As a business owner or investor, time is one resource you never seem to have enough of. It’s no surprise that many people are turning to AI tools like ChatGPT for quick answers on tax deductions, super contributions, or structuring ideas.
The responses arrive instantly, sound confident, and don’t come with a bill. But when it comes to tax and super, convenience can quickly turn into risk.
Australia’s tax and superannuation system is complex, highly fact-specific, and constantly evolving. While AI can be useful at a high level, relying on it for decisions can expose you to compliance issues, ATO scrutiny, and poor financial outcomes. Increasingly, we’re seeing the clean-up work when AI-led decisions go wrong.
AI tools are generally good at explaining basic concepts in plain English. They can help you understand broad ideas such as negative gearing, the difference between concessional and non-concessional super contributions, or why record-keeping matters.
Used this way, AI can save time and help you ask better questions.
The risk arises when AI moves beyond explanation and into advice.
Tax and super outcomes depend on your specific circumstances – income levels, business structure, assets, residency status, timing, age, and future plans. This is where personalised tax advisory input matters most, because AI cannot weigh competing risks or apply judgement in the way a professional adviser can.
One of the biggest dangers with AI is its ability to sound certain while being wrong.
AI systems can generate answers that appear detailed and authoritative but are incomplete, outdated, or incorrect. In practice, this can result in:
These mistakes are rarely obvious to non-specialists. They are, however, very obvious to the ATO, the courts, and experienced advisers.
A recent Administrative Review Tribunal decision, Smith and Commissioner of Taxation [2026] ARTA 25, highlighted this risk. The taxpayer relied on AI-generated case references, some of which did not exist and others that were irrelevant. The Tribunal was clear that failing to verify sources wastes time and undermines credibility.
The ATO is not anti-AI. In fact, it uses advanced data analytics internally for compliance and risk detection.
However, the ATO’s guidance on misinformation makes it clear that AI tools can provide false, inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information. The responsibility to get it right remains with the taxpayer.
If an error is identified, the ATO will generally amend the return, apply interest, and may impose penalties – even where the mistake came from relying on AI rather than intent.
We’re seeing this most often in areas like work-from-home claims, property deductions, and broader business advisory matters where structure and timing are critical.
Superannuation is one area where AI-generated guidance can be particularly risky.
SMSFs and super strategies operate under strict eligibility rules, purpose tests, and contribution caps. AI tools often oversimplify these requirements or miss key conditions entirely.
The consequences can include non-compliance, forced unwinding of transactions, loss of concessional tax treatment, and penalties that can significantly erode retirement savings. This is why super decisions should always be reviewed as part of a broader superannuation and SMSF advisory approach.
There is also a practical risk many people overlook – data security.
Entering personal, financial, or business information into AI platforms means losing control over how that data is stored or used. From a risk perspective, sharing sensitive financial information with AI tools is rarely worth the trade-off.
Strong internal systems and clear processes, supported by reliable bookkeeping, remain essential for protecting both data and decision-making.
AI works best as a support tool, not a decision-maker.
It can help you understand the landscape or identify questions worth asking, but important tax and super decisions should always be reviewed in light of your full circumstances.
At Trekk Advisory, we encourage clients to test ideas early and have conversations before acting. That approach almost always costs less than fixing problems later.
AI can be a helpful assistant, but it is not your accountant.
When it comes to tax, superannuation, and protecting your wealth, tailored advice remains essential. If you’re unsure whether something you’ve read or generated with AI applies to your situation, a quick check can make all the difference. Reach out to Trekk Advisory for a practical review of your position and clear next steps.