StanfordTax
Tax organizers, prep-ready binders, and return delivery for US firms, beside the tax software you already file in.
- Starting price
- Free up to 5 returns; then $18/return
- Pricing
- Freemium
- Pricing checked
- October 12, 2026
Our take
- Best for
- US tax firms that already file in UltraTax, CCH, Lacerte, Drake, ProSeries, or ProConnect and want organizers and binders without another per-seat portal.
- Not ideal if
- A firm that needs the software to key the return, collect the fee at delivery, or distribute K-1 packages. Those last two are not what this product documents today.
- Standout
- The organizer is built from the tax software, the client finishes it from a link with no password, and the binder lands in return order.
About StanfordTax
StanfordTax is the tax binder for a US firm. You generate a personalized organizer from your tax software: a questionnaire and a document list based on last year, for 1040, 1120, 1120-S, and 1065. The client gets a link. No account and no password. As files arrive, the checklist updates, combined PDFs can be split, and the workpaper is bookmarked and renamed in return order. You review with notes and calculator tapes, then deliver a return summary, collect e-signatures on federal and state authorization forms, and send estimated-tax reminders. K-1 package delivery is marked coming soon.
It runs beside the tax software, not instead of it. Supported filing systems are UltraTax, CCH Axcess, CCH ProSystem fx, Lacerte, ProSeries, ProConnect, and Drake. It does not keep a general ledger, send invoices, or run payroll. Soraban's documented extra step is pushing extracted form fields into UltraTax, Lacerte, Drake, or CCH Axcess. Truss adds a Windows app, Stripe collection at delivery, and optional domestic AI prep. If the firm already lives in Karbon, Stanford organizers can open inside the Karbon client portal and update Karbon work items. TaxDome is the system to pick when you want one practice suite for the whole firm, not a separate binder.
Firms stick when the organizer used to be a generic PDF nobody finished. Questions skip what does not apply, reminders go out without another staff email, and the preparer opens a binder already in return order. Unlimited firm users means a seasonal hire does not need another seat. Someone still prepares and e-files the return in the tax software.
Pricing
Free covers 5 returns and unlimited users, no credit card. Premium is $18 per return: credits never expire, no minimum, no implementation fee. Enterprise starts at $25 per return, with a 5,000 client minimum and implementation of $10,000 or more. Terms say credits are bought in advance, in US dollars, and are not refundable, though they do not expire. Overage can bill at the current rate. The pricing FAQ asks how a return is counted, and that answer did not render, so amendments and state forms are unconfirmed. A 400-return Premium year is $7,200 only if one credit equals one return.
Free
A test drive for a firm that wants to run a few real binders before buying credits. No credit card.
- Up to 5 returns
- Unlimited firm users
- Intake, workpapers, and tax return delivery
- 1040, 1120, 1120-S, and 1065
Premium
The plan the pricing page marks most popular. You buy binders as you use them. No seat fees and no implementation fee on this plan.
- Unlimited firm users
- Intake, workpapers, and delivery for 1040, 1120, 1120-S, 1065
- Credits never expire
- No minimums and no implementation fees
- Email and live chat, 24-hour response, on the app pricing page
Enterprise
For large firms that want custom integrations. The pricing page requires a 5,000 client minimum and implementation of $10,000 or more.
- Unlimited firm users
- Same intake, workpapers, and delivery scope as Premium
- Credits never expire
- 5,000 client minimum
- Implementation $10,000 or more
- Custom integrations
How it hits your books
- Replaces your ledger
- No
- Multi-entity
- Partial
- Inventory
- No
- 1099s
- Partial
- Payroll
- No
StanfordTax does not close the books. Month-end still happens in the ledger. This product starts when a tax file exists and ends at a binder plus a delivered return.
The handoff is the binder and the delivered return package, including authorization e-sign. You still prepare and e-file in UltraTax, CCH, Lacerte, Drake, ProSeries, or ProConnect. There is no books package for an outside CPA.
Features
- Organizer generated from the tax file
- Upload a backup or connect the tax software and StanfordTax builds a questionnaire plus a document checklist from prior-year data. Clients only see questions that apply. Covered return types on the pricing page are 1040, 1120, 1120-S, and 1065. The organizer page also says prior-year numbers can show for Schedule C, E, and F.
- A link, not a client login
- You send a link, including in bulk. The client starts without an account, username, or password. The checklist updates as files arrive, and the product asks why a document is missing so staff are not guessing. Reminders can go out on their own.
- Binder in return order
- Uploaded files are bookmarked, renamed, and sorted. Combined PDFs can be split. Diagnostics flag duplicate files and tax-year mismatches. Reviewers annotate, sign off, and add calculator tapes on the document. The workpaper exports in one click.
- Delivery, e-sign, and estimate reminders
- Delivery packages the return into client-facing sections and highlights the refund, balance due, and estimates. Clients e-sign federal and state authorization forms. Estimated-tax reminders go out before each payment is due. K-1 distribution to shareholders and partners is labeled coming soon, so it is not a current feature.
- Karbon portal, if you already use it
- Organizers can open inside the client's Karbon portal, with no second login, and Karbon work items update as the organizer moves. Setup is: create a StanfordTax account, generate organizers from the tax software, then connect Karbon. Canopy, TaxDome, and several other practice tools are named on the site. Only Karbon has setup steps.
Images
Integrations
Platforms
Audience
Pick something else instead of StanfordTax
TaxDome
Pick TaxDome instead if you want organizers inside the same system as tasks, billing, and the client portal, and you do not want a separate binder product.
DataSnipper
Pick DataSnipper instead if the job is tying Excel workpapers to source PDFs for audit evidence, not sending a 1040 organizer.
Double
Pick Double instead if the bottleneck is the monthly QuickBooks Online or Xero close, not tax-season intake and delivery.
Ready to try StanfordTax?
Check the live pricing page before you sign up. Plans change.