diff --git a/docs/us-cpa.md b/docs/us-cpa.md
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+++ b/docs/us-cpa.md
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+# us-cpa
+
+`us-cpa` is a Python CLI plus OpenClaw skill wrapper for U.S. federal individual tax work.
+
+## Current Milestone
+
+Milestone 1 provides the initial package, CLI surface, skill wrapper, and test harness. Tax logic, IRS corpus download, case workflows, rendering, and review logic are not implemented yet.
+
+## CLI Surface
+
+```bash
+skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa question --question "What is the standard deduction?" --tax-year 2025
+skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa prepare --tax-year 2025 --case-dir ~/tax-cases/2025-jane-doe
+skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa review --tax-year 2025 --case-dir ~/tax-cases/2025-jane-doe
+skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa fetch-year --tax-year 2025
+skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa extract-docs --tax-year 2025 --case-dir ~/tax-cases/2025-jane-doe
+skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa render-forms --tax-year 2025 --case-dir ~/tax-cases/2025-jane-doe
+skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa export-efile-ready --tax-year 2025 --case-dir ~/tax-cases/2025-jane-doe
+```
+
+## Interaction Model
+
+- `question`
+  - stateless by default
+  - optional case context
+- `prepare`
+  - requires a case directory
+  - if none exists, OpenClaw should ask whether to create one and where
+- `review`
+  - requires a case directory
+  - can operate on an existing or newly-created review case
+
+## Planned Case Layout
+
+```text
+<case-dir>/
+  input/
+  extracted/
+  return/
+  output/
+  reports/
+  issues/
+  sources/
+```
+
+## Output Contract
+
+- JSON by default
+- markdown available with `--format markdown`
+- current milestone responses are scaffold payloads with `status: "not_implemented"`
+
+## Scope Rules
+
+- U.S. federal individual returns only in v1
+- official IRS artifacts are the target output for compiled forms
+- conflicting facts must stop the workflow for user resolution
diff --git a/skills/us-cpa/SKILL.md b/skills/us-cpa/SKILL.md
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+++ b/skills/us-cpa/SKILL.md
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+---
+name: us-cpa
+description: Use when answering U.S. federal individual tax questions, preparing a federal Form 1040 return package, or reviewing a draft/completed federal individual return.
+---
+
+# US CPA
+
+`us-cpa` is a Python-first federal individual tax workflow skill. The CLI is the canonical engine. Use the skill to classify the request, gather missing inputs, and invoke the CLI.
+
+## Modes
+
+- `question`
+  - one-off federal tax question
+  - case folder optional
+- `prepare`
+  - new or existing return-preparation case
+  - case folder required
+- `review`
+  - new or existing return-review case
+  - case folder required
+
+## Agent Workflow
+
+1. Determine whether the request is:
+   - question-only
+   - a new preparation/review case
+   - work on an existing case
+2. If the request is `prepare` or `review` and no case folder is supplied:
+   - ask whether to create a new case
+   - ask where to store it
+3. Use the bundled CLI:
+
+```bash
+skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa question --question "What is the standard deduction?" --tax-year 2025
+skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa prepare --tax-year 2025 --case-dir ~/tax-cases/2025-jane-doe
+skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa review --tax-year 2025 --case-dir ~/tax-cases/2025-jane-doe
+```
+
+## Rules
+
+- federal individual returns only in v1
+- IRS materials first; escalate to primary law only when needed
+- stop on conflicting facts and ask the user to resolve the issue before continuing
+- official IRS PDFs are the target compiled-form artifacts
+- overlay-rendered forms must be flagged for human review
+
+## Output
+
+- JSON by default
+- markdown output available with `--format markdown`
+
+For operator details, limitations, and the planned case structure, see `docs/us-cpa.md`.
diff --git a/skills/us-cpa/pyproject.toml b/skills/us-cpa/pyproject.toml
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+++ b/skills/us-cpa/pyproject.toml
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+[build-system]
+requires = ["setuptools>=68"]
+build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
+
+[project]
+name = "us-cpa"
+version = "0.1.0"
+description = "US federal individual tax workflow CLI for questions, preparation, and review."
+requires-python = ">=3.9"
+dependencies = []
+
+[project.scripts]
+us-cpa = "us_cpa.cli:main"
+
+[tool.setuptools]
+package-dir = {"" = "src"}
+
+[tool.setuptools.packages.find]
+where = ["src"]
diff --git a/skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa b/skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa
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+++ b/skills/us-cpa/scripts/us-cpa
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+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+SKILL_DIR="$(cd "${SCRIPT_DIR}/.." && pwd)"
+export PYTHONPATH="${SKILL_DIR}/src${PYTHONPATH:+:${PYTHONPATH}}"
+
+exec python3 -m us_cpa.cli "$@"
diff --git a/skills/us-cpa/src/us_cpa/__init__.py b/skills/us-cpa/src/us_cpa/__init__.py
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+++ b/skills/us-cpa/src/us_cpa/__init__.py
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+"""us-cpa package."""
+
diff --git a/skills/us-cpa/src/us_cpa/cli.py b/skills/us-cpa/src/us_cpa/cli.py
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+++ b/skills/us-cpa/src/us_cpa/cli.py
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+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import json
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
+
+
+COMMANDS = (
+    "question",
+    "prepare",
+    "review",
+    "fetch-year",
+    "extract-docs",
+    "render-forms",
+    "export-efile-ready",
+)
+
+
+def _add_common_arguments(
+    parser: argparse.ArgumentParser, *, include_tax_year: bool = True
+) -> None:
+    if include_tax_year:
+        parser.add_argument("--tax-year", type=int, default=None)
+    parser.add_argument("--case-dir", default=None)
+    parser.add_argument("--format", choices=("json", "markdown"), default="json")
+
+
+def _emit(payload: dict[str, Any], output_format: str) -> int:
+    if output_format == "markdown":
+        lines = [f"# {payload['command']}"]
+        for key, value in payload.items():
+            if key == "command":
+                continue
+            lines.append(f"- **{key}**: {value}")
+        print("\n".join(lines))
+    else:
+        print(json.dumps(payload, indent=2))
+    return 0
+
+
+def _require_case_dir(args: argparse.Namespace) -> Path:
+    if not args.case_dir:
+        raise SystemExit("A case directory is required for this command.")
+    return Path(args.case_dir).expanduser().resolve()
+
+
+def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        prog="us-cpa",
+        description="US federal individual tax workflow CLI.",
+    )
+    subparsers = parser.add_subparsers(dest="command", required=True)
+
+    question = subparsers.add_parser("question", help="Answer a tax question.")
+    _add_common_arguments(question)
+    question.add_argument("--question", required=True)
+
+    prepare = subparsers.add_parser("prepare", help="Prepare a return case.")
+    _add_common_arguments(prepare)
+
+    review = subparsers.add_parser("review", help="Review a return case.")
+    _add_common_arguments(review)
+
+    fetch_year = subparsers.add_parser(
+        "fetch-year", help="Fetch tax-year forms and instructions."
+    )
+    _add_common_arguments(fetch_year, include_tax_year=False)
+    fetch_year.add_argument("--tax-year", type=int, required=True)
+
+    extract_docs = subparsers.add_parser(
+        "extract-docs", help="Extract facts from case documents."
+    )
+    _add_common_arguments(extract_docs)
+
+    render_forms = subparsers.add_parser(
+        "render-forms", help="Render compiled IRS forms."
+    )
+    _add_common_arguments(render_forms)
+
+    export_efile = subparsers.add_parser(
+        "export-efile-ready", help="Export an e-file-ready payload."
+    )
+    _add_common_arguments(export_efile)
+
+    return parser
+
+
+def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
+    parser = build_parser()
+    args = parser.parse_args(argv)
+
+    if args.command == "question":
+        payload = {
+            "command": "question",
+            "format": args.format,
+            "taxYear": args.tax_year,
+            "caseDir": args.case_dir,
+            "question": args.question,
+            "status": "not_implemented",
+        }
+        return _emit(payload, args.format)
+
+    if args.command in {"prepare", "review", "extract-docs", "render-forms", "export-efile-ready"}:
+        case_dir = _require_case_dir(args)
+        payload = {
+            "command": args.command,
+            "format": args.format,
+            "taxYear": args.tax_year,
+            "caseDir": str(case_dir),
+            "status": "not_implemented",
+        }
+        return _emit(payload, args.format)
+
+    if args.command == "fetch-year":
+        payload = {
+            "command": "fetch-year",
+            "format": args.format,
+            "taxYear": args.tax_year,
+            "status": "not_implemented",
+        }
+        return _emit(payload, args.format)
+
+    parser.error(f"Unsupported command: {args.command}")
+    return 2
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())
diff --git a/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/documents/.gitkeep b/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/documents/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b13789
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+++ b/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/documents/.gitkeep
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+
diff --git a/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/facts/.gitkeep b/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/facts/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b13789
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/facts/.gitkeep
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+
diff --git a/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/irs/.gitkeep b/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/irs/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b13789
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/irs/.gitkeep
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+
diff --git a/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/returns/.gitkeep b/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/returns/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b13789
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/us-cpa/tests/fixtures/returns/.gitkeep
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+
diff --git a/skills/us-cpa/tests/test_cli.py b/skills/us-cpa/tests/test_cli.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db4d765
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/us-cpa/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+SKILL_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+SRC_DIR = SKILL_DIR / "src"
+
+
+class UsCpaCliSmokeTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_skill_scaffold_files_exist(self) -> None:
+        self.assertTrue((SKILL_DIR / "SKILL.md").exists())
+        self.assertTrue((SKILL_DIR / "pyproject.toml").exists())
+        self.assertTrue((SKILL_DIR / "scripts" / "us-cpa").exists())
+        self.assertTrue(
+            (SKILL_DIR.parent.parent / "docs" / "us-cpa.md").exists()
+        )
+
+    def test_fixture_directories_exist(self) -> None:
+        fixtures_dir = SKILL_DIR / "tests" / "fixtures"
+        for name in ("irs", "facts", "documents", "returns"):
+            self.assertTrue((fixtures_dir / name).exists())
+
+    def run_cli(self, *args: str) -> subprocess.CompletedProcess[str]:
+        env = os.environ.copy()
+        env["PYTHONPATH"] = str(SRC_DIR)
+        return subprocess.run(
+            [sys.executable, "-m", "us_cpa.cli", *args],
+            text=True,
+            capture_output=True,
+            env=env,
+        )
+
+    def test_help_lists_all_commands(self) -> None:
+        result = self.run_cli("--help")
+
+        self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
+        for command in (
+            "question",
+            "prepare",
+            "review",
+            "fetch-year",
+            "extract-docs",
+            "render-forms",
+            "export-efile-ready",
+        ):
+            self.assertIn(command, result.stdout)
+
+    def test_question_command_emits_json_by_default(self) -> None:
+        result = self.run_cli("question", "--question", "What is the standard deduction?")
+
+        self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
+        payload = json.loads(result.stdout)
+        self.assertEqual(payload["command"], "question")
+        self.assertEqual(payload["format"], "json")
+        self.assertEqual(payload["question"], "What is the standard deduction?")
+
+    def test_prepare_requires_case_dir(self) -> None:
+        result = self.run_cli("prepare", "--tax-year", "2025")
+
+        self.assertNotEqual(result.returncode, 0)
+        self.assertIn("case directory", result.stderr.lower())
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()