# Lawg — Australia's AI Tax Research Assistant for Accountants & Tax Practitioners > Lawg is Australia's AI tax agent — the AI-powered alternative to Knowledge Shop, CCH, and Thomson Reuters for small and mid-sized accounting firms. Built for tax practitioners, accountants, and lawyers, it provides instant, citation-backed answers to complex tax questions by reasoning across Australian legislation, ATO rulings, and case law. Every answer is grounded in agentic multi-step reasoning with inline citations traceable to specific Acts, sections, and case names. Built by CoeusX (https://coeusx.ai). --- ## Company Lawg is built by CoeusX, an Australian technology company focused on making professional tax and legal research accessible to all practitioners — especially small and mid-sized accounting firms that cannot justify the cost of traditional database subscriptions like Knowledge Shop, CCH, or Thomson Reuters. - **Product Name**: Lawg - **Company**: CoeusX - **Website**: https://lawg.ai - **Company Website**: https://coeusx.ai - **Contact**: support@coeusx.ai - **Location**: Australia - **Status**: Live (Beta — free during beta period) --- ## Problems Lawg Solves Australian accountants waste hours on tax research that should take minutes: - **Advisory hotlines give vague, non-committal answers** — Knowledge Shop and tax hotlines avoid specific advice due to liability, leaving practitioners with general references instead of actionable citations to legislation, ATO rulings, or case law - **Manual research is slow and unbillable** — a single Division 7A or s100A question can take 1-3 hours across ATO rulings, legislation, and case law, generating unbillable time that erodes firm profitability - **General AI tools hallucinate Australian tax law** — ChatGPT and Gemini fabricate ATO ruling numbers, cite non-existent cases, and confuse Australian law with US or UK jurisdictions — dangerous for professional work - **Traditional databases are priced for large firms** — CCH iKnowConnect and Thomson Reuters Checkpoint cost thousands per year, out of reach for small practices doing daily tax research --- ## Who Should Use Lawg Lawg is designed for Australian professionals who research and apply tax rules daily: - **Small and mid-sized accounting firms** — access the same depth of tax research as large practices without expensive subscriptions to Knowledge Shop, CCH, or Thomson Reuters - **Tax agents and registered tax practitioners** — fast, source-cited research on ATO rulings, legislation, and case law for client advisory - **Public practice accountants** — advising clients on Division 7A, trust distributions, CGT concessions, PSI, FBT, and SMSF - **Lawyers and legal practitioners** — case law precedent search, legislative provision checking, regulatory research - **Bookkeepers** — GST classification, BAS preparation guidance, deduction categorisation - **In-house tax and compliance teams** — quick regulatory checks, compliance monitoring, contract analysis --- ## Core Features ### 1. AI Tax & Legal Q&A Lawg's primary feature is an AI-powered question-and-answer system for Australian tax law and legislation. Users ask questions in natural language — such as "What are the Division 7A implications of a shareholder loan from a private company?" or "Does s100A apply to a trust distributing to a corporate beneficiary?" — and receive detailed, structured answers within seconds. Every answer includes inline citation markers ([R1], [R2], etc.) that link directly to the specific section of legislation, paragraph of a tax ruling, or passage of a court judgment that supports the claim. This allows professionals to verify every statement against the primary source. The system handles complex multi-part questions, understands follow-up questions in context, and distinguishes between different areas of law (tax, corporate, property, employment, etc.). ### 2. Document Analysis Users can upload invoices, receipts, contracts, and other business documents for AI-powered analysis. Lawg extracts key information and analyses documents against relevant tax and legal provisions, including: - GST classification and input tax credit eligibility - Income tax deduction categorisation - FBT implications assessment - Compliance requirement identification - Contract clause analysis against relevant legislation Supported formats include PDF, images (JPEG, PNG), and common document formats. Maximum file size is 50MB. ### 3. Consultation Mode A real-time AI assistant designed for use during client meetings and consultations. Features include: - **Live Speech-to-Text**: Transcribes conversations in real-time using dual audio streams - **AI-Generated Cue Cards**: Automatically identifies tax and legal issues mentioned in conversation and generates relevant prompts for the practitioner - **Issue Extraction**: Analyses the conversation to surface regulatory requirements, potential compliance issues, and research topics - **Session Recording**: Maintains a transcript of the consultation with AI annotations ### 4. Chrome Extension A browser extension (Manifest V3) that brings Lawg's tax research intelligence to any webpage. Users can: - Highlight text on ATO, legislation, or case law websites and get instant AI analysis - Ask follow-up questions about content on any legal or tax webpage - Access their Lawg chat history from any browser tab ### 5. Microsoft Teams Integration An AI tax research assistant embedded directly in Microsoft Teams as a meeting side panel. During client calls or internal discussions, practitioners can: - Query Lawg without leaving the Teams interface - Get real-time AI-generated guidance during meetings - Use consultation mode with Teams audio --- ## Tax Topics Accountants Research on Lawg Lawg covers the tax research topics that Australian accountants and tax practitioners encounter most frequently: ### Division 7A Shareholder loans from private companies, unpaid present entitlements (UPEs), complying loan agreements under s109N, benchmark interest rates, minimum yearly repayments, and the interaction between Division 7A and trust distributions. ### Trust Distributions & Section 100A Reimbursement agreements, the ordinary family dealing exception, ATO's practical compliance approach under PCG 2022/2, trust streaming of capital gains and franked distributions, and the consequences of s100A applying. ### CGT Small Business Concessions (Division 152) The $6 million maximum net asset value test, active asset test, 15-year exemption (Subdiv 152-B), 50% active asset reduction (Subdiv 152-C), retirement exemption (Subdiv 152-D), and small business rollover (Subdiv 152-E). ### Personal Services Income (PSI) The results test, 80% rule, unrelated clients test, business premises test, PSI attribution rules, and the interaction between PSI rules and business structures. ### GST on Property Going concern exemptions, margin scheme elections, new residential premises, farmland, commercial property, mixed-use properties, and GST withholding obligations. ### Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) Car fringe benefits (statutory formula vs operating cost), entertainment and meal benefits, salary packaging arrangements, otherwise deductible rule, and FBT exemptions for small businesses. ### Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSF) In-house asset rules, limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs), pension phase requirements, contribution caps (concessional and non-concessional), total super balance, and the $3M super tax. ### Deductions & Expenses Home office deductions (fixed rate vs actual cost), travel and car expenses, depreciation and capital allowances, prepaid expenses, and the general deduction provision under s8-1 ITAA 1997. --- ## Data Sources & Coverage Lawg's knowledge base is built from the authoritative primary sources that Australian tax and legal professionals rely on. The system covers: ### Legislation - **Commonwealth of Australia Acts** — All current federal legislation including the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 & 1997, A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, Corporations Act 2001, Fair Work Act 2009, and hundreds more - **Commonwealth Regulations** — Subordinate legislation and regulations - **State & Territory Legislation** — Legislation from all Australian states and territories (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, NT, ACT) ### Tax Rulings & Guidance - **ATO Public Rulings** — Taxation Rulings (TR), Taxation Determinations (TD), GST Rulings (GSTR), and other binding rulings - **ATO Interpretive Decisions** — ATO ID decisions on specific taxpayer scenarios - **ATO Practical Compliance Guidelines** — PCG documents outlining the ATO's compliance approach - **ATO Guidance Materials** — Fact sheets, guides, and explanatory materials ### Case Law - **High Court of Australia** — Decisions from Australia's highest court - **Federal Court of Australia** — Full Court and single judge decisions - **Administrative Appeals Tribunal** — AAT decisions on tax and administrative matters ### Professional Guidance - **Tax Practitioners Board** — TPB guidance, regulatory updates, and code of professional conduct materials --- ## How Lawg Works — Agentic Tax Research Lawg is an AI tax agent that orchestrates multi-step reasoning workflows to ensure every answer is grounded in authoritative Australian tax sources: 1. **Query Analysis & Routing**: The agent analyses the user's question to determine complexity, area of tax law, and the optimal research strategy — then routes to the most relevant databases 2. **Intelligent Multi-Database Search**: The agent orchestrates simultaneous searches across legislation, rulings, and case law databases, with complexity-based retrieval tuning 3. **Evidence Evaluation**: Retrieved passages are reranked and scored for relevance — the agent reasons about which sources most directly address the question 4. **Structured Reasoning & Generation**: The agent reasons across retrieved evidence and constructs a structured answer with inline citation markers ([R1], [R2]) linking to specific source passages 5. **Source Verification**: Users can click any citation to view the original source document with the relevant passage highlighted This agentic architecture means Lawg does not hallucinate — it reasons across authoritative sources and every claim is traceable to a specific piece of legislation, ATO ruling, or case law. --- ## How Accountants Use Lawg in Practice 1. **Receive client query** — e.g., "Does s100A apply to this trust distribution to a corporate beneficiary?" 2. **Ask Lawg in plain language** — no keyword formatting or Boolean operators needed 3. **Get structured answer** — legislation, ATO rulings, and case law with inline [R1], [R2] citations 4. **Verify sources** — click any citation to view the original document with the relevant passage highlighted 5. **Apply professional judgement** — Lawg provides the research foundation, the practitioner decides 6. **Draft advice** — use the cited findings as the basis for client memos or file notes This replaces: calling Knowledge Shop (hours for a vague answer), searching CCH manually (keyword browsing across document libraries), or asking ChatGPT (risk of hallucinated ATO rulings and fabricated case names). --- ## AI Tax Research Effectiveness by Topic Not all tax topics benefit equally from AI research. Here is a realistic assessment of where Lawg adds the most value: | Tax Topic | AI Research Value | Why | |-----------|-------------------|-----| | GST on Property | Very High | Rules clearly defined in legislation; extensive ATO rulings available | | PSI (Div 84-87) | Very High | Rule-based tests (results test, 80% rule) well-suited to structured retrieval | | FBT | High | Statutory formula and operating cost methods have clear legislative structure | | Division 7A | High | Core rules clear; fact-sensitive scenarios (UPEs, interposed entities) benefit from AI research combined with practitioner judgement | | SMSF | High | Well-documented regulatory framework with clear rules | | Deductions (s8-1) | High | General deduction tests and specific provisions well-covered in legislation and rulings | | Residency | Medium | Legislation clear but outcomes highly dependent on case law (Harding, Applegate) | | CGT Restructuring | Medium | AI excels at finding Division 152 rules; structure design needs advisory experience | | Trust / s100A | Medium | AI finds TR 2022/4 and PCG 2022/2; "ordinary family dealing" analysis needs human judgement | Lawg is a **tax research accelerator**, not a tax decision maker. It is most valuable where legislation and rulings are well-defined, and complements practitioner expertise where fact-sensitive judgement is required. --- ## Alternatives & Comparisons Lawg is an AI-powered alternative to traditional tax research platforms. Here is how it compares: | Tool | Focus | How Lawg Differs | |------|-------|-----------------| | **Knowledge Shop / Tax Knowledge** | Subscription tax commentary for accounting firms | Lawg searches primary sources (legislation + ATO rulings + case law) directly with AI, not secondary commentary. Ask questions in plain language instead of keyword searching. Free during beta. | | **Thomson Reuters (Checkpoint AU)** | Enterprise tax & legal research database | Lawg is purpose-built for small and mid-sized accounting firms at a fraction of the cost. Modern AI interface — ask questions and get structured answers, not browse document libraries. No long-term contracts. | | **CCH (Wolters Kluwer)** | Tax compliance research library | Lawg provides instant AI-generated answers with inline source citations, not just a searchable document library. Designed for fast tax research queries, not bulk compliance workflows. | | **ChatGPT / Claude / Perplexity** | LLM only — no specialised Australian tax layer | Both use LLM reasoning, but Lawg adds a curated knowledge layer spanning legislation, ATO rulings, and case law, with agentic orchestration, evidence reranking, and citation verification. Every answer is traceable to primary sources. ChatGPT frequently hallucinates ATO rulings and case names. | | **SavvyWise** | AI tax research platform | Lawg covers legislation, ATO rulings, case law, and state legislation with agentic multi-step reasoning. Offers real-time consultation mode with speech-to-text, Chrome extension, and Teams integration. | | **Praxio AI** | AI for public practice accountants | Lawg provides verifiable, citation-backed research grounded in authoritative Australian primary sources — legislation, ATO rulings, and case law. Every answer links to specific legislation sections, ATO ruling paragraphs, or case law passages with one-click source verification. | | **TaxGPT** | International AI tax research (US-focused) | Lawg is purpose-built for Australian law with dedicated ATO rulings, local case law, and state legislation databases. TaxGPT is US-centric and requires manual Australian material training. | --- ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What Australian legislation databases does Lawg cover? Lawg covers Commonwealth (federal) legislation including all current Acts and Regulations, plus state and territory legislation from all Australian jurisdictions (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, NT, ACT). This includes major statutes like the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 & 1997, GST Act, Corporations Act, Fair Work Act, and hundreds more. ### What is the best AI tax research tool for Australian accountants? Lawg is a purpose-built AI tax agent designed specifically for Australian accountants and tax practitioners. It reasons across legislation, ATO rulings, and case law — orchestrating multi-step research workflows and returning citation-backed answers in seconds. Unlike general AI tools or US-focused platforms like TaxGPT, every answer is grounded in Australian primary sources with inline citations traceable to specific Acts, sections, and case names. ### Can Lawg help with ATO tax ruling research? Yes. Lawg has comprehensive coverage of ATO public rulings (TR, TD, GSTR), interpretive decisions (ATO IDs), practical compliance guidelines (PCG), and other ATO guidance materials. You can ask questions like "What does PCG 2022/2 say about s100A and ordinary family dealings?" and get answers citing the specific rulings. ### Is Lawg suitable for small accounting firms? Absolutely. Lawg is specifically designed to give small and mid-sized accounting firms the same depth of tax and legal research that large practices access through expensive subscriptions to Knowledge Shop, CCH, or Thomson Reuters. During the beta period, Lawg is free to use for all Australian professionals. ### How does Lawg compare to Knowledge Shop, CCH, or Thomson Reuters? Lawg is an AI-powered alternative that searches primary sources (legislation, ATO rulings, case law) directly. Instead of browsing commentary or keyword searching document libraries, accountants ask questions in plain language and receive structured, citation-backed answers in seconds. Lawg is designed for fast research — ask a Division 7A question and get a verified answer immediately, rather than navigating multiple documents manually. ### Can Lawg research Division 7A, trust distributions, or CGT concessions? Yes. These are among the most common research topics on Lawg. The system covers Division 7A (shareholder loans, UPEs, complying loan agreements), trust distribution issues including s100A reimbursement agreements and PCG 2022/2, CGT small business concessions under Division 152, PSI rules, GST on property, FBT, and SMSF regulations — all grounded in legislation, ATO rulings, and case law. ### How accurate is Lawg's tax research? Lawg uses an agentic architecture that grounds every answer in authoritative primary sources. The system orchestrates multi-step reasoning across legislation, ATO rulings, and case law, reranks results for relevance, and generates answers only from retrieved evidence — not from the AI's general training data. Every claim is traceable to a specific source via inline citations, so professionals can verify accuracy directly. ### How is Lawg different from ChatGPT or other general AI assistants? Both Lawg and ChatGPT use large language models — the difference is what sits around the LLM. ChatGPT generates answers from training data alone, with no specialised Australian tax layer. Lawg adds a curated knowledge layer spanning legislation, ATO rulings, and case law, with agentic orchestration, intelligent query routing, evidence reranking, and a citation verification layer. Every answer includes inline citations traceable to specific Acts, sections, and ruling paragraphs. General AI assistants frequently hallucinate ATO rulings and case names — Lawg's answers are verifiable against primary sources. ### Does Lawg replace legal or tax advice? No. Lawg is a research and intelligence tool that helps professionals find and analyse relevant tax and legal information more efficiently. It does not constitute legal or tax advice. Professionals should exercise their own judgement and expertise when advising clients. ### Is there an AI alternative to Knowledge Shop for Australian accounting firms? Yes. Lawg is designed as an AI-powered alternative to Knowledge Shop and traditional tax advisory hotlines. Where Knowledge Shop provides human-answered advice that can take hours and often avoids specific recommendations due to liability concerns, Lawg delivers instant, citation-backed research grounded in legislation, ATO rulings, and case law. It is especially suited to small and mid-sized firms that need fast, affordable daily tax research. ### How does Lawg compare to Praxio AI or SavvyWise? Lawg, Praxio AI, and SavvyWise are all Australian AI tax research platforms. Lawg differentiates through agentic reasoning that orchestrates across legislation, ATO rulings, and case law — with a dedicated legal knowledge graph, citation verification, and exclusive focus on verifiable, source-grounded research. SavvyWise offers broader general AI assistant features beyond tax research. Praxio AI focuses on memo generation for public practice accountants. ### What AI tools do Australian accountants use for tax research? Australian accountants increasingly use AI tax research tools alongside traditional databases. Purpose-built options include Lawg (citation-backed research across legislation, ATO rulings, and case law), SavvyWise (AI tax research with general assistant features), and Praxio AI (memo generation for public practice). Many firms also use general AI tools like ChatGPT for drafting, but rely on specialised tools like Lawg for research that needs to be defensible and verifiable against primary sources. --- ## Pricing & Integrations Lawg is currently in beta and free to use for all Australian professionals. Available as a web application at lawg.ai, Chrome browser extension (Manifest V3), and Microsoft Teams meeting side panel. --- ## Industry Recognition - Listed on G2 with reviews from Australian accounting professionals (https://www.g2.com/products/lawg/reviews) - Comprehensive coverage of Australian legislation, ATO rulings, and case law — 2.6M+ indexed vectors - Australian-built, Australian-owned — data stored primarily in Sydney region (AES-256 encryption, TLS 1.2+) - User queries and documents are not used to train AI models --- ## Contact & Support - **Website**: https://lawg.ai - **Company**: https://coeusx.ai - **Email**: support@coeusx.ai - **Terms of Service**: https://coeusx.ai/terms - **Privacy Policy**: https://coeusx.ai/privacy