What it does

TaxHacker is a self-hosted web app for freelancers and small businesses who’d rather not manually type receipt data into spreadsheets. You upload photos or PDFs of receipts, invoices, even handwritten notes; the app uses an LLM to extract dates, amounts, vendors, line items, and whatever else you need, then stores it all in a structured, filterable database. It also converts currencies using historical exchange rates—including crypto—and exports to CSV when tax season arrives.

The interesting bit

Most receipt-scanning tools lock you into their cloud and their categories. TaxHacker flips that: you can self-host it, plug in your own OpenAI, Gemini, or local Ollama endpoint, and write custom AI prompts for every field. Need to extract a project code or a VAT ID that the app doesn’t know about? Add a custom field, write a prompt, done. The README even warns that local LLM OCR quality “is not guaranteed,” which is a refreshingly honest admission.

Key highlights

• Supports 170+ fiat currencies and 14 cryptocurrencies with historical-rate conversion
• Docker Compose setup with PostgreSQL; runs on port 7331 by default
• Custom fields, categories, and projects with per-field LLM prompts
• Full-text search and bulk operations on extracted data
• “No AI-slop PRs” contribution policy

Caveats

• Explicitly marked as early development; “use at your own risk”
• Requires PostgreSQL 17+, Ghostscript, and GraphicsMagick for PDF processing
• Self-hosted mode is where local LLMs and full prompt customization live; unclear how much is available in a non-self-hosted version

Verdict

Freelancers drowning in paper receipts who want privacy and don’t mind self-hosting should take a look. If you need battle-tested, accountant-approved software today, wait a few releases.