Taxbuddy, Making Taxes Feel Less Taxing

Simplifying financial complexity through intuitive UX and Visual Design.

Project Summary

When we first began working on TaxBuddy, the goal was simple — to make the process of filing taxes feel less intimidating for everyday users. But soon, we realized the real challenge wasn’t just about simplifying steps, it was about building trust through design.

I worked on this project alongside a small team at Monsoonfish Design Studio that included Poorva Ketkar and Subham Saurabh along with two design managers, and it instantly brings back memories of the long hours we spent refining every detail. While we collaborated closely on research and problem solving, my main focus was on UI and visual design. I wanted to create an interface that looked clear, approachable, and was easy to navigate.

I wanted every screen to feel like a quiet reassurance in a world full of tax jargon and confusion.

The design leaned on clear and simple UX copy, and thoughtful hierarchy to guide users without overwhelming them. This project taught me how much visual design can influence how users feel and not just how they interact. Turning complex data into something simple, familiar, and trustworthy became the heart of our approach.

1. Understanding the Problem

“I found myself lost in a world of tax jargon and complex regulations.”

Filing taxes in India can be overwhelming. The system is filled with jargon, multiple form types, and unclear instructions. For many first-time filers and freelancers, it feels like stepping into unfamiliar territory.

Our goal was to simplify this experience. To design an interface that guides users confidently through the process while reducing cognitive load and visual noise.

2. Research & Insights

We conducted quick interviews and user observations to understand how people approach tax filing platforms.

We had their thoughts and wanted to back this up with metrics

From these conversations, three key insights emerged :

1. Users crave guidance, not just automation.
2. Visual simplicity builds trust.
3. Friendly tone and humanized design reduce anxiety.

These insights shaped our design direction — we wanted TaxBuddy to feel like a calm guide in a space filled with tension.

3. Visual Direction & UI Exploration

The design direction was guided by three principles :

1. Clarity : Design a “guided journey” that helps users make decisions confidently and use whitespace and consistent spacing to declutter information.

2. Comfort : Apply a soft color palette with subtle contrasts and Improve information hierarchy and form usability.

3. Character : Reduce user anxiety by simplifying complex language and introduce conversational microcopy and friendly typography.

Low Fidelity > Mid Fidelity > High Fidelity

4. Final UI & Key Design Decisions

The redesigned interface aimed to make a complex process feel human and structured.

4.1 Conversational Onboarding

Replaced the long, static form with a conversational flow. Added clear expectations upfront — required documents, time needed, and next steps.

Added upfront clarity on required documents and estimated time

4.2 Created a Split Pathway

This approach reduced cognitive load and allowed users to follow personalized experiences.

a. “Help me file my taxes” for new users.
b. “I know what I’m doing” for experienced users.

4.3 Contextual Tooltips & Help

Added inline explanations for tricky terms and sensitive data inputs. Subtle tooltips and short, conversational hints helped users stay confident without breaking flow.

Introduced subtle nudges and explanations for complex terms

4.4 Progress Indicators and Save Points

Introduced a simple progress tracker and “Save & Resume” feature to give users a sense of control and continuity.

Gave users better visibility on how far along they were

5. The Tax Planning Assistant

One of the biggest opportunities we identified in TaxBuddy’s experience was the gap between tax inputs and meaningful tax-saving insights. Users were entering their income, investments, and insurance details yet the platform wasn’t translating that data into actionable planning.

To solve this, we introduced a dedicated Tax Planning Assistant (TPA) — a guided, data-backed system that helps users understand how much they can save and exactly which actions will get them there.

5.1 Transforming Raw Tax Inputs Into a Clear, Personalized Savings Story

Users often enter salary, investment, and insurance details without fully understanding what it means for their taxes. So we designed the Tax Planning Assistant to convert complex financial data into a simple, narrative-style Tax Planning Report that highlights :

• Recommended tax regime
• Old vs new regime comparison
• Exact savings achievable

This helped users instantly see the value of planning instead of feeling overwhelmed by numbers.

Tax Planning Assistant(TPA) Overview

5.2 Guiding Decisions Through Actionable, Bite-Sized Recommendations

Most users know they should invest but they just don’t know where or how much. We introduced clean, card-based recommendations like :

• “Save ₹15,600 • Invest ₹50,000 in NPS”
• “Save ₹1,959 • Buy health insurance with a ₹6,278 premium”

Each suggestion is paired with a direct Invest CTA, turning insight into action and reducing decision paralysis.

Tax Analysis Report

Impact & Results

• Simplified Filing Flow → Reduced Drop-offs :
  By rethinking the onboarding and step-by-step journey, we created a more linear and guided experience. Users no longer felt overwhelmed by complex forms, and early testing showed a notable drop in user drop-offs during mid-way steps.
• Clearer Language & Visual Hierarchy → Increased User Confidence :
  We replaced jargon-heavy copy with everyday language, and redesigned content blocks to reduce cognitive load. This made the platform more approachable, especially for users filing taxes on their own for the first time.
• Mobile-first Approach → Better Accessibility :
  Recognizing that many users preferred to file on their phones, We focused on a mobile-first design system. The UI was optimized for smaller screens, leading to smoother interactions and fewer support queries from mobile users.
• Collaborative Workflows → Smoother Dev Handoff :
  Working closely with devs, I ensured my designs were implementation-friendly and supported by clear documentation. This improved the design-dev handoff and accelerated the product team’s sprint cycles.

Together, these changes helped position TaxBuddy as a friendlier, more intuitive option in a category often associated with stress and confusion.

Outcome & Learnings

This project reminded me that good visual design quietly guides emotion and behavior at the same time. It’s not just about structure or colors, It’s about how confident a user feels moving through a system. It also reinforced how small design decisions like adding clarity or warmth in microcopy can completely change how users feel about a product.

Working on TaxBuddy deepened my understanding of how consistency, tone, and simplicity can shape trust in digital products. It also reminded me that teamwork especially during those long late nights with Poorva and the crew can turn a complex brief into a meaningful experience.

If I were to revisit this project, I’d push for user testing with new filers to validate the conversational flow and refine the microcopy even further.

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TaxBuddy, Making Taxes Feel Less Taxing was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.