Tax research
AI for tax research, with sources you check.
The Tax Research Memo assistant looks up current material on irs.gov and eCFR, shows the pages it read, and drafts a research memo for your team to verify against the Code, the regulations and your research service.
How it works
The Tax Research Memo assistant, step by step.
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1
Open the Tax Research Memo assistant
One of the ready-made assistants for accounting firms in your workspace.
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2
State the facts and the question
Give the facts that matter, the tax year and the entity type. Upload the client documents if the question depends on them.
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3
Let it find and read sources
Web search looks up current information on the IRS and eCFR sites, reads PDFs there, and shows its sources with the answer.
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4
Verify and conclude
Read each cited section and regulation yourself, check for later changes, and write the conclusion your firm will stand behind.
What to ask
Requests that work well.
Specific requests get better answers. Ask it to quote or cite what it relied on, so checking is quick.
- Example request: Does a single-member LLC owner qualify for the section 199A deduction on these facts? Cite the regulations.
- Example request: Summarize the current rules for the de minimis safe harbor election, with sources.
- Example request: What has the IRS published on the 1099-K reporting threshold for this tax year?
- Example request: Draft a research memo: facts, issue, authorities, analysis, conclusion.
- Example request: List every Code section and regulation cited in this memo so I can check them.
- Example request: Explain this answer for the client in two short paragraphs.
What AI does, and what stays with your professionals.
Where Zrico helps
- Finding and reading IRS and eCFR material quickly, with sources shown
- Organizing facts, issues and authorities into a memo
- First drafts and plain-English client explanations
- Checking a draft for the authorities it relies on
Your firm’s responsibility
- Reading every cited Code section, regulation and IRS publication
- Checking for later changes and for authorities the draft missed
- Your research service for anything the open web does not cover
- The conclusion and the advice, under Circular 230 and your firm’s standards
Written advice standards still apply
Circular 230 requires practitioners to exercise due diligence and sets standards for written advice (31 CFR Part 10, sections 10.22 and 10.37). An AI draft does not change who is responsible for the advice. Zrico is not a tax research database; use it alongside the one you have.
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Your firm’s own workspace
Its own application and databases at its own address, never shared with another firm.
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Never used to train AI
Anthropic, OpenAI and Google do not train their models on your prompts, files or answers.
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Claude runs in the US
Claude, the default, is processed only in the United States. If your firm owner turns on GPT or Gemini, those requests are not limited to the US.
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Retention you set
Keep conversations, or have them deleted after a period you choose.
Questions
Tax research: common questions.
Can AI do tax research?
It can find and summarize public IRS and eCFR material quickly and draft a memo with sources. It can also be out of date or wrong, so a CPA or enrolled agent verifies every authority and reaches the conclusion.
Which sources does it use?
With web search, it can look up current information on the IRS and eCFR sites, court sites and general search, read PDFs there and show the sources it used. It does not search paid research services.
Is client information sent to search engines?
No documents are. When staff use web search, only the search terms are sent to public search engines, through our own search server. Web search is off unless your firm’s owner turns it on in Settings.
Is it a replacement for a tax research service?
No. Use it for drafting, reading and organizing around the research your team does in its research service.
Guides
Other use cases
General information, not legal, tax or accounting advice. AI output can be wrong and must be reviewed by a qualified professional before you rely on it.
Give your firm a private place to use AI.
$39 per seat per month after a 30-day free trial, 5-seat minimum. Your workspace is ready minutes after you sign up.
Your card is charged when the trial ends. Cancel any time before then and you pay nothing.