Recommendations for software to prepare and e-file 1065s with multiple K-1s for startup investment LLCs

I'm managing two LLCs that were set up as investment vehicles for early-stage startups (basically SPVs). One I've been handling myself for years, but I recently had to take over another one when the management company (Assure) went under and left us hanging. Between these two entities, I'm now responsible for filing multiple 1065s and generating K-1s for around 40-50 members total. Up until now, I've been doing everything manually which has been manageable but tedious for the first LLC since our income and expenses are pretty minimal. The biggest headache is having to re-enter all the member information each year. With two LLCs now, I'm thinking it's finally time to use actual tax software that can hopefully save all this data for future filings. Both LLCs are pretty straightforward from a tax perspective - minimal expenses, occasional income from distributions when a portfolio company gets acquired, etc. I'm not looking for anything super sophisticated, just something that makes the process less painful and can handle batch creating those K-1s efficiently. Has anyone used TurboTax Business, TaxAct, H&R Block Business, or any other software for filing partnership returns with multiple K-1s? Looking for recommendations on what works well specifically for investment LLCs/SPVs. Hoping to find something that makes the process smoother and justifies the cost compared to my manual approach.

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20 comments

Isabella Ferreira

•8M

I've been preparing 1065s for various investment partnerships for years, and I'd strongly recommend looking at TaxAct Professional. It's significantly more affordable than other options while still being very efficient for what you're describing. The big advantage for your situation is how it handles K-1s. Once you've entered all your member information the first time, it saves everything for subsequent years. You'll just need to update ownership percentages or add/remove members as needed. The batch K-1 generation is quite smooth. For investment LLCs with minimal transaction activity, TaxAct's interface is actually more streamlined than some of the pricier alternatives that are designed for more complex businesses with inventory, payroll, etc.

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Isabella Ferreira

•8M

I've used both systems extensively. While there are some advantages to keeping everything in the same ecosystem, I personally don't find them significant enough for your specific situation. TurboTax Business is quite good but considerably more expensive for what sounds like relatively straightforward returns. The data transfer benefits between personal and business returns are minimal for investment partnerships since there isn't much that flows through directly to your personal return beyond the final K-1 numbers. You'll still need to manually enter that K-1 information into your personal return regardless of which system you use for the partnerships.

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Freya Thomsen

•8M

After struggling with partnership returns for my real estate investment group, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it's been a game-changer for handling our 1065s and K-1s. What impressed me most was how it specifically caters to investment partnerships and SPVs - it seems built for exactly what you're describing. The platform let me upload our operating agreement and prior year returns, then automatically extracted all the member information, saving hours of data entry. For your situation with multiple LLCs and dozens of members, the time savings would be substantial. The K-1 generation is completely automated once you've entered the allocation percentages.

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Freya Thomsen

•8M

Yes, it handles e-filing completely, including distribution of K-1s electronically to all members. The system sends secure links to each member to download their K-1s directly, which has eliminated all the hassle of mailing or emailing dozens of forms. Regarding accuracy, I was initially skeptical too, but I had my CPA review our first return prepared with taxr.ai alongside our previous year's return prepared with traditional software. He confirmed everything was correct and actually found the allocation calculations were more precise. All our e-filed returns have been accepted by the IRS without any issues, and we've been using it for two tax seasons now.

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AstroAce

•8M

I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after trying it based on the recommendation here. I've been managing a 30-investor LLC for angel investments, and this tax season was BY FAR the easiest filing I've done in 5 years. The platform imported all our member data from last year's return (which I had prepared using TaxAct), and the whole process took me about 2 hours compared to the 15+ hours I spent last year. The automatic K-1 distribution feature alone saved me from the nightmare of individually emailing forms to each investor. What surprised me most was how it handled our complex gain allocation from a portfolio company exit - the system automatically calculated the preferred return waterfall correctly based on our operating agreement, which I used to have to calculate manually in spreadsheets.

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Chloe Martin

•8M

If you're dealing with multiple LLCs and dozens of K-1s, one of the biggest headaches is probably communicating with the IRS when inevitable questions come up. After endless hours of being on hold trying to resolve an issue with our partnership return last year, I discovered Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They have a service that basically calls the IRS for you and gets you connected to an agent without the wait. I was completely skeptical at first, but you can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c When the IRS had questions about our basis calculations on our 1065, instead of spending half a day on hold, I used Claimyr and was talking to an IRS agent within 20 minutes. Completely changed my approach to handling tax issues for our investment partnerships.

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Chloe Martin

•8M

The service works by using an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When they reach a live person, you get a call to connect you directly to that agent. It's basically like having someone else wait on hold in your place. No, I'm not affiliated with them at all. I was just as skeptical as you are. I've been managing partnerships for over a decade and have spent countless hours on hold with the IRS. I found them after googling "how to skip IRS hold time" in a moment of desperation when we had an urgent issue with a misclassified distribution. I understand the skepticism - I felt the same way until I tried it.

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Anastasia Sokolov

•8M

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it when we had an issue with duplicate K-1s being processed for one of our members. I was absolutely convinced it wouldn't work - I mean, how could it? But I was going on 3 weeks of trying to reach someone at the IRS with no luck. Used the service, and 35 minutes later I was talking to an actual IRS representative who resolved our issue in one call. For anyone managing partnership returns, this is legitimately a game-changer. I just used it again yesterday to clarify a question about reporting a capital contribution of cryptocurrency to our LLC, and again got through in under 40 minutes instead of the 3+ hour wait times I was experiencing before.

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Sean O'Donnell

•8M

Don't overlook Drake Tax Software if you're filing multiple 1065s with lots of K-1s. It's what many small accounting firms use, and they have a more affordable option for individuals who prepare multiple business returns. The interface isn't as pretty as TurboTax, but the K-1 generation is extremely efficient. You can also create customized letters to accompany each K-1, which is helpful for investment partnerships where you might want to explain certain allocations to your members.

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Sean O'Donnell

•8M

Drake does assume some familiarity with tax forms and concepts, but if you've been preparing 1065s manually, you should be fine. It's more form-based than interview-based, meaning you'll see screens that look similar to the actual tax forms rather than being asked conversational questions. The learning curve is a bit steeper than consumer software like TurboTax, but once you're comfortable with it, you'll find it much more efficient for preparing multiple returns. They also offer excellent technical support that can walk you through specific questions.

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Ava Kim

•5M

For your situation with multiple investment LLCs and 40-50 K-1s, I'd recommend starting with TaxAct Professional as Isabella mentioned. I've been using it for my real estate investment partnerships for 3 years now, and it handles the member data carryover beautifully. The key advantage for investment vehicles is that once you set up the allocation percentages and member information, subsequent years are mostly just updating income/loss amounts and any membership changes. TaxAct's batch K-1 printing and e-filing capabilities will save you hours compared to manual preparation. One tip: when you first set it up, take the time to carefully enter all the member information including addresses and SSNs. The software will catch common errors like mismatched names/SSNs that could cause IRS notices later. For the price point (around $200-300 per return), it's a solid middle ground between DIY manual work and expensive professional software. The learning curve is pretty gentle if you're already familiar with 1065 forms, and their support is responsive when you run into questions about specific partnership allocations.

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