Best startup tax accounting services

Tax preparation and planning services can help your business stay in compliance while minimizing annual tax liabilities. Some of the best startup tax accounting services include Zeni, Pilot, Kruze Consulting, and Indinero. 

Let’s explore how they work to help you determine which makes the most sense for your business.

1. Zeni

Zeni offers tax planning and preparation services specifically for startups. Whether you’re looking for seed funding or navigating priced rounds, we can help maximize your tax savings and keep you in compliance, so you can stay focused on growth.

Beyond federal and state income tax filing, each of our startup tax accountant plans comes with a dedicated team of advisors. 

They’ve worked with dozens of startups across funding stages and industries, so they’re well-equipped to help you navigate startup-specific challenges, like the R&D tax credit.

Pricing starts at just $2,499 per year for pre-revenue startups and $3,899 per year for startups generating revenue up to $500K. You can also customize your subscription with a variety of add-ons. These include:

• Foreign subsidiary reporting
• Delaware franchise tax filing
• ISO exercise reporting
• Foreign shareholder reporting
• Foreign intercompany transaction reporting
• Entity classification elections
• Foreign bank and financial accounts reporting
• Prior year tax return amending
• Additional state corporate income tax filings
• Foreign disregarded entity reporting
• Change in accounting method applications

But our startup accounting services are just the beginning. Zeni also offers integrated bookkeeping, payroll, and CFO advisory services, all enhanced by the power of AI. 

For example, our AI Accountant Agent keeps your books updated in real-time, categorizing transactions, correcting vendors, and automating journal entries.

Clients also gain access to our full suite of AI-powered finance products. These include a business checking account and credit card, plus bill pay and employee reimbursement software—all integrated and accessible from the same intuitive dashboard.

2. QuickBooks

QuickBooks is one of the most popular bookkeeping tools for startup founders, and it recently began offering integrated tax preparation services for businesses. 

If you already use QuickBooks to manage your basic accounting needs, this can be a convenient way to handle your taxes within the same ecosystem.

The main offering is TurboTax Live Full Service Business, which pairs you with a dedicated tax expert who will prepare and file your returns. 

It’s available to S corporations (Form 1120-S), partnerships (Form 1065), and multi-member LLCs. Federal return pricing starts at $1,749, plus $69 per state return filing.

In some states, the TurboTax Live Assisted Business service is available instead. With this option, you’ll complete your tax returns yourself, but you can get on-demand help from a tax expert as you need it. As a result, federal return pricing starts at just $739.

Whichever service you use, your tax expert will be available through phone, chat, or one-way video throughout the year. Their hours may be limited outside of tax season, but you can always expect them to be available during normal business hours.

In addition, both services include Intuit Assist, an AI-powered tax assistant that can help answer questions and offer strategic recommendations. It can also check your return for accuracy and guide you in fixing potential mistakes before filing.

3. Pilot

Pilot is another platform that provides a variety of financial services for startups, including bookkeeping, CFO advisory, and tax preparation. 

Its offerings are designed for venture-funded startups, especially those in the AI, SaaS, health tech, fintech, and direct-to-consumer verticals.

In addition to federal and state corporate income tax preparation, Pilot’s basic tax services include free Delaware Franchise Tax filing. Other service details vary between subscription tiers. Here’s how they work:

• Starter: Starting at $750 per year, this is for newly incorporated startups and small businesses.
• Essentials: Starting at $2,450 per year, this is for unprofitable startups filing simple returns with no foreign subsidiaries. It includes email support, city corporate income tax filing, and up to ten 1099-NEC filings.
• Standard: Starting at $5,400 per year, this is for profitable startups and small businesses with or without foreign subsidiaries. It includes up to twenty-five 1099-NEC filings.

Pilot also offers various additional tax services for a fee. For example, you can add on additional city or state income tax filings, 1099-NEC filings, and foreign subsidiary returns, though pricing and availability depend on your subscription.

Note that Pilot’s tax services must be bundled with its bookkeeping services, which start at $169 per month.

4. Paro

Unlike the other providers on this list, Paro doesn’t provide startup tax services directly. Instead, it connects you with a vetted expert from its talent pool whose background and skillset align with your business’s unique needs.

For example, you can request that the system put you in contact with tax experts who have experience in helping fintech startups with VC funding navigate the R&D tax credit or multi-state sales tax compliance.

This approach also means there are no fixed pricing plans or service packages, as each engagement is entirely customized. You get to work out the details directly with your selected professional, so you only pay for what you need.

Paro’s network of experts is also exceptionally selective, accepting fewer than 2% of applicants. 

You’ll find many in its talent pool with experience at Big Four accounting firms, Fortune 500 companies, and leading CPA services. They boast specialties in over 60 industries and more than 250 skillsets.

As a result, you should have no trouble finding an experienced accountant or tax professional with the expertise your startup needs, no matter what that looks like.

5. Kruze Consulting

Kruze Consulting is a full-service accounting firm that specializes in helping venture-backed startups. It has a team of more than 150 tax professionals, including many who’ve worked at the Big Four, at high-growth startups, or in venture capital roles.

Kruze Consulting’s tax services include federal, state, and local tax filings, R&D tax credit claims, and tax nexus reviews for businesses operating in multiple states.

Beyond compliance, Kruze offers strategic year-round financial planning to maximize your tax deductions and make more tax-efficient business decisions. 

It also focuses on helping startups navigate the fundraising and acquisitions processes, including due diligence with venture capitalists or other potential investors.

While Kruze doesn’t provide fixed pricing details, it offers a calculator that can provide an estimated quote for your engagement. The determining factors include your monthly revenue, employee count, and whether your company is profitable.

6. Fondo

Fondo is an accounting platform designed specifically for startups, offering both bookkeeping and tax services. Unlike Pilot’s, they are sold separately, so you can sign up for just a tax plan if your books are already covered elsewhere.

Fondo’s primary tax plan is its TaxPass, which is an annual subscription that includes federal and state corporate income tax filings plus Delaware Franchise Tax filings. It starts at $950 per year, with actual pricing depending on your annual expenses.

For international startups with a Delaware C Corp parent company, Fondo also offers the Global TaxPass plan. 

It includes everything in TaxPass, plus support for Foreign Subsidiaries, Foreign Shareholders, and Foreign Bank Accounts. It starts at $5,150 per year.

Separate from both subscriptions, Fondo also offers dedicated R&D tax credit services. Instead of charging an upfront fee, the platform only charges you if it saves you money. On average, the startups Fondo works with capture $21,000 in tax credits per year.

7. Decimal

Decimal offers tax planning and preparation services for startups, specializing in multiple industries. These include e-commerce, SaaS, nonprofit, dental, manufacturing, home services, and professional services.

In addition, like Zeni, Decimal offers much more than just startup tax assistance. It also provides several other services, including bookkeeping, financial reporting, expense management, payroll support, and accounting advisory.

Also like Zeni, Decimal clients gain access to several supporting products. 

Most notably, that refers to its automated bill payment and invoicing tools, built to help streamline financial processes like accounts payable and accounts receivable, thus improving cash flow.

Every subscription also comes with support from a dedicated team of experts, and you don’t have to sign up for Decimal’s bookkeeping—or any of its other services—to benefit from its tax services.

While Decimal doesn’t share how much those services cost publicly, it does confirm that you can expect a fixed monthly rate, not an hourly billing structure.

8. Indinero

Indinero is another platform that offers a wide variety of financial services for startups. 

These include accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, technology implementation, outsourced CFO, and business tax services. If you’re looking to meet all your needs in one place, it’s a good option.

Focusing on its tax services, here’s what you can expect them to provide:

• Business tax planning: Proactive tax strategy throughout the year to help you minimize your tax liability.
• Tax preparation and filing: Completion of federal, state, and local income tax returns by the appropriate deadlines.
• Tax compliance and risk management: Implementation of internal controls to minimize potential issues with tax authorities.
• Business structure optimization: Assessment of current business structure and recommendations for any advantageous changes.
• Tax credit maximization: Identification of and guidance in claiming all available tax credits, including R&D credits and industry-specific incentives.
• International tax planning: Navigation of complex cross-border tax issues to ensure compliance with foreign tax law.

Indinero specializes in offering these services to technology, professional services, e-commerce, healthcare, and non-profit startups.

While the company doesn’t publicly share its pricing for taxes, it does disclose its bookkeeping rates, which can give you an idea of what to expect. 

They start at $750 per month for simple financial structures and $1,250 per month for those who want accrual accounting or the ability to scale.

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