The Process
How Tax IQ works.
Four steps. About twenty minutes. A complete tax strategy document you can take straight to your CPA.
Four steps
From first question to full strategy.
Tell us about your situation
Answer a thoughtful questionnaire about your income, deductions, investments, family, business, and goals. Most people finish in fifteen to twenty minutes. You can save your progress and come back later if you need to.
- Plain English questions, no tax jargon
- Save and resume any time
- Tier-specific depth: Basic asks the essentials, Pro digs into self-employment and investments, Elite covers entity structure and advanced planning
Our AI analyzes your full situation
Tax IQ runs your information through a tax planning analysis trained on real strategies that competent CPAs use every day. We look for deductions, credits, retirement opportunities, timing moves, entity structure decisions, and dozens of other legitimate strategies that apply specifically to your situation.
- Powered by Claude, Anthropic's flagship AI model
- Cross-references your federal and state situation
- Identifies strategies most CPAs do not have time to surface in a typical tax appointment
Review your personalized strategy document
Within about a minute of submitting, you have a complete strategy document. Every recommendation is tied to your actual numbers, with the math shown, the implementation steps spelled out, and a confidence level attached. Nothing vague. Nothing overstated.
- Five to eighteen recommendations depending on your tier
- HIGH, MEDIUM, or LOW confidence labels on every estimate
- Step-by-step implementation guidance with timing
- Estimated dollar savings for each strategy
Take it to your CPA
Your strategy document is built to be a conversation starter. Hand it to your CPA, tax attorney, or enrolled agent. They confirm what applies to your situation and handle the execution. You walk into the meeting informed, not hoping.
- Each recommendation includes a what to bring to your CPA checklist
- Estimated time commitment for you to implement each strategy
- Download as PDF, print, or share digitally
Why it works
Why this approach works.
Strategies most people miss
The average tax filer leaves thousands of dollars in legitimate deductions on the table every year. Not because they did anything wrong, but because nobody had time to dig into their full situation. Tax IQ does.
Twenty minutes, not twenty hours
A real tax strategy session with a CPA costs three to five billable hours at three hundred to five hundred dollars per hour. Tax IQ does the same discovery work in twenty minutes, for a one-time fee.
Honest about uncertainty
Every estimate is tagged with a confidence level. We never inflate numbers to look impressive. The headline savings figure is a conservative floor, not an aspirational ceiling.
Your deliverable
What is in your Tax IQ report.
- Personalized executive summary of your tax situation
- Federal and state effective and marginal tax rates
- Filing status analysis
- Five to eighteen specific strategy recommendations
- Dollar savings estimate for each recommendation
- Implementation steps with timing and time commitment
- What to bring to your CPA checklist
- Confidence level on every estimate
- Strategy Coordination Guide (Elite only) for prioritizing strategies with your CPA
- Downloadable PDF, print-friendly format
Sample Report Preview
You're running a $300K consulting business with significant strategy gaps. Real money to capture here.
You're a married consultant with two children operating as asingle-member LLC. The opportunities here center on S-corp election, self-employed retirement maximization, and a few timing strategies your current setup is leaving on the table.
$34,500
estimated savings
Medium confidenceFederal marginal rate
32%
Federal effective rate
24%
State marginal rate
5%
Filing status
Married, filing jointly
Assuming net profit roughly $250K to $300K after typical consulting expenses, you land in the 32% federal bracket as MFJ.
Your strategy plan (3 strategies)
Elect S-corp status to reduce self-employment tax
Why this applies to you
At $300K net profit, S-corp election typically saves $12,000 to $18,000 annually in self-employment tax by allowing you to split income between W-2 wages and distributions.
How to implement this
Talk to your CPA about S-corp election and file Form 2553 within the deadline.
A step-by-step guide your CPA can confirm and execute with you.
- 1This week
Talk to your CPA about whether S-corp election makes sense for your business
At your income level the savings clearly justify the additional complexity.
- 2By March 15
File IRS Form 2553 to elect S-corp status for this tax year
Your CPA can prepare this in about 30 minutes. Miss this deadline and you wait another year.
- 3Within 60 days
Set up payroll through Gusto, ADP, or similar
You'll need to pay yourself a reasonable salary,estimated at $80,000 to $100,000 for your situation.
What to bring to your CPA
- Your prior year tax return
- Year-to-date profit and loss statement
- This Tax IQ report
Keep in mind
- S-corp adds complexity and cost: payroll setup, separate bookkeeping, and potentially higher accounting fees.
- Reasonable salary must be set correctly to avoid IRS scrutiny.
Maximize Solo 401(k) contributions through year-end
Harvest unrealized losses in your taxable brokerage before December 31
Sample preview using fictional data. Real reports use your actual numbers and situation.
FAQ
Common questions.
Will this replace my CPA?
No, and it is not designed to. Tax IQ does the strategy discovery work most CPAs do not have time to do during a typical filing appointment. Your CPA confirms what applies and handles execution. The two work together.
How accurate are the savings estimates?
We provide ranges, not guarantees. Every estimate is tagged with HIGH, MEDIUM, or LOW confidence. HIGH confidence numbers are deterministic math based on your actual income. MEDIUM and LOW confidence numbers depend on assumptions we state clearly. The headline savings figure on your report is a conservative floor, deliberately understated.
What if I disagree with a recommendation?
Bring it to your CPA. Tax IQ surfaces strategies that may apply to your situation, but your CPA knows context we do not. Some recommendations will not be right for you, and that is fine. The value is in the conversation it starts.
Is my information secure?
Yes. Tax IQ uses industry-standard encryption in transit and at rest. We do not sell your data. We do not share it beyond the trusted vendors required to run the service (Anthropic for AI analysis, Stripe for payments, Supabase for our database). You can request deletion of your data at any time.
Ready to see what you are missing?
Most people find five-figure savings opportunities they did not know existed. The free calculator gives you a rough estimate in two minutes.