FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about OpenAccountants.
No. OpenAccountants provides computation tools and educational resources, not official tax advice. The skills generate worksheets and self-review reports based on published tax rules. You should always have a qualified professional review your outputs before filing any tax return.
Licensed CPAs (Certified Public Accountants) and EAs (Enrolled Agents) review each skill section-by-section. They check the rules against current tax law, leave expert comments, and sign off with a public verification. Their names and credentials are visible on every skill they verify.
Your financial data never leaves your AI conversation. The skills are just instructions — markdown files containing tax rules and computation logic. They contain no personal information and don't transmit anything. When you upload worksheets for professional review, they're stored securely and only visible to your assigned reviewer.
OpenAccountants covers a growing global library of country, state, and specialist tax skills. The live skill library is the source of truth for current coverage. Check the coverage page for the latest list, or contribute a skill for your own jurisdiction.
Yes — the skills are fully open source. You can view the source on GitHub, open issues, submit pull requests, or write entirely new skills. All contributed skills go through the same professional verification process before being published.
For anything you plan to file, yes. The skills give you a detailed worksheet and flag potential issues, but they don't replace professional judgment. That's why we built the review system — sign up and we'll connect you with a trusted accountant in our network who can check your numbers before you file.
Traditional tax software is a black box — you enter data and get a number. OpenAccountants skills are fully transparent. Every rule cites the relevant law, every threshold is visible, and every computation step is documented. You can read the exact logic that determines each line of your return, and your AI agent can answer follow-up questions about any rule.
Every skill goes through professional verification by licensed accountants. But if you spot an issue, you can report it directly on GitHub or through the platform. Errors are treated like bugs in open-source software — they get fixed publicly and the fix is verified. The full audit trail is visible.
The skills are free and always will be. Browsing, installing, and running them in your AI agent costs nothing. If you want a real accountant to review your numbers before filing, sign up and we'll connect you with someone we trust. We're building the network now and we'll be in touch.
For verifying accountants
What skill review does and doesn't mean — including liability and scope.
Your name and credentials are listed on every skill you verify — on the public skills library, in the open-source GitHub repo, and in skill frontmatter that developers and AI agents read. Verified skills for your jurisdiction are also served through the OpenAccountants MCP server, so agents worldwide know a licensed professional checked the rules. You appear on the coverage map as your region's contributor.
You are checking that a skill's rules, rates, thresholds, and citations match published guidance from your tax authority. You are not reviewing a specific taxpayer's return, signing a filing, or creating a client engagement with every person who uses the skill.
No. You're reviewing open-source reference material and confirming it looks correct based on current legislation. Every skill carries a disclaimer that users must consult a qualified accountant for their specific situation. No client relationship is formed. No engagement letter exists. You're contributing to open-source knowledge — the same as reviewing a textbook or writing a Wikipedia article about tax law. If something is later found to be incorrect, the skill gets updated. That's how open-source works.
That's why it's open-source. Other accountants can review, flag errors, and improve the skill. You're not the last line of defence. You're the first qualified professional to review it — and that alone makes it dramatically better than the research-verified version that millions of people are currently relying on with no practitioner sign-off at all.
No. Review the sections you are confident about. Flag or skip what you are unsure of. You can verify a skill in parts over multiple sessions. You are never required to approve an entire skill in one go.
No. Your name shows you contributed a professional review of the reference material — similar to reviewing published guidance or open-source documentation. It does not create an engagement with each user who downloads or runs the skill.
Most skills start as AI drafts. Your role is to correct and review them — not to have written them from scratch. That is the point of the network. You only approve sections you have actually checked.
No. US Federal (US) covers federal skills only — not state returns. If you applied as a US state (e.g. US-MT), you see federal US skills plus that state only. International accountants see their country only. You are not expected to verify other regions.
Skill verification is about the rules AI follows (reference content). Client worksheet review is a separate paid workflow where you review someone's actual numbers. One is public reference review; the other is a professional engagement.
Considering joining? See the accountant program.
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