Most of a 1040 goes to data handling, not judgment: opening every document, cross-referencing last year's return, and keying it box by box into your software, which caps throughput at typing speed and turns review into error-catching instead of decision-making. This template has TaxGPT run those manual steps instead, inventorying and extracting every document to a documented workpaper, computing the return, and entering it into your software, with every value traced to its source and every judgment call logged for your sign-off. Nothing gets filed without you.
Before you start
You'll need:
Access to TaxGPT Cowork
Your tax software credentials
The client's source documents in one folder, or ready to attach
The tax year you're preparing
How it works
Point TaxGPT at the client's source-document folder and tell it the tax year. The agent triages the folder first, identifying each document by its form markers rather than its filename and assigning a stable ID. Anything it can't confidently classify gets flagged for your review before extraction begins.
It then extracts each document into a structured file. Every box on a Form W-2 or 1099 is captured, including blanks. Brokerage composites get transaction-level reconciliation so no lot is dropped. K-1s are read with the footnotes that govern how the face numbers actually flow: passive activity, IRC § 199A, and AMT adjustments.
With extraction complete, TaxGPT pulls the tax-year constants it needs (standard deduction, bracket thresholds, contribution and phase-out limits) from authoritative sources into a cited file. It then computes the return at workpaper level: income by class, adjustments, AGI, deductions, credits, and tax. Every line shows its formula and its source references. Unsubstantiated deductions and items requiring an election or a taxpayer fact are held open, never guessed.
Next it opens your tax software (ProConnect, Drake, UltraTax CS, CCH Axcess, or UltimateTax) and finds or creates the return. It enters the data field by field, checking each entry against its own calculations, then works the diagnostics panel for fixable issues.
Finally it builds a reviewer-ready workpaper: a tick-and-tie source map, a return-line-to-source trace, and a narrative with coverage exceptions and sign-off blocks. You review, approve, and file. The agent never transmits, signs, or e-files on its own.
How to run the workflow
Find the Cowork Tax Prep workflow in TaxGPT Cowork
Select the Cowork Tax Preparation workflow
Specify the client name and tax year, and either attach the documents or point the agent to where they live. Note: in this example we attach the documents.
Run the workflow and wait for the output. The agent will pause if it hits an unclassifiable document, a missing required value, or a conflict between two source documents.
Review the staged return. Confirm the output numbers tie to source, check the open-items list, and resolve any diagnostics that need a firm/preparer setup value.
Approve and file yourself. Once you've signed off and the client's signature authorization is in place, you transmit. The agent stages; you file.
FAQ
Q: What documents does TaxGPT need to get started?
At minimum, the income documents for the return: W-2s and any 1099s (INT, DIV, NEC, MISC, B, R, G, K). The pass is materially stronger with the prior-year return (for carryovers, depreciation, and comparison), K-1s with their supplemental pages, brokerage composites, and any deduction substantiation (1098 mortgage interest, property tax, charitable acknowledgments, dependent-care statements, estimated-payment records) and the client intake form or organizer. The agent reads PDFs, CSVs, JPEGs, and scanned images including handwritten notes. If something required is missing, it flags the gap and asks one targeted round of follow-up rather than guessing.
Q: How does the human review step work?
TaxGPT produces a staged return inside your software plus a reviewer-ready workpaper. It does not e-file, sign, or transmit anything without a preparer reviewing and approving first. Every value traces to a source document, a value you provided, or arithmetic on those. The trace is documented, so you can tick each number back to its origin. Items that couldn't be substantiated, or that require an election or a taxpayer fact, are held open and listed, not silently resolved.
Q: Will TaxGPT decide positions and file the return?
No. The agent prepares the return, applies the data and current-year constants, and surfaces the judgment calls. Positions and the decision to file rest with the reviewing professional. The agent never applies a signature or PIN, never transmits, and never e-files on its own initiative. Filing happens after your approval, with the client's signature authorization in place..
Q: Which tax software does it work with?
TaxGPT works inside Intuit ProConnect, Drake Tax Online, UltimateTax, Thomson Reuters UltraTax CS, and Wolters Kluwer CCH Axcess. The agent logs directly into your software, navigates the forms, and enters data the way a team member would: no exports, no API configuration, no new platform for your team to learn.
Q: How does it handle income types beyond W-2 and 1099?
It handles:
K-1 income from S-corps, partnerships, and trusts, reading the footnotes that govern passive-activity treatment, IRC § 199A, and AMT adjustments
Capital gains from brokerage composites, with a count reconciliation so no lot is dropped and exception lots (wash sales, noncovered, missing basis) broken out individually
Rental and self-employment income
Itemized deductions, child and dependent care credits, and foreign tax credits
Reported income is reconciled to the applicable source documents and tax treatment; discrepancies or items requiring adjustment are surfaced for review.
Q: What if the client's facts are incomplete or two documents conflict?
The agent doesn't guess and doesn't average. A document it can't confidently classify is flagged for your review before extraction. A required value missing from every document triggers a follow-up question rather than a placeholder. When source documents conflict, the agent flags the discrepancy, identifies the conflicting values and sources and holds the affected item for resolution when the correct treatment cannot be established from the available evidence. It records both the conflict and the resolution. Where the hierarchy can't settle it, the line is held open for you. Unsubstantiated deductions are never inflated onto the return to make a number look complete.
Q: Can I control what the agent does during preparation?
Yes. You can intervene, redirect, or stop the preparation at any point, and the agent responds to your instructions throughout. You stay in full control, most importantly at the filing gate, which the agent will never cross without your explicit sign-off.