Drake tax

Drake Tax is a professional tax preparation and e-filing software developed by Drake Software, designed specifically for tax preparers, CPAs, enrolled agents, and accounting firms. The platform supports the preparation and electronic filing of individual returns (1040, 1040-NR, 1040-SS), business returns (1120, 1120-S, 1065, 1041, 990, 706), and all state returns. Drake Tax has been a trusted name in the professional tax software market for over 40 years, known for its speed, accuracy, and value — serving tax professionals who prepare anywhere from a handful of returns to thousands each season.

What differentiates Drake Tax from competitors like Lacerte or ProSeries is its combination of comprehensive capabilities at a significantly lower price point, with no per-return fees on its unlimited plans. The software is known for its fast data entry, intuitive keyboard-driven workflow that veteran tax preparers love, and built-in tools for document management, client write-up, and payroll. Drake also offers a pay-per-return option for smaller practices, free data conversion from competing software, and includes all state programs at no additional cost — unlike many competitors that charge extra for state modules. The platform is available as both a desktop application and a cloud-hosted option through Rightworks.

Key Features: Comprehensive tax form coverage including individual 1040 and all schedules and business returns including 1120 1120-S 1065 1041 990 706 and more, unlimited federal and state e-filing included with all unlimited plans at no additional per-return cost, all state tax programs included in the base price with no extra charge for additional state modules, fast keyboard-driven data entry interface designed for professional tax preparers who value speed and efficiency, built-in document management system with PDF printer for organizing and storing client tax documents electronically, Drake Accounting module for client write-up bookkeeping and payroll processing available with the Pro package, free data conversion from competing tax software including Lacerte ProSeries UltraTax and others to simplify switching, side-by-side return comparison for reviewing prior year returns against current year for accuracy checking, multi-monitor support for viewing source documents and tax returns simultaneously, built-in e-signature capability for remote client signing of tax returns and engagement letters, client portal for secure document exchange between tax preparers and their clients, GruntWorx integration for automated data entry from scanned tax documents, practice management features including client organizers and billing and due date tracking, cloud hosting option through Rightworks partnership at $99 per user per month for remote access, and comprehensive support including phone support and web-based training and community forums and onboarding webinars.

Pricing: Drake Tax offers three main pricing tiers for the annual tax season license. The Drake Tax Pro plan costs $2,495 for multi-user or $2,195 for single-user and includes unlimited individual and business returns plus all state programs and Drake Accounting and payroll modules. The Drake Tax 1040 plan costs $1,995 for multi-user or $1,795 for single-user and includes unlimited individual 1040 returns with business returns available as an add-on at $59.99 per return. The Pay-Per-Return plan costs $349.99 and includes 10 individual returns with additional individual returns at $39.99 each and business returns at $59.99 each. All plans include federal e-filing and all state programs and free data conversion and customer support. Optional cloud hosting through Rightworks is available at $99 per user per month.

Use Cases: Professional tax preparation firms that handle high volumes of individual and business tax returns and need unlimited e-filing without per-return fees to maximize profitability, CPAs and enrolled agents who are switching from more expensive competitors like Lacerte or UltraTax and want comparable functionality at a lower annual cost with free data migration, solo tax preparers and seasonal tax businesses that want a pay-per-return option to keep costs low while still accessing professional-grade tax software, accounting firms that need integrated bookkeeping and payroll capabilities alongside tax preparation through the Drake Accounting module, tax professionals who value fast keyboard-driven data entry and efficient workflow designed for speed during the busy tax season, and multi-location tax offices that need cloud hosting capability for remote access while maintaining the performance of desktop software.