AI in Tax Practice: New IRS Standards, New Risks, and New Opportunities
Robert S. Keebler, CPA, Martin M. Shenkman, Esq., Thomas A. Tietz, Esq., and Walter Primoff, CPA
August 6, 2026
Description:
The IRS’s recently issued OPR Alert 2026-19 on responsible artificial intelligence use in federal tax practice may have far broader implications than many practitioners realize. While directed at tax practice before the IRS, the Alert raises important questions for tax attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, financial advisers, estate planners, trust officers, and other professionals who increasingly rely on AI tools to analyze tax returns, assist with tax planning, prepare written advice, communicate with clients, review documents, and support compliance functions.
The Alert addresses due diligence, competence, written advice, confidentiality, supervision, documentation, and billing practices in an AI-driven environment. Of particular interest is the IRS’s expectation that practitioners understand AI systems’ limitations and risks, carefully verify AI-generated work product, implement firm procedures governing AI use, and maintain appropriate safeguards for confidential taxpayer information.
The program will explore what the Alert says, who may be affected, how it compares to traditional professional responsibility frameworks, and whether the IRS has adopted standards that differ from the reasonableness-based approach found in many legal ethics authorities. The webinar will also examine practical issues involving AI-assisted tax research, return preparation, estate planning, client communications, tax controversy matters, confidentiality concerns, engagement letters, governance policies, documentation protocols, and the evolving debate over billing for AI-assisted services. Attendees will leave with practical guidance for using AI responsibly while managing professional, ethical, regulatory, and business risks.
Access Course
Free
Free
Continuing Education Credits
InterActive Legal is not an approved Continuing Education (CE) Sponsor. However, several states and
regulatory agencies for a variety of professionals that participate on our teleconferences may still receive
continuing education credit for their participation. If a participant wishes to receive CE credit for their
participation in these teleconferences, they must apply to receive credit on their own and through their
individual states and regulatory authorities. It is the responsibility of the participant to file for CE
credit and is not guaranteed by the webinar sponsors.
Robert S. Keebler, CPA
Robert S. Keebler, CPA/PFS, MST, AEP (Distinguished) is a partner with Keebler & Associates, LLP and is a 2007 recipient of the prestigious Accredited Estate Planners (Distinguished) award from the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.
He has been named by CPA Magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Practitioners in the United States and one of the Top 40 Tax Advisors to Know During a Recession. His practice includes family wealth transfer and preservation planning, charitable giving, retirement distribution planning, and estate administration.
Mr. Keebler frequently represents clients before the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the private letter ruling process and in estate, gift and income tax examinations and appeals, and he has received more than 250 favorable private letter rulings including several key rulings of “first impression.” He is the author of over 100 articles and columns and is the editor, author or co-author of many books and treatises on wealth transfer and taxation. Mr. Keebler has been a speaker at national estate planning and tax seminars for over 25 years including the AICPA’s: Estate Planning, High Income, Advanced Financial Planning Conferences, ABA Conferences, NAPEC Conferences, The Notre Dame Estate Planning Conference and the Heckerling Estate Planning Institute and is the immediate past chair of the AICPA’s Advanced Estate Planning Conference.
Martin M. Shenkman, Esq.
Martin M. Shenkman is an attorney in private practice in Fort Lee, NJ, and New York City. His practice concentrates on estate and tax planning, planning for closely held business, and estate administration.
Mr. Shenkman is an author of over 42 books and more than 1,000 articles. He is an editorial board member of Trusts & Estates Magazine and the Matrimonial Strategist, and an advisor for InterActive Legal. He is the recipient of many awards including being a 2013 recipient of the prestigious Accredited Estate Planners (Distinguished) award from the National Association of Estate Planning Counsels. Mr. Shenkman was named Financial Planning Magazine 2012 Pro-Bono Financial Planner of the Year for his efforts on behalf of those living with chronic illness and disability. Investment Adviser Magazine featured him on the cover of its April 2013 issue naming as the lead of their “all-star lineup of tax experts.”
Thomas A. Tietz, Esq.
Thomas A. Tietz, JD, is an attorney in private practice in New Jersey and New York, assisting clients with Estate Planning.
He is the author of more than 30 articles and has published articles with Trusts & Estate Magazine, the American Bar Association E-Report, the National Association of Estate Planning Council’s Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, and Leimberg Information Services, Inc. (LISI). He has lectured for numerous professional organizations, including the Notre Dame Tax & Estate Planning Institute, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the CPA Academy, and the National Academy of Continuing Legal Education.
Walter Primoff, CPA
Walter Primoff, CPA works with high-net-worth clients and their family offices, estates & trusts, and exempt organizations. As past deputy executive director of New York’s CPA Society, he led the Society’s programs related to professional practice issues both with members, and in Albany and Washington. Walt was instrumental in developing New York’s LLC/LLP laws. Both Connecticut and New Jersey used this work to enact their LLC statutes.
Walt “grew up” in his family’s CPA firm, where he advised successful business owners and served the full range of middle income through ultra-high-net-worth clients. A frequent speaker and writer, Walt received the respective CPA Journal and The Tax Advisor “Max Block” and “Article of the Year” awards, and is a leading contributor to the NY CPA Society’s online discussion forum. Walt chairs several nonprofit audit committees and is Co-President of UJA/JCC Greenwich. He chairs the audit committee of HoloSail Technologies, creating advanced secure communications technology.
Access Course
Free
Free
Related Classes
© Copyright 2025 - 2026 ILS Management LLC d/b/a InterActive Legal; All Rights Reserved