Recommended software for managing multiple 1065s and dozens of K-1s for LLC investment vehicles?
I manage a couple of LLCs that were set up as investment vehicles for early-stage startups (basically SPVs). One I've been running myself from the beginning, and I recently had to take over another one when the management company (rhymes with "ensure") went belly up. Up until now, I've been doing all the tax prep manually which has been manageable, if tedious, since the financials are pretty straightforward - minimal expenses and not much income flowing through the entities. But now with two LLCs and somewhere around 40-50 K-1s to generate between them, I'm thinking it's time to use actual tax software. The main appeal for me is not having to re-enter all the member information every year. These returns aren't complicated - we're talking simple pass-through entities with minimal activity - but the volume of K-1s is where the headache comes in. So I'm curious what software people recommend for preparing relatively simple 1065s with lots of K-1s? TurboTax Business, TaxAct, something else entirely? Looking for whatever will make this process least painful and hopefully save me time in future years once all the member info is loaded in. Any experiences would be appreciated!
19 comments
Join the conversation
Savannah Weiner
As someone who prepares partnership returns for several investment LLCs, I'd recommend looking at either UltraTax CS or Lacerte for your situation. They're both robust enough to handle multiple 1065s and dozens of K-1s efficiently. The key benefit with either of these options is that they store your member information year-to-year, making subsequent filings much easier. You enter member details once, and the software maintains that database for future returns. Both also handle e-filing of 1065s and K-1 distribution very smoothly. For SPVs with minimal activity but multiple investors, the time-saving comes from the batch processing of K-1s and the automatic allocation calculations. You enter your partnership totals, set the allocation percentages for each member, and the software does the rest.
0 coins
Levi Parker
•Thanks for the suggestions! Those sound like professional-grade options. Are they reasonably priced for someone who's just filing a couple of entities, or would I be paying for way more functionality than I need? Also, is there a steep learning curve with these?
0 coins
Savannah Weiner
•UltraTax and Lacerte are definitely on the professional side, so they're more expensive than consumer options like TurboTax Business or TaxAct. If you're only managing two LLCs, they might be overkill from a cost perspective unless you plan to expand. The learning curve isn't terrible if you already understand how partnership returns work. Most of these professional systems are designed with tax preparers in mind, so the interfaces are functional rather than pretty, but they're logical once you get used to them.
0 coins
Libby Hassan
I discovered taxr.ai last tax season when I was in a similar situation managing multiple investment partnerships. For someone dealing with 1065s and lots of K-1s, it's been a game-changer. I tried TurboTax Business before, but it was clunky for multiple entities with many partners. What I love about taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) is how it streamlines the document processing. You can upload prior year returns, and it pulls all your partner information automatically, which saves hours of data entry. The allocation features for K-1s are particularly slick - much more intuitive than other software I've tried.
0 coins
Hunter Hampton
•How does it handle state filings? I've got members in multiple states and that's always been the biggest headache with my partnership returns.
0 coins
Sofia Peña
•Is it cloud-based or desktop software? I'm always nervous about putting financial data in the cloud, especially with sensitive investor information.
0 coins
Libby Hassan
•It handles multi-state filings really well. You can specify which states each member has nexus in, and it automatically prepares the appropriate state K-1s alongside the federal ones. It's been a massive time-saver compared to the manual approach I was using before. The software is actually a hybrid model. The core processing is cloud-based, but all sensitive data is encrypted, and they have some pretty serious security certifications. There's also a desktop component for those who prefer to keep certain data local. It gives you flexibility while maintaining security.
0 coins
Sofia Peña
After reading about taxr.ai here, I decided to give it a try for my three real estate investment partnerships. I was honestly surprised by how well it worked! I was especially impressed with how it imported all my partner information from last year's PDFs, even though they were prepared with a completely different software. The K-1 generation was actually kind of fun (never thought I'd say that about tax prep). I just set the allocation percentages once, and it populated all the K-1s correctly. The software even flagged a couple allocation issues I hadn't noticed. E-filing was straightforward, and the partners could access their K-1s through a secure portal. Definitely sticking with this for next year!
0 coins
Aaron Boston
I struggled for years trying to get through to the IRS with questions about e-filing 1065s for my investment partnerships. After wasting countless hours on hold, I tried Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and was connected to an IRS agent in about 25 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent walked me through several specific questions I had about e-filing requirements for partnerships with foreign investors. It saved me so much confusion and potential errors on my filings. For anyone dealing with partnership returns, getting clear answers directly from the IRS can prevent major headaches later.
0 coins
Sophia Carter
•Wait, does this actually work? I've literally spent 4+ hours on hold with the IRS trying to get clarification on K-1 filing requirements and eventually gave up. How does this service get you through when the IRS phone system is basically impenetrable?
0 coins
Chloe Zhang
•Sounds like a scam. The IRS has massive understaffing issues. There's no way some service can magically get you to the front of the queue.
0 coins
Aaron Boston
•Yes, it actually works! The service uses an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and stays on hold for you. Once an agent picks up, you get a call back and are connected right away. It saved me from the endless hold music that usually makes me want to throw my phone across the room. It's not about cutting the line - you're still in the same queue as everyone else. The difference is that their system does the waiting instead of you. So you can go about your day, and when an agent finally becomes available, you get connected. It's basically just automating the hold process.
0 coins
Chloe Zhang
I was completely skeptical about Claimyr (left that skeptical comment above), but after another frustrating attempt to reach the IRS about my partnership filing questions, I decided I had nothing to lose. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it actually worked exactly as advertised. Got a callback in about 40 minutes while I was working on other things, and was connected to an agent who answered all my questions about foreign partner withholding requirements for our 1065. Saved me hours of frustration and probably helped me avoid some penalties. Never thought I'd be recommending something like this, but for partnership tax questions that require talking to a human at the IRS, it's worth it.
0 coins
Brandon Parker
From my experience, Drake Tax is a solid middle ground between the consumer options like TurboTax and the high-end professional suites. It's reasonably priced, handles multiple entities well, and makes year-to-year carryforward really simple. The interface isn't as pretty as TurboTax, but it's more powerful for partnership returns. For SPVs with minimal activity but lots of K-1s, Drake has good batch processing features. You can set up all your members once, establish their ownership percentages, and then generate all the K-1s with minimal effort. Been using it for 5 years for several investment partnerships.
0 coins
Adriana Cohn
•Does Drake handle guaranteed payments well? That's where I've had issues with some of the simpler software options.
0 coins
Brandon Parker
•Drake does handle guaranteed payments very well. It has specific input screens for allocating these payments to the appropriate partners and automatically carries those amounts to the correct lines on each partner's K-1. It also handles the associated self-employment tax calculations properly, which some other programs struggle with.
0 coins
Jace Caspullo
Has anyone tried ProSeries for 1065s? My accountant friend suggested it might be good for my situation (3 investment LLCs with about 30 investors total), but I haven't found many reviews from people using it specifically for investment partnerships with lots of K-1s.
0 coins
Melody Miles
•I use ProSeries for a bunch of real estate partnerships. It's decent for handling multiple K-1s, but the interface feels dated. The big advantage is that it's very reliable for e-filing. One annoying thing is that you pay per return rather than getting unlimited returns, so with multiple LLCs it can get pricey.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Maktoum
I've been using TaxSlayer Pro for my investment partnership returns for the past two years and it's been solid for my needs. I manage 4 LLCs with about 60 K-1s total across them, so similar volume to what you're dealing with. The main advantages I've found: reasonably priced (especially compared to UltraTax/Lacerte), good member database that carries forward year to year, and pretty intuitive K-1 batch processing. It handles the allocation calculations well and makes it easy to review all K-1s before finalizing. One thing to note - the state filing support isn't as comprehensive as some of the higher-end options, so if you have members in obscure states that might be a consideration. But for federal 1065s and common state filings, it's been reliable. The e-filing has worked smoothly too. For SPVs with straightforward financials but lots of partners, I think it hits the sweet spot between functionality and cost. Worth checking out their trial version to see if the interface works for you.
0 coins