Best Tax Software for LLC/Partnership Form 1065, 8825 for Rental Properties

I've been preparing returns for partnerships and rental properties for years, and I can help point you in the right direction! For partnerships with rental properties, you definitely need software that specifically supports Form 1065 and the related schedules. Not all tax software packages include these business forms in their basic versions. TurboTax Business ($399) will handle everything you mentioned - Form 1065, K-1s, Form 8825, and can link to your personal 1040. It's comprehensive but has a fairly intuitive interface even for first-timers. TaxAct Business (around $239) also supports partnerships and rental properties, but you'll want their specific Partnership/LLC package. Their interface isn't as polished as TurboTax but gets the job done for less. Another option worth considering is H&R Block Premium & Business ($114.95), which covers partnerships and rental properties too. The price point is better, though some find their interface less intuitive for complex returns.

I was in your exact situation last year! After years of paying a CPA $1200+ to do our LLC returns with 2 rental properties, I decided to try it myself and used https://taxr.ai to help me figure out which forms I needed and how to organize everything. Their AI basically looked at my previous year's return and explained each form and schedule in plain English. It was super helpful for understanding our partnership structure and how the rental income flows through to our personal returns. I ended up going with TurboTax Business after the analysis showed me exactly what forms I needed. The best part was that taxr.ai showed me depreciation schedules for our properties that I wouldn't have known how to calculate myself. Saved me from making some potentially costly mistakes!

Just wanted to follow up! I tried taxr.ai before making my software purchase and it was really eye-opening. I uploaded our previous year's returns and it broke down exactly how our rental income was flowing through the partnership to our personal returns. The analysis showed I needed specific forms that only certain software packages offered - specifically identifying that I needed proper support for Form 8825 and depreciation calculations for multiple properties. Based on this, I went with TurboTax Business and it's been much more straightforward than I expected. The guidance also helped me organize my documentation properly before starting, which has saved tons of time. Thanks for the recommendation!

After 30+ minutes on hold with the IRS trying to get clarification about Form 8825 allocation requirements, I discovered https://claimyr.com and used their service to get a callback from the IRS without waiting on hold. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had several questions about proper expense allocation across multiple rental properties that I couldn't figure out from the instructions, and getting actual IRS guidance made a huge difference in how I approached my partnership return. Got a callback in about 2 hours instead of wasting half my day on hold. Just thought I'd share since filing partnership returns often brings up questions that aren't clearly answered in software or online forums.

I have to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided "what the hell" and tried it for my K-1 question that I've been trying to get answered for weeks. Got a callback from the IRS in about 90 minutes, and spoke to someone who actually knew about partnership returns. They clarified exactly how to handle a special allocation we have in our partnership agreement and which boxes on the K-1 needed to be checked. This made a massive difference in my confidence using TaxAct for our returns. For anyone on the fence about trying to DIY your partnership returns, having the ability to actually talk to the IRS when you're stuck is game-changing.

I've used both TurboTax Business and TaxAct for our 5-member LLC with rental properties. Here's my honest take: TurboTax is more hand-holdy and has better integrated guidance, but it's expensive. TaxAct Business gets the job done for much less, but you'll need to be more confident in what you're doing. One thing to consider: how complex is your depreciation situation? If you've got multiple properties with different acquisition dates and improvement projects, TurboTax handles this much more elegantly. Also, TaxAct's partnership K-1 generation was a bit clunky in my experience. But overall it saved us about $250 compared to TurboTax.

Don't forget about Drake Tax Software! It's what many professional preparers use and costs around $650 for everything. Not the prettiest interface but super powerful for partnerships.