Tax Organizer
Streamlining the data gathering process of unfiled tax years
Client:
TaxRise
Category:
In-House Software Design
My Role:
UX/UI Designer
Duration:
October - November 2022
Company Overview
TaxRise is a tax relief program dedicate to resolving clients’ tax problems.
Business Challenges
The IRS reviews the last 10 years of a person's tax history when deciding if they qualify for help. Before they can get assistance, clients must make sure they've filed all of their overdue tax returns.
The Problem
TaxRise’s case managers currently spend hours on the phone with clients and wait for documents to compile needed information, which can elongate the processes if files are not submitted on time.
“Our goal is to digitize an industry stuck in history"
Sam A
Founder & CEO
Discover
Define
Desing
Test
We held extensive discussions with our in-house CPAs (certified public accountants) and case managers, for insights into the data-gathering procedure. Crucial documents including IRS Forms 433-A and Form 1080, along with a paper version of the active Tax Organizer were given from the tax professionals.
These materials formed the basis for the questions my team and I would be asking our clients. This comprehensive research process, which encompassed market analysis and internal meetings with CPAs, established the initial project scope.
Users
The average client has zero knowledge of the tax industry.
0
knowledge of taxes
50
year-old average
Low
Text savvy skills
4-5
unfilled tax years
40%
Existing clients need to file
Users Flow
Before designing, we needed to identify where the disconnect between case managers and users occurs in our flow, and how to simplify it.
Define
The tax organizer lives within the client portal ecosystem, we already had a design system based off of Salesforce’s lightning design system built out from previous applications.
Design
How do we approach multiple years?
We had two options:
1. User work through one year at a time
2. User select “which years this applies to” with multiple years select
We opted for a year-by-year design approach because users often make multiple mistakes and handle substantial amounts of paperwork when using the multi-year selection option. By having users go through the tax questions one year at a time, it would lead to a more accurate and efficient form submission process.
View the full Tax Organizer Prototype
Business Constraints
Our development team was getting smaller
Contractors were hired only in the company for a few weeks
Constantly changing requirements
Next Steps
Test current flow with stakeholders
Dig deeper into the multiple year idea
Find ways to integrate 3rd party platforms like Argyle and Zillow
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