As many as 20% said using it was worth the risk
Canadians are growing more comfortable with using artificial intelligence in daily life, but a new survey suggests that comfort does not always come with caution—especially when money and taxes are involved.
A survey by H&R Block Canada found that 9% of Canadians said they have used AI tools to help manage their finances or file their taxes. Another 21% said they have not done so but would be comfortable with it. By comparison, 56% said they would not be comfortable using AI in that way.
According to the survey, the concern is that open AI tools are not built to handle the full complexity of Canadian tax filing. Tax rules change, credits and benefits are updated, and each person’s situation can be different. General-purpose AI tools may miss those details or return information that is inaccurate, outdated, or misleading.
“Unlike closed enterprise AI tools that are implemented into companies’ systems for use only by their clients whereby data isn’t shared outside of the company, open AI tools carry both risks and significant limitations when it comes to inputting personal financial information or to help do your taxes,” said Yannick Lemay, tax expert at H&R Block.
“Public AI platforms aren’t trained on the ever-evolving changes to the hundreds of tax credit and benefits available, and the reality is that every Canadian’s tax situation is unique based on numerous considerations that AI tools won’t have line-of-sight into. This can result in Canadians receiving inaccurate tax advice and can lead to missing out on getting the full refund they’re entitled to, or result in Canadian Revenue Agency reviews and even penalties.”
The survey also included a statement from ChatGPT on using public AI for tax advice.
“Public or general-purpose AI tools should not be treated as a safe place to input personal financial information for tax advice. Canadians should be cautious about using open AI tools for tax filing purposes because the information they provide may not be accurate, current or appropriate for their specific situation. These tools can make mistakes or relay outdated information,” ChatGPT said.
Even with those warnings, some Canadians said they are still willing to take the chance. 20% said using AI support or advice is worth the risk. 17% said the convenience makes it worthwhile, while 19% said they are not worried about sharing personal or financial information because they believe it would be lost in the large amount of data these tools collect.
However, opinions changed when people learned how open AI systems work. After that, 82% said they would not be comfortable entering personal or financial information into an open AI platform to help manage their finances. 9 in 10 also said they would be concerned about the security implications of entering details such as salary, expenses, or personal circumstances into open AI tools for tax help. Around 40% said they had not previously thought about those risks.
The survey also noted that AI tools may struggle to keep up with tax changes. These include the removal of the Canada Carbon Rebate in April 2025, a reduction in the lowest federal tax rate from 15% to 14% starting July 2025, and changes involving the GST/HST new housing rebate and other benefits and credits. H&R Block said general AI tools may not always reflect these changes accurately.
