# What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for tax preparation software (small businesses) on 2026-10-14

## In short

On 2026-10-14, Claude (Anthropic) with web search was asked "best tax preparation software for small businesses". It named 16 brands; the first six, in order, were FreeTaxUSA, TurboTax, TaxSlayer, TaxSlayer Self-Employed, TurboTax Premium and QuickBooks.

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Question | best tax preparation software for small businesses |
| Asked on | 2026-10-14 |
| Engine | Claude (Anthropic) with web search |
| Model | claude-opus-5 |
| Brands named | 16 |
| Sources cited | 5 |
| Audience | small businesses |
| Coverage | Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included. |
| Last verified | 2026-10-14 |

Page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/tax-preparation-software-small-businesses-2026-10-14
Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

## The answer, as recorded

Asked on 2026-10-14 through Claude (Anthropic) with web search (model claude-opus-5).

> ## If you file Schedule C (sole prop or single-member LLC)
> 
> **1. FreeTaxUSA** - My default recommendation. Federal is free including Schedule C, depreciation, and home-office; state is ~$15. It handles self-employment income as well as anything costing 10x more. The interview is plainer than TurboTax's but perfectly competent.
> 
> **2. TaxSlayer Self-Employed** - ~$70ish all-in for federal + state. A step up in hand-holding from FreeTaxUSA, still well under TurboTax. Good middle ground.
> 
> **3. TurboTax Premium** - ~$130 federal plus ~$65/state. Worth the premium only for two things: the best deduction-finding interview in the business, and direct QuickBooks/Mint import. If you already run QuickBooks Self-Employed, the data pull saves real hours.
> 
> ## If you file 1120-S or 1065 (S-corp, multi-member LLC, partnership)
> 
> **4. TaxAct Business** - Best value here by a wide margin: about **$155 for a 1065** and **$170 for an 1120-S**, with expert help as a ~$89 add-on. It generates the K-1s properly and carries them to the personal return. This is what I'd actually buy.
> 
> **5. TurboTax Business** - More expensive, Windows-desktop only (no Mac, no browser), but the step-by-step entity interview 

## Brands named, in the order the engine gave

| Position | Brand | How it was named |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FreeTaxUSA | recommended |
| 2 | TurboTax | mentioned |
| 3 | TaxSlayer | mentioned |
| 4 | TaxSlayer Self-Employed | mentioned |
| 5 | TurboTax Premium | mentioned |
| 6 | QuickBooks | mentioned |
| 7 | QuickBooks Self-Employed | mentioned |
| 8 | TaxAct | mentioned |
| 9 | TaxAct Business | mentioned |
| 10 | TurboTax Business | mentioned |
| 11 | H&R Block | mentioned |
| 12 | H&R Block Premium & Business | mentioned |
| 13 | Lacerte | mentioned |
| 14 | per-seat | mentioned |
| 15 | 1-800Accountant | mentioned |
| 16 | Xendoo | mentioned |

## Sources the engine cited

- https://www.taxact.com/business-returns (vendor)
- https://beancount.io/blog/2026/10/07/business-tax-software-compared-turbotax-hr-block-taxact-1065-1120-guide (other)
- https://www.nerdwallet.com/taxes/learn/taxact-vs-turbotax (review)
- https://www.business.org/finance/taxes/best-tax-filing-software-programs-small-businesses (other)
- https://aspireapp.com/en-us/blog/best-tax-software-for-small-businesses-llcs (other)

The question page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/tax-preparation-software/small-businesses

Alerts and membership: Answer Watch Pro, 79 USD per month: https://bikoosh.com/answers. Bikoosh is monitoring assistance, not complete protection.

Answer Watch records what one AI answer engine said on one date, nothing more. Each page names the engine and the model, carries the date the question was asked, and lists the brands that appeared in the answer in the order the engine gave them, with the sources it cited. It is a measurement, not a ranking, not a recommendation and not a claim about the world. Brands that did not appear in an answer are not named on any public page. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.