Arc & Ledger Tax Tools

Triage a tax problem

triage_tax_problem

Read-only

Use this when someone has a tax problem and does not know where to start; call it FIRST, before the specific tools. Covers an IRS or state letter, back taxes they cannot pay, unfiled years, a levy or wage garnishment, an audit, penalties, an identity-verification letter, and payroll tax trouble. Returns an urgency level, a this-week and this-month action plan, what not to do, which tool to run next for the specifics, and the matching published-fee service. General information only; never a guaranteed IRS outcome. Set brief:true for a shorter answer.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`brief`	No	Set true for a shorter answer: urgency, this-week actions, and the matching service only.
`problem`	Yes	The tax problem, as close as it maps. irs_notice = an IRS letter; back_taxes_owed = an IRS balance that cannot be paid in full; unfiled_returns = federal returns never filed; levy_or_garnishment = an IRS bank levy, wage levy, or final intent-to-levy letter; audit_or_exam = an IRS audit or examination letter; penalties = IRS penalty charges; identity_verification = a 5071C/4883C identity letter or suspected federal refund identity theft; payroll_tax_941 = unpaid or late federal employer payroll taxes; state_tax = any state-agency letter, balance, levy, audit, or penalty; not_sure = agency unknown or anything else. Use state_tax whenever the agency is not the IRS.
`language`	No	Language for an availability or waitlist handoff: English (en), Turkish (tr), or Spanish (es).
`amount_band`	No	Roughly how much is at stake, if known. Bands only, never an exact figure. Current IRS Simple Payment Plan balance criteria generally use a $50,000 ceiling for eligible individual and non-trust-fund accounts and a $25,000 ceiling for eligible business trust-fund accounts.
`years_behind`	No	For unfiled returns: how many years are unfiled. The IRS generally looks for the last six years filed to restore filing compliance.
`has_deadline_soon`	No	True if a letter shows a response or payment date within about two weeks. Raises the urgency. No dates are computed here; use decode_irs_notice only for an IRS letter.
`has_tax_agency_letter`	No	True only when the user actually has an IRS or state tax-agency letter or notice in hand. Use this to distinguish a payroll or identity concern with a real letter from a general concern. The irs_notice and audit_or_exam categories already imply an IRS letter.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`relay`	Yes	Instruction to the calling assistant: relay figures and dates verbatim (identical on every response).
`next_step`	Yes	A single review link appropriate to this server surface.
`disclaimer`	Yes	General-information disclaimer (identical on every response).
`source_url`	Yes	The arcandledger.com page that backs this answer.
`server_version`	No	Server release that produced this response (matches GET /version).

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed4 schema fields changedSep 11, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / has_deadline_soon / description

Previous value: -"True if a letter shows a response or payment date within about two weeks. Raises the urgency. No dates are computed here; use decode_irs_notice for exact deadline math."New value: +"True if a letter shows a response or payment date within about two weeks. Raises the urgency. No dates are computed here; use decode_irs_notice only for an IRS letter."

addedInput schema / properties / has_tax_agency_letter

Added value: +{
+  "description": "True only when the user actually has an IRS or state tax-agency letter or notice in hand. Use this to distinguish a payroll or identity concern with a real letter from a general concern. The irs_notice and audit_or_exam categories already imply an IRS letter.",
+  "type": "boolean"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / language

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Language for an availability or waitlist handoff: English (en), Turkish (tr), or Spanish (es).",
+  "enum": [
+    "en",
+    "tr",
+    "es"
+  ],
+  "type": "string"
+}

changedInput schema / properties / problem / description

Previous value: -"The tax problem, as close as it maps. irs_notice = any IRS or state letter; back_taxes_owed = a balance that cannot be paid in full; unfiled_returns = one or more years never filed; levy_or_garnishment = a bank levy, wage garnishment, or a final intent-to-levy letter; audit_or_exam = an IRS audit or examination letter; penalties = penalty charges on an account; identity_verification = a 5071C/4883C identity letter or suspected refund identity theft; payroll_tax_941 = unpaid or late employer payroll taxes; state_tax = a state tax agency problem; not_sure = anything else."New value: +"The tax problem, as close as it maps. irs_notice = an IRS letter; back_taxes_owed = an IRS balance that cannot be paid in full; unfiled_returns = federal returns never filed; levy_or_garnishment = an IRS bank levy, wage levy, or final intent-to-levy letter; audit_or_exam = an IRS audit or examination letter; penalties = IRS penalty charges; identity_verification = a 5071C/4883C identity letter or suspected federal refund identity theft; payroll_tax_941 = unpaid or late federal employer payroll taxes; state_tax = any state-agency letter, balance, levy, audit, or penalty; not_sure = agency unknown or anything else. Use state_tax whenever the agency is not the IRS."

Changed1 schema field changedJul 26, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / amount_band / description

Previous value: -"Roughly how much is at stake, if known. Bands only, never an exact figure. The $50,000 line matters: streamlined IRS installment agreements stop there."New value: +"Roughly how much is at stake, if known. Bands only, never an exact figure. Current IRS Simple Payment Plan balance criteria generally use a $50,000 ceiling for eligible individual and non-trust-fund accounts and a $25,000 ceiling for eligible business trust-fund accounts."

Changed1 schema field changedJul 26, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / next_step / description

Previous value: -"A single human handoff to the firm."New value: +"A single review link appropriate to this server surface."

AddedJul 17, 2026

TDQS

A4.4/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint=true, destructiveHint=false, and openWorldHint=false, so the safety profile is covered; the description adds real context on what comes back (urgency level, this-week/this-month plan, what not to do, next tool, matching service) plus an important limitation ('general information only; never a guaranteed IRS outcome') and the brief:true accelerated mode. The return-shape sentence partially overlaps the declared output schema, keeping this just short of a 5.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Front-loaded with the routing instruction in the first clause, and the middle enumeration of problem categories maps usefully onto the problem enum values. The category list and the return-value sentence make it longer than strictly necessary, but every sentence still serves routing or expectation-setting.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a 7-parameter triage tool with 4 enums, a declared output schema, and read-only annotations, the description supplies the missing pieces an agent needs: entry-point positioning, the situations it covers, the disclaimer, and the hand-off to specific siblings. Nothing material is absent.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100% and every enum value is already documented in the schema, so the structured data carries the parameter burden. The description only restates the brief:true shortcut, which the schema already explains, so baseline 3 applies.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb+resource (triage a tax problem), defines scope as 'when someone does not know where to start,' and explicitly positions itself as the FIRST tool before the specific ones. An agent can distinguish it from decode_irs_notice, estimate_irs_penalty, or check_resolution_options without opening their schemas.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Gives explicit when-to-use ('call it FIRST, before the specific tools'), enumerates the triggering situations (letter, back taxes, unfiled years, levy, audit, penalties, identity letter, payroll tax), and closes the loop by routing to 'which tool to run next for the specifics.' Nothing about sequencing is left to inference.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

All Arc & Ledger Tax Tools tools Inspect

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