04/06/2026
The AI Gave Him Three Citations.
None of Them Existed.
A lawyer needed to defend his client against a $2.3 million IRS deficiency notice.
He asked an AI tool a tax question. The AI gave him exactly the answer he was looking for—complete with case citations, docket numbers, and years. Confident. Authoritative. Detailed.
All fake. Two of the three cases cited don't exist. The Tax Court was not amused.
AI tools hallucinate on legal queries 58 to 82 percent of the time. Even AI tools purpose-built for legal research still get it wrong 17 to 34 percent of the time. Tax questions—layered with code sections, regulations, rulings, and case law—are especially prone to wrong answers.
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