Envisioning the future of tax filing
Created a detailed, end-to-end vision of how TurboTax can stand out against competitors in 3 years.
Team
Myself (Product design) • Clayton Harding (Product design) • Esme Lei (Graphic design) • Lauren Stein (Content design) • Kenzie Zou (Project lead) • Sascha Haas (Project lead) • Andres Hincapie (DPM)
Overview
Envisioned modern tax filing with done-for-you experiences
After the 2024 tax season, we had the opportunity to take a holistic view of our product experiences & offerings. Our goal was to create a prototype of how TurboTax Canada can continue to be the market leader in 3 years, despite growing competition.
This project was focused on presenting TurboTax Canada's long-term strategy and did not heavily consider current feasibility constraints.
Redesigned
58 screens
Presented to
12+ partners
Opportunities
Reduce tax jargon and improve accessing help
Customer interviews revealed that users were overwhelmed with "tax language" and trying to get help proved to be more frustrating. These barriers resulted in acquisition falling flat and completion rate lowering.
Modernize our look and feel to stay competitive
Young and new filers are attracted by our competitors’ aesthetic and intuitive filing experiences. In comparison, our long and tedious interview experience is overwhelming.
How can we leverage data import and AI to provide proactive help
From user-generated to auto-filled
Currently, users build their tax return by selecting relevant topics from a list of 70+ possible options
Based on their selections in tax profile, topics are added to their return. Current projects were working towards pre-selecting relevant topics (such as the T1 Upload project) but, reading through EVERY POSSIBLE TOPIC is overwhelming. As they fill out each topic, users are presented with even more tax vocabulary.
Solution: Import and pre-fill info to create a review experience instead of an input one
Based on the success of our existing import experiences, we knew one of the best ways to reduce confusion was to leave out the guess work by pre-filling the tax return. Our U.S. team also saw success with a pre-filled tax return that started with reviewing the imported information.
"My info's imported, but how do I know it's right?"
While U.S. saw improved completion rates for users who imported, many users chose not to import or had issues getting the right info imported. We needed to focus on
Using Intuit Assist to do the preliminary checks
Using AI to make smart suggestions based on user demographics
Currently, users are prompted with our system's error checker at the end of their return. One of the ways we envisioned AI to help filers feel more confident was acting as the preliminary checker for their taxes throughout the filing experience.
Modernizing our design while improving navigation
Countless iterations were brought to design crits
Since this project was free of technical constraints we had the change to envision a modern spin on our UI and appeal to younger audiences. We also had yet to deal with the navigational issues which clouded our users' sense of progress.
At first, we lacked communication and spent too long in ideation. The work began to reflect our disorganization when we brought designs to crit that were so all over the place that we, as the designers, didn't know how to explain our rationale.
We got together and made some firm decisions to guide our design direction and reiterated our primary goal. From that, we could finally make bigger and more confident leaps.
Reduced the size of suggested cards
One of the established priorities was mobile-first design, but the current suggested card design was so long that users had to scroll to see the rest of their topics.
Reorganized tax topics based on customer understanding
Another principle was meeting users where they're at. Instead of grouping varying streams of income together because it makes sense to us, we split employment and investment income apart to match our user's view of their taxes.
Breaking free from components…because we can
We weren't sure how much we wanted to stick to the constraints of our design system, but eventually decided that if a component conflicted with our vision of a better design we would detach bit by bit. While it was unrealistic, it gave me the freedom to push my designs.
Designing in the ambiguity of innovation
How do I design AI features when it's all so new?
When the AI wave first broke, I was a bit hesitant about using it. I understood the value of it, but I just didn't see myself as a user. This project forced me to try designing new ways to implement AI and I even used 6 different AI apps during my research. I realized that I find the ambiguity of designing within such a new space exciting and had the most fun imagining what self-employed filing would look like with the help of AI (probably the most annoying tax filing to do).
Too many takeaways to count
This project was chaotic, exciting, and rewarding. We dealt with a ton of ambiguity throughout this project, but I learned that sometimes you need to rely on your design principles and intuition. I thought about strategy and borders vs. no borders more than I ever have before. And it's never too often to be asking yourself "how is this relevant to the goal and audience".
More work
Pre-filled onboarding
Provided new users the ability to upload their prior year return to streamline and reduce their onboarding experience
Transformed TurboTax into a year-round tool by allowing users to track their expenses by scanning or uploading their receipts