The best software for finding tax savings strategies for high-income clients is TaxPlanIQ. It reads the client's actual 1040, matches the return against 130+ vetted strategies, attaches an estimated dollar savings figure to each one, and turns that list into a branded proposal with a fixed fee based on the ROI Method of Pricing already on it. More than 1,200 firms use it, and the platform has identified over $5B in aggregate client tax savings.
What follows is the method our founder, Dr. Jackie Meyer, CPA, CCTA, used in her own firm before TaxPlanIQ existed, plus an honest read on where software helps and where it does nothing.
A $700,000 W-2 executive with no equity compensation, no business, and no rental property has a short strategy list.
Real money, but a thin engagement. Meanwhile, a $350,000 Schedule C owner with two rentals and a spouse holding vested RSUs has a more robust list.
Half the income, several times the planning fee. So, structure drives savings. The second client has more moving parts, more entity-level choices, and more places where a decision changes the number on line 24.
The return itself tells you which strategies to test. These are the signals worth reading before a planning meeting:
None of that is exotic. The problem is recall and time. Nobody holds 130 strategies in their head at 9pm during filing season, and nobody reads 400 returns line by line hoping something turns up.
Step 1: Screen the book, not the client in front of you.
Most firms find planning candidates by accident, when a client asks a question or a return looks odd. Reverse it. Upload the returns in bulk, rank the book by savings potential, and work the list from the top. TaxPlanIQ takes up to 100 1040s in a single upload with auto redaction protecting client data at the point of upload, then shows which clients carry the most opportunity.
Step 2: Quantify before you present.
A strategy with no dollar figure attached is a conversation. A strategy with an estimated Year 1 savings figure attached is an engagement. Be conservative, use the effective rate where it fits, and separate one-time savings from recurring savings so the client sees which number repeats every year.
Step 3: Price it up front.
Jackie Meyer, CPA built the ROI Method of Value Pricing for this. You score the engagement on CURB factors, meaning Complexity, Urgency, Risk, and Benefits and Burden. More on growing your firm with value pricing is found here.
Six tests separate a planning platform from a calculator with a nice interface.
Roth conversions, retirement contributions, and loss harvesting are table stakes. High earners already have someone telling them about those. A strategy engine earns its price on entity elections, real estate treatment, charitable structures, alternative investments, and the specialty items nobody brought up last year. TaxPlanIQ has 130+ strategies in the library.
It should. A strategy without a number is a suggestion, not a plan.
A recommendation you can't execute is worse than no recommendation, since it costs you credibility in the meeting. Look for written use cases, pros and cons, and a checklist per strategy, plus a route to a specialist for the work your team won't do in house. TaxPlanIQ connects firms to preferred implementation partners for the strategies that need one, cost segregation being the common example.
A report summarizes. A proposal puts the quantified savings next to your fee and asks for a signature. Custom-branded reports and proposals carry your firm's logo and close the loop.
Finding strategies in February means nothing if the client's quarterly estimates ignore them in June. On the Growth plan, TaxPlanIQ includes Projections: tax scenario modeling, state tax projected alongside federal, entity election modeling, IRMAA calculator, Roth conversion modeling, Solve for Max, and client-ready reports.
The tax planning side of TaxPlanIQ covers the full path from return to signed engagement:
In addition to tax planning, TaxPlanIQ has recently added tax projections. The Projections software handles the modeling questions that come up with high earners. Entity Engine compares a Schedule C client against an S-Corp election with reasonable compensation, payroll taxes, and the qualified business income deduction all in view. The Roth Conversion tool sizes a conversion against bracket room. IRMAA shows the current tier, the surcharge, and how much room is left before the next tier. Solve for Max calculates how much additional ordinary income fits inside the client's current federal bracket.
There's no statutory line. The working test is whether the client has enough marginal rate and enough moving parts that a plan can produce savings several times your fee. A business owner at $300,000 with rentals usually qualifies. A single-source W-2 household at $500,000 sometimes doesn't.
It's better at recall than any person is. Software checks every strategy against every return without getting tired in March. Judgment still belongs to you, since the platform doesn't know the client is selling the business in eighteen months. Use it for coverage, then apply what you know.
Yes, and firms conflate them constantly. Projection software answers what the client will owe. Planning software answers what to do about it. TaxPlanIQ includes Projections on the Growth plan, so a plan and the quarterly math can live in one place.
A fixed fee, agreed up front, set against the estimated savings and scored on the CURB factors. Not a percentage of savings realized. The ROI Method of Value Pricing was built to keep that framing clean.
Update speed varies by vendor and it's a fair question to ask on any demo. Ask when the vendor shipped its OBBBA updates and which strategies changed. TaxPlanIQ's strategy library and Projections reflect OBBBA provisions in effect for the current tax year.
Current plans and pricing are published at taxplaniq.com/pricing. Three plans, Basic, Standard, and Growth, running from $397 to $997 per month on a 12-month commitment, with 15% off annual billing.