Modest Alphabet Shares for Son

[Paracelsus]

I would also advise against using AI for accountancy questions.
AI will not fill out tax returns

It certainly can. It one-shotted mine with ease late last year when provided all the relevant data, and there have been multiple model upgrades since then.
My accounts are obviously simple as a contractor, but I've seen recent models handle much more complicated US tax returns, even for people with complex accounting situations.

[ladymuck]

It certainly can. It one-shotted mine with ease late last year when provided all the relevant data, and there have been multiple model upgrades since then.
My accounts are obviously simple as a contractor, but I've seen recent models handle much more complicated US tax returns, even for people with complex accounting situations.

Interesting. How much prep did you have to do? If you have structured data that's properly categorised, then I can see it working well as that's pretty much how FreeAgent works. However, if you chucked at AI the equivalent of giving your accountant a bank statement and a box of receipts, would it do a good job?

[Paracelsus]

Interesting. How much prep did you have to do? If you have structured data that's properly categorised, then I can see it working well as that's pretty much how FreeAgent works. However, if you chucked at AI the equivalent of giving your accountant a bank statement and a box of receipts, would it do a good job?

No specific prep beyond already keeping records in Freeagent/a spreadsheet. Was just a case of (paraphrased for brevity, but not much) "calculate my tax return based on the following - salary X, dividends Y, interest Z, no student loan etc" and the same for corporation tax and giving it the totals for revenue, VAT, expenses etc. So yeah in my case nothing that FreeAgent can't do AFAIK, but from what I've seen it can do what you describe - I've seen US tech folk give it folders of hundreds of PDFs and all sorts to trawl through and even spot niche tax reduction options that expensive accountants previously failed to find. Obviously the more complex your ask, the more attention you'll want to pay to the output as it is more likely to make a mistake, but the point is it's getting insanely good, and if anyone tried it 2 years, even 1 year ago, and thought "it's not good enough", they could do with having another look, because the models are improving at a rate that is frankly alien compared to any other technology in history.

[sadkingbilly]

which AI? one of the one's that keep all your info on SES??

[willendure]

If you pay your son PAYE £4000/year for doing some small amount of work for your company, does that get him a full NI contribution for that year ? Otherwise, if he is not working, he won't count the university years for NI. Shoot me down if this is incorrect, but seems like it could be a consideration, if you think NI is actually going to still be worth anything when he eventually is allowed to retire in 2097.