
Start with TaxMCP and test the research step on one planning question your firm already understands.
Sources checked November 1, 2026. The workflow and fictional example are TaxMCP’s editorial recommendations. This article provides general information, not tax or legal advice.