Your federal and Massachusetts return. Do the steps in order, one thing each.
Have ready: your W-2s, and any 1099-INT, 1099-DIV or 1099-NEC. Paper is fine. You'll take a photo.
Anyone can make an account. Create an account.
Enter your email and pick a password of at least 12 characters. A short sentence works well. Press Create account.
You'll see your recovery code once. Write it down or save it in a password manager. Tick I saved my recovery code, then press Continue.
There's no “forgot password”. If you lose both your password and this code, your return is gone for good. We can't open it for you. That's what keeps it private.
We email you a link. Press it. Until you do, you can look around but not upload, have your AI answer for you, or sign. No email? Press Resend on your Account page.
On the home page, pick the year under Which year? and press Start my return.
On Upload, add a photo or PDF of each W-2 and any 1099-INT. On a phone, take the photo right there. We keep only the words from a photo, never the picture. On a computer you can add several files or a whole folder.
Rather type it yourself? See No AI in step 8. With an AI, it reads what you uploaded, types in the numbers and asks you the questions in chat. You see it all appear here.
A private link, like a key, that lets your AI reach your return. To make one:
You see the link once, so paste it into your AI right away (step 8). Keep it private, like a password. Lost it? Press Remove next to it on the Account page and make a new one. Up to 3 links, one per AI.
Tap your AI. Menu names can differ a little. There's no sign-in: the link is the key.
The Gemini app (gemini.google.com): we haven't confirmed yet that it takes custom links. Worth one try, on a computer:
No Custom apps? Type your forms in yourself (see “No AI” below). It takes a few minutes per W-2.
If you use a terminal
The Gemini CLI does work. Run this, with your link in place of <your link>:
gemini mcp add -s user --transport http stellana "<your link>"
Typing in numbers needs a Business or Enterprise plan. On other plans ChatGPT can read your forms, and you type the numbers in yourself.
Start a new chat. Turn on Stellana Tax in its tools menu. Then say this, with your year:
“Let's do my 2025 taxes.”
Until your AI connects, the Connect your AI box on each return page has this sentence ready, with your return's year. Tap How to connect it, then tap the sentence to copy.
Your AI asks only what it can't find in your documents. Answer in the chat.
Open Check and press Run the check and open signing. If something is still missing, the page says what.
Open Sign. Look over your answers, documents and figures, type your name, Social Security number and address under Your details, then press Confirm all. Change anything later and it asks you to confirm again.
Then do the three boxes:
You do this on the site yourself: your AI never sees your signature or bank details.
Download the forms (Form 1040 and MA Form 1, plus any others listed). Check your name, Social Security number and address on page 1, sign the paper copies by hand, and mail each one to the address in its own instructions.
Claude Code. In a terminal, with your link in place of the placeholder:
claude mcp add --transport http stellana "<your link>"
Then tell it (or Gemini CLI) which folder holds your tax documents. It uploads them with a private 15-minute link, not as chat attachments. It still reads the text of what it uploads.
Gemini CLI, by file. Instead of the command above, put this in ~/.gemini/settings.json. Without -s user, the command applies to the current project only.
{
"mcpServers": {
"stellana": {
"httpUrl": "<your link>"
}
}
}Any other AI that takes an MCP connector link works the same way.
Everything is encrypted. Your password, your recovery code or one of your AI links unlocks it, and our server unlocks it in memory while you or your AI use it.
Full details: How your data is protected.