An example of tax preparation as a governed process: agents do the 7 steps, and a person signs 2 gates before anything irreversible happens. Download it, import it into your workspace, and adapt it to your systems.
minctrl.process/v1 · hash a6238e18d843…e0a7
Tax prep is 80–90% knowledge work but carries preparer penalties (§6694/§6695) and the criminal §7216 data rule, so naive automation is dangerous. Returns prepared and positions authority-classified; below-standard positions disclosed or escalated; a credentialed preparer signs and the taxpayer signs Form 8879 before e-file.
E-filing a return is a signed, irreversible submission to the IRS, so a preparer reviews and the taxpayer authorizes it before transmission — the AI never files on its own.
| Rule | What it requires |
|---|---|
| IRS filing accuracy & substantiation | Return positions must be supported by the taxpayer's records; accuracy-related penalties can apply to understatements, so figures and positions need documentation. |
| IRS e-file authorization (Form 8879) | A return is transmitted only after the taxpayer authorizes it (e.g. signs Form 8879); the preparer may not e-file before that signature. |
| Circular 230 preparer duties | Paid preparers owe duties of competence and due diligence; a preparer/reviewer stands behind the positions taken on the return. |
A summary for orientation, not legal advice.
A minctrl.process/v1 document: the graph and the hash of the process it becomes.
Import into Minctrl opens this example in your workspace; one click stores it as your first version. Import JSON does the same with the file, and a file changed after download is refused.
Every connector starts in shadow: steps run, nothing leaves Minctrl until you configure a connector and switch it live.
Change signers, time limits and steps on the canvas. Each save is a new version; a running case stays on the version it started with.
No. A return is only transmitted after a preparer reviews the positions and the taxpayer authorizes it (Form 8879). E-filing is a signed, irreversible submission to the IRS, so there are two human gates before it goes out — the AI never files on its own.
The AI agent classifies source documents, populates the return and runs diagnostics and substantiation checks, flagging positions that need records to support them. Because accuracy-related penalties attach to unsupported understatements, weak or ambiguous positions are surfaced for the preparer rather than silently taken.
The example models the trail: every figure is traced to the source document it came from, and the preparer review, the taxpayer authorization and the e-file are logged with a tamper-evident audit hash on a deterministic, replayable run. What you must retain, and for how long, depends on your own obligations as a preparer. Minctrl holds no certification, and this is not legal advice.