A tax figure is only worth acting on if you can see where it came from. So next to a result you'll see one of two small labels. Here is exactly what each one means.
Primary is where the law actually comes from: a government tax office, the statute, or an official international body. Secondary is a heavyweight independent explainer — the worldwide tax summaries the large accountancy firms (PwC, KPMG, EY, Deloitte and peers) publish. Tertiary is any other explainer: individual law-firm notes, niche tax sites, news. We look for the official source plus an independent heavyweight before we call a country Verified; where the government page isn't on file yet but two heavyweights agree, we still say Verified and add the honest note that the official source is pending.
Each recommendation can involve more than one country (where your company sits, where you live, where the income starts). The label follows the weakest link: a build only shows Verified when every country it relies on is double-backed. If even one rests on a single kind of source, the whole result honestly reads Sourced.
The label is never typed onto a page by a person. It is worked out automatically, every time, from the same checked source record that powers the engine. A build check refuses to ship if a source is ever filed under the wrong kind, so the word and the evidence can never drift apart.
Tap a question to open it.
We don't just pick one and hope. We weigh them by how official they are. The law or the government tax office always wins over a professional summary, which in turn wins over a general explainer. A weaker source can never quietly overrule a stronger one — so a single blog disagreeing with the government does not shake the answer. We only pause a figure to Checking when a credible source (a government office, or a heavyweight like PwC or KPMG) is the one disagreeing.
Then we do not strand you. If two small explainers squabble over a number but no official or heavyweight source is disputing it, we log it quietly on our own review list and keep showing you the answer. Being honest does not mean letting the weakest voices set the label. A disagreement only reaches your badge when someone credible raises it.
No. A lone weaker voice against a stronger, official one is simply noted and set aside — your answer still comes through. We only pause a figure when a credible source genuinely disputes it. The whole point is that the machine keeps giving you a usable answer while being honest about the rare number that's genuinely unsettled.
Never. Every disagreement is written down the moment it's found, with the rival number, exactly which source said it, and the date. It stays on our review list until a human confirms the right answer. Nothing gets quietly buried; that used to be the weak spot, and we closed it.
Because guessing a tax number is worse than telling you plainly that one is under review. When a figure is Checking, you still get our best current reading to plan around, plus a clear flag so you know to double-check that one with a professional before you act on it.
Tax Monkey gives you sourced, dated information to plan with — not legal or tax advice. Confirm any decision with a qualified lawyer or accountant before acting. ← Back to your Board