# California Tax Appeals (npm · @pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals)

California Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) opinions — search by statute section/topic across issued…

- Trust score: 81/100 (high trust)
- Change this week: +3
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-11-05

## Components

- remote · `gateway.pipeworx.io`: 70/100, [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals/california-tax-appeals-mcp.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals/california-tax-appeals-mcp)
- npm · `@pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals`: 81/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals/pipeworx-mcp-california-tax-appeals.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals/pipeworx-mcp-california-tax-appeals)

## Channel facts

- Registry: `npm`
- Package: `@pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals`
- Version: `0.2.1`
- Transport: `stdio`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically from public evidence about the published package, including repeated runs of it in an isolated sandbox, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-11-05.

- **Supply Chain Security**: 100/100
  - No malware found by supply-chain analysis.
  - No known CVEs affecting this package version or its production dependencies.
  - No install/post-install scripts declared.
  - No production dependencies, so there is no dependency health to assess.
- **Provenance & Transparency**: 97/100
  - Source repository is publicly reachable at the declared URL.
  - Cryptographically verified build provenance (signed, bound to pipeworx-io/mcp-california-tax-appeals).
  - Clear OSI-approved license (MIT).
  - Actively maintained (last published 5 days ago).
  - Disclosure check failed: no security disclosure policy was found in the source repository.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 57/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (good).
  - Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 753 tokens (~376/item across 2 items; 2 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 23/100
  - Stability observed for 7 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.
- **Tool Coverage**: 100/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 100% of tool parameters carry a description.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 2 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 3 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 100/100
  - Implements a supported MCP spec version (2025-11-25); the latest is 2026-07-28.

## Install

### How do I install the California Tax Appeals MCP server?

California Tax Appeals runs locally as an npm package, launched with npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals -- npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```bash
codex mcp add pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals -- npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": [
        "npx",
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals"
      ],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals --command npx --arg -y --arg @pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals:
    command: "npx"
    args: ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals"]
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals": {
      "Transport": "stdio",
      "Command": "npx",
      "Arguments": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals -t stdio -c npx -a -y @pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-11-05 (score 81, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 20 to 23. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 6 days of observed history at the previous scan, 7 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-11-03 (score 80, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 13 to 17. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 4 days of observed history at the previous scan, 5 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-11-01 (score 79, 0)

- [functional regression] Security disclosure: unverified → fail

### 2026-10-31 (score 79, +1)

- [functional regression] Security disclosure: fail → unverified
- [functional] Package version: 0.2.0 → 0.2.1

### 2026-10-29 (score 78)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (2)

### `ca_ota_search` (~507 tokens)

Find California Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) opinions by statute citation or topic keyword (e.g. "residency", "innocent spouse", "17014", "17951-4", "generative AI") -- returns citation, title, date, tax category (Franchise/Income vs Business Tax), precedential status, and OTA's own one-line issue/statute tag, most recent first with an exact phrase match ranked above a looser match. Matches every word of `query` (any order), with a small bidirectional synonym table for OTA's own shorthand (e.g. "GenAI" <-> "generative AI" <-> "AI" <-> "artificial intelligence"). Use `year` for "opinions from 2026" rather than putting the year in `query` text -- it almost never appears inside an opinion's title or Issues tag. PARTIAL: this searches opinion titles and OTA's published "Issues" tag only, not full opinion text (OTA publishes no full-text search). For full text and all cited provisions of a specific opinion, use ca_ota_opinion_lookup. Sourced from ota.ca.gov's own opinion listing pages.

Input parameters:

- `category` (string): Optional filter: "fit" (Franchise and Income Tax, FTB-administered) or "bt" (Business Tax, CDTFA-administered: sales/use, excise, etc).
- `limit` (number): Max opinions to return, default 25, max 100.
- `precedential_only` (boolean): If true, only return opinions OTA has designated Precedential (binding on future OTA panels). Default false (returns both).
- `query` (string): A topic keyword (e.g. "residency", "penalties", "innocent spouse", "generative AI") or a statute citation/number (e.g. "17014" or "R&TC 19045"). May be omitted if you only need `year`/`category`/`pre…
- `year` (number): Optional filter: only opinions issued in this calendar year, e.g. 2026. Prefer this over putting the year inside `query` -- OTA's own title/Issues tag almost never repeats the year.

### `ca_ota_opinion_lookup` (~187 tokens)

Look up a California Office of Tax Appeals opinion by its OTA citation (e.g. "2020-OTA-263P" for a Precedential opinion, "2020-OTA-374" for a Nonprecedential one) -- fetches the opinion PDF live and returns the full text, exact date issued, OTA's internal case number, tax category, precedential status, OTA's issue tag, and statute citations found in the text (best-effort, R&TC/Cal. Code Regs./IRC shapes). Sourced from ota.ca.gov.

Input parameters:

- `cite` (string, required): OTA opinion citation, e.g. "2020-OTA-263P", "2022-OTA-375P", "2020-OTA-374". Case- and spacing-insensitive; the trailing "P" (precedential marker) may be omitted.

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: Provenance, Dependencies. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals/pipeworx-mcp-california-tax-appeals#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-11-05: 81
- 2026-11-04: 80
- 2026-11-03: 80
- 2026-11-02: 79
- 2026-11-01: 79
- 2026-10-31: 79
- 2026-10-30: 78
- 2026-10-29: 78

## Common questions

### What is the California Tax Appeals MCP server?

California Tax Appeals is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.pipeworx-io/california-tax-appeals. California Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) opinions, search by statute section/topic across issued… This page covers its npm package (@pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals).

### Is the California Tax Appeals MCP server safe to use?

California Tax Appeals scores 81 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. We found no known CVEs affecting it as of 5 November 2026. It declares no install or post-install scripts. Its build provenance is signed and verified. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.

### What tools does the California Tax Appeals MCP server expose?

California Tax Appeals exposes 2 tools: ca_ota_search, ca_ota_opinion_lookup. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 694 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Is the California Tax Appeals MCP server still maintained?

California Tax Appeals is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 5 November 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

### What licence is the California Tax Appeals MCP server under?

California Tax Appeals declares the MIT licence, which is OSI-approved. That covers the source only, and says nothing about the cost of any service it calls.

## Links

- npm package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals
- Socket report: https://socket.dev/npm/package/@pipeworx/mcp-california-tax-appeals
- Repository: https://github.com/pipeworx-io/mcp-california-tax-appeals
- Website: https://pipeworx.io/packs/california-tax-appeals
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals/pipeworx-mcp-california-tax-appeals.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals/pipeworx-mcp-california-tax-appeals.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-california-tax-appeals/pipeworx-mcp-california-tax-appeals