Aiwyn, a modern accounting platform, is seeking 100 firms to pilot Aiwyn Tax, the first modern tax engine built for enterprise production since the early 2000s. The pilot will provide early access to 1040 preparation, review and filing capabilities for the 2026 tax season. The launch follows Aiwyn's acquisition of Column Tax, whose technology has processed over one million returns in production. Gavin Nachbar, former Column Tax CEO, now serves as GM of Tax at Aiwyn. Pilot participants will receive comprehensive 1040 preparation and filing capabilities, AI-powered workflow tools, modern collaboration features and direct access to the product team. The acquisition enabled Aiwyn to accelerate its development timeline and deliver pilot-ready capabilities for the upcoming filing season.

While death and taxes are the only guarantees in life, paying to file taxes is up there as a near certainty.According to page 107 of the 2024 Form 1040 instructions, the average cost of filing a basic federal 1040 tax return was $160 for a non-business taxpayer in 2023.In addition, the Tax Foundation estimated that total tax compliance costs — including fees, lost productivity and out-of-pocket expenses — cost American taxpayers over $546 billion each year, or 1.9% of the U.S. GDP.In a Wednesday (Jan. 8) press release from digital banking platform Chime, the company announced all new and existing members can file their federal and state taxes directly within the Chime app at no cost, bypassing the costs associated with using third-party software or traditional tax preparation services.“When Chime members e-file their taxes through Chime in partnership with [tax filing FinTechs] april and Column Tax, filing is completely free,” the release said.According to the release, “a successful pilot program” that began in 2023 led to the launch of free in-app tax filing for all Chime members.Chime’s chief product officer, Madhu Muthukumar, commented in the release: “Getting your money back from the government shouldn’t cost you money. By providing completely free in-app tax filing, we’re empowering Americans to unlock their financial progress confidently, making tax season easier and more rewarding.”Some additional highlights of the program being touted by Chime are that members can receive their federal tax refunds up to “six days early” with direct deposit into their Chime accounts and filing in “under 24 minutes.”PYMNTS reported that Chime Financial submitted a confidential filing for an IPO in December, and could possibly go public sometime this year. The company declined to comment.Another PYMNTS report focusing on this year’s FinTech IPO outlook noted that the climate seems right for several FinTech players to go public and see if investors take notice. The FinTech IPO Index is up more than 58% through the previous year