Corporate tax departments are failing to realize the value of their technology investments because they are neglecting the human side of the equation
Key highlights:
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Technology satisfaction is in freefall and needs human-side investments — Satisfaction with tax technology dropped sharply to just 34%, from 56%, in a single year, even as many tax departments continued investing in tools.
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Training cutbacks are accelerating, as the AI era deepens — Only 50% of tax departments provided technology training in 2025, down from 59% the prior year.
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Hiring changes reveal a false choice between tax expertise and tech fluency — After years of prioritizing tech and IT hires (which were 57% of new roles in 2024), tax departments sharply reversed course, with 62% of new hires in 2025 emphasizing tax expertise over technology skills.
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After years of investing in tax technology, corporate tax departments have yet to see peak efficiency because of underdevelopment in workforce training and a growing mismatch between what advanced AI tools can do and what employees can handle. In fact, the Thomson Reuters Institute’s 2026 Corporate Tax Technology Report reveals that satisfaction with tax technology has plummeted to just 34%, from 56%, in a single year.
That leaves many tax departments struggle with a widening frustration gap between what they want to achieve and what their current tools will allow. The key to closing this chasm is for heads of tax to reinvest in the human-side of their technology capabilities.
Tech competency remains a challenge
Only 9% of tax professionals rate their colleagues as very competent with technology, according to the report. The majority (60%) said they consider their teams merely somewhat competent, while nearly one-third admit their departments lack technological competence altogether.
What makes this especially alarming is that larger companies with more resources are almost three times more likely to report competency gaps, with 39% of professionals saying this, compared to just 15% at smaller firms. Indeed, these larger organizations are the ones that have invested most heavily in sophisticated tech stacks and should theoretically have the most capable users.
Perhaps a reason for this competence gap is the failure to invest in consistent technology training and knowledge-sharing among peers. Despite being one of the most cost-effective performance levers available, only 50% of corporate tax professionals surveyed said their departments provided technology training in 2025. This is down from 59% the previous year.
This training deficit has consequences because most corporate tax departments remain stuck in the reactive or chaotic phase of technological maturity. Meanwhile, AI timelines are compressing rapidly. In fact, 39% of tax professionals said they now expect AI to be central to their workflow within 1 to 2 years, up from the 31% who thought it would take that long just last year.
Pendulum swing in hiring
The 2026 Corporate Tax Technology Report also reveals a dramatic reversal in hiring priorities that deserves careful attention. In 2024, 57% of new tax department roles were dedicated to tech/IT expertise, with only 24% prioritizing tax knowledge. By 2025, the script had completely flipped, with 62% of new hires now emphasizing tax expertise.
At smaller companies (those with revenue of less than $1 billion), the swing is even more extreme. In fact, 100% of new hires are now those with tax expertise rather than technology specialists.
This pendulum swing likely reflects a correction after years of heavy tech/IT hiring combined with greater technological maturity that subsequently requires less technology expertise. At the same time, however, the solution is not one or the other; rather, hiring for both makes the most sense. In fact, the data supports this as hybrid tax/tech roles are on the rise, according to the report.
4 actions corporate tax leaders should take now
While the data makes the problem of this frustration gap clear, the more pressing issue is what tax leaders can do about it right now. Four concrete actions stand out:
1. Make training non-negotiable — If corporate tax leaders are investing in technology but not in developing their people’s ability to use it effectively, they are wasting money. Make formal training — along with mentoring and peer knowledge-sharing — a performance requirement.
2. Hire for the future — The pendulum swing back to tax expertise is understandable, but it’s essential that heads of corporate tax departments do not overcorrect. Prioritize candidates who demonstrate both deep tax knowledge and technological fluency or invest in upskilling current staff with explicit development paths to build in the missing capability.
3. Track what matters — Two-thirds of tax departments now measure time savings and efficiency gains, while 55% track accuracy improvements. In addition, it is important to track where your corporate tax department staff are struggling with tools and where additional training or process optimization could unlock value.
4. Prepare for the AI acceleration — With 39% of corporate tax professionals expecting AI to be central to their work within the next 1 to 2 years and another 15% expecting it within a year, corporate tax executives must start experimenting with AI for technical research, compliance automation, and document analysis to build the team’s comfort and competency through hands-on experience.
The bottom line
The frustration gap among corporate tax professionals highlights the mismatch between advanced technological capability and the human capacity to leverage it. As one survey respondent described: “Technology is extremely important to reduce manual processes and help reduce errors. I don’t see a path for any tax department to not lean into technology.”
However, leaning into technology without investing equally in your people is a recipe for disillusionment. The 56% dissatisfaction rate with current tech stacks underscores the frustration in the human-technology relationship and the perception that the technology tools are not solving users’ problems very well.
Those corporate tax departments that will thrive in the AI era will be the ones that invested in building technological competence, hired for hybrid capabilities, and created cultures of continuous learning. The technology maturity curve and the talent maturity curve must ascend together.
You can download a full copy of the Thomson Reuters Institute’s 2026 Corporate Tax Technology Report here
