Freetaxusa

Phase Overview

Phase 1: Setup & Consent

See references/PHASE-1-SETUP.md

• Explain risks of tax inaccuracy
• Load browser automation (brw skill preferred; detect alternatives if unavailable)
• Review data privacy implications
• Get explicit user consent

Phase 2: Document Discovery

See references/PHASE-2-DISCOVERY.md

• Set up secure working folder
• Collect and extract all tax documents
• Build consolidated document summary
• Front-load ALL questions before filing
• Generate tax outcome guesstimate

Phase 3: Tax Research

See references/PHASE-3-RESEARCH.md

• Fetch current tax brackets and rules
• Run life change questionnaire
• Flag complexity items needing professional help
• Build section-by-section filing plan

Phases 2-3 are iterative. The life change questionnaire or filing plan review may reveal missing documents or new questions. Loop back to Phase 2 as needed — request additional docs, re-extract, update the summary, and revise the filing plan. Do NOT proceed to Phase 4 until all documents are accounted for and the filing plan is approved.

Phase 4: Filing

See references/PHASE-4-FILING.md

• Navigate FreeTaxUSA, user logs in
• Handle first few pages directly to learn the site flow
• Delegate remaining sections to background agents to save context
• Maintain verification table throughout
• Checkpoint reviews after each major section
• Complete state return(s)
• STOP at review page — never submit

Phase 5: Review & Cleanup

See references/PHASE-5-REVIEW.md

• Generate personalized HTML tax summary report
• Walk through review checklist
• Explain next steps (user submits)
• Write data purge reminder with actual paths

PDF Extraction Script

Extract text and render page images from tax document PDFs:

node "${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/extract-pdf.js" <pdf-path> [output-dir]

• Extracts text and renders page images from PDFs
• Outputs JSON summary to stdout
• Creates per-page .txt and .png files in the output directory
• If output-dir is omitted, outputs are placed alongside the PDF

Key Principles

When to Ask vs Assume

Transcribe verified document values directly (W-2 box amounts, 1099 figures, employer info). Ask about ambiguous items, filing choices, and discrepancies between documents.

Data Privacy

Tax data stays local. No data is sent to external services except FreeTaxUSA via the browser. Extracted files, research notes, and the summary report live in the user-chosen folder. Screenshots go to your browser automation tool's default location (e.g., /tmp/brw-screenshots/ for brw).

Error Recovery

Each page auto-saves on FreeTaxUSA. If something goes wrong, re-login and resume from where you left off. Progress is never lost.

Pace

Go slow and verify. Speed is less important than accuracy for tax filing. Double-check every entry against source documents.

Browser Tips & Known Issues

• See references/BROWSER-TIPS.md for FreeTaxUSA-specific browser automation patterns
• See references/GOTCHAS.md for known quirks and common pitfalls