WelcomeTax

Inspiration

Many immigrants struggle to understand U.S. taxes, IRS notices, and filing requirements. We wanted to build a tool that reduces confusion and helps users avoid costly mistakes.

What it does

WelcomeTax lets users upload tax documents and receive plain-English explanations, risk detection, and personalized next steps using AI and official IRS guidance.

How we built it

We built WelcomeTax using Next.js, TypeScript, SQLite, OpenAI APIs, and a RAG pipeline powered by IRS publications and tax documents.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenges were reliable document parsing, preventing AI hallucinations, and designing safe responses for sensitive tax situations.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We built an immigrant-focused AI assistant that proactively detects risks, explains IRS notices, and provides source-backed guidance instead of generic chatbot responses.

What we learned

We learned how to build a practical RAG system, improve AI reliability, and design safer AI experiences for high-trust financial use cases.

What's next for WelcomeTax

We plan to improve document understanding, add multilingual support, expand immigrant tax scenarios, and integrate more official IRS and FinCEN guidance.