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Which AI reads W-2s and 1099s into the tax return, and what does it cost?

Quick answer · Updated Oct 29, 2026 · Prices checked against each vendor's own site.

Two kinds of software read a client's W-2s, 1099s, 1098s and K-1s into the return: per-return services that work alongside whatever tax suite you run, and the AI the suites now ship themselves. Prices below were read on each vendor's site in October 2026 and link to the listings in Document Collection, OCR & Data Entry and Tax Preparation & Review AI.

Per-return, works with your existing software

  • GruntWorx: $10 for a single return, $175 for 25 ($7 each), down to $5.50 a return at 250. AI-enhanced processing with human review bookmarks the documents and populates Drake, ProSeries, Lacerte, UltraTax, CCH Axcess, ProSystem fx and GoSystem.
  • TXF Intelligence (Taxfyle): $30/return for the first 49, $25 at 50–99, $20 at 100-plus. Extracts every value for side-by-side review and exports to ProConnect or Drake. First three returns free, no card.
  • Juno: $50/return flat for 1040s, business returns, multi-state and K-1s, with volume and end-of-season discounts. Reads 100-plus document types, pushes into Drake, Lacerte, ProConnect, ProSeries or CCH Axcess, and runs an AI review for mismatches.
  • Black Ore: $60/return for complex 1040s and K-1s, with workpapers, tie-outs and AI-assisted review, exporting to ATX, CCH, Drake, GoSystem, Lacerte, ProConnect and ProSeries.
  • SurePrep 1040SCAN, CCH ProSystem fx Scan and K1x (K-1s at scale) are the enterprise versions, priced by quote.

Built into the tax software

  • Drake Tax: SmartExtract (beta) reads uploaded PDFs into return fields; Pay-Per-Return is $379.99 for 10 returns, Drake Tax Pro $2,375 early-season.
  • Intuit ProConnect Tax: SmartReturn imports, enters and reviews 1040 data; $93.46 per individual return plus $210/user/yr User Access.
  • MyTAXPrepOffice: My AI Assistant extracts W-2s, 1099s and K-1s for import; $895/yr for unlimited 1040s.
  • CCH Axcess Tax and UltraTax CS connect to AnswerConnect and CoCounsel Tax respectively; Thomson Reuters' Ready to Review drafts simple 1040s from the documents with source links, quoted.

Full first-pass agents

Filed, Soraban, Basis and Byron go further than data entry — workpapers, draft return, line-by-line review — and are priced after a demo.

Quick answers

What is the cheapest AI data entry per tax return?

GruntWorx at $5.50 a return in a 250-return bundle ($10 for a single return). TXF Intelligence is $20 a return at 100-plus and gives you the first three free.

Which of these work with Drake Tax?

GruntWorx (sold through Drake), TXF Intelligence, Juno and Black Ore all export to Drake, and Drake Tax itself has SmartExtract in beta.

Does any of this review the return as well as enter the data?

Juno ($50/return) compares source documents to the return and flags mismatches; Black Ore ($60/return) runs AI-assisted review; Filed reviews line by line against the source and is quoted.

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