Use AI to Get Ready for Your Tax Planning Meeting
Many owners bring the year to a tax planning meeting in pieces. A note on a phone. A few emails with the bookkeeper. A folder of receipts. A memory of something that changed in June.
An AI tool can do the first pass of pulling those pieces together, and the fourth quarter is a good time to try it. Many of the moves that count for 2026 have to happen by December 31. A meeting goes further when the facts arrive organized.
Turn notes into an agenda
Gather your notes into one document. Take out Social Security and account numbers first, and use a tool your business has approved.
Then try a prompt like this: 'Sort these notes into three sections: what changed this year, questions for our tax advisor, and documents to gather. Use only what is in the notes. If a date or amount is unclear, list it as a question.'
The section on what changed matters most, because changes are where planning happens: new hires, a new LLC, a large equipment purchase, a move to another state.
Each raises its own questions. Depreciation starts when equipment is placed in service, not when you pay for it. A move can change which state taxes which part of your income.
Draft the document checklist
Next, ask the tool to turn those changes into a checklist. A new LLC points to its formation papers. Equipment points to the invoice and the date it was placed in service. A move points to the move date and your new address.
Treat the list as a draft. Your advisor may add to it or cross things off. Keep the documents themselves out of unapproved tools. The checklist can say "payroll reports for new hires" without anyone pasting one.
If the tool adds anything up, check the totals against your books. A summary that says revenue rose is only useful if your profit and loss statement agrees.
Bring questions, not conclusions
AI tools can state wrong answers with confidence, and tax rules are full of exceptions. If a tool says a purchase is fully deductible this year, bring that as a question: does it apply to us, and does our state follow the same rule? Your advisor can test it against your facts.
The best use of AI before a planning meeting is not answering the tax questions. It is making sure the right questions get asked while there is still time to act on them.