FFiled

Filed raised $17.2 million in 2025 to sell CPA firms a tax preparer that never asks staff to change software. Its agents read W-2s, 1099s and K-1s, apply each firm’s conventions and key the figures straight into CCH Axcess, UltraTax, Lacerte, ProConnect or Drake, flagging anything ambiguous for a human. Filed says firms can handle three times as many returns without adding headcount, and early customers reported review cycles 30% to 50% shorter.

It is best for tax firms with heavy return volume and a staffing gap. Points to plan for are that Filed shares pricing on request rather than publishing it, asks firms to run an eight-week training program before launch and could describe its security certifications in its public materials. We rate it 7.8/10 on our scale. We have not used Filed; this review is based on Filed’s published information, partner listings and news coverage.

Launch and Partner Figures From a Newer Tax AI Firm

Filed is a newer company, so most of its published numbers come from its launch in May 2025 and from partner listings. They still say a lot about where it fits.

Two things stand out for a buyer. First, the integration list covers the five tax packages most US firms already run, which is the main reason Filed can promise no new login. A firm on one of those packages can test it without a software migration. Second, every performance number in the table is a vendor or customer claim. A 42-minute saving per return in review is meaningful, but only if your returns look like the ones Filed trained on.

The funding is smaller than at larger accounting AI companies, and the investors are general venture funds rather than tax software owners. That gives Filed room to stay neutral across tax platforms, and it also means the company is still early in building out support, security documentation and pricing.

Agents That Turn Client Documents Into Draft Returns

Filed describes itself as an AI tax workspace for CPA firms. The tax preparer is the center of it: a set of agents that take a client’s documents and produce a prepared return inside the firm’s tax software, ready for review.

From Documents to a Prepared Return

• Collect: client documents arrive through the firm’s existing portal. Filed tracks document collection and progress for each return.
• Extract: agents pull data from source documents such as W-2s, 1099s and K-1s and structure it.
• Apply the firm’s approach: Filed applies the firm’s tax strategy and conventions from its firm profile, which mirrors naming conventions, review processes and client communication preferences.
• Enter: the data goes directly into CCH Axcess, UltraTax, Lacerte, ProConnect or Drake, so staff keep their workpapers and Excel tie-out templates.
• Validate and flag: Filed validates the return against firm-defined rules, flags anomalies and escalates edge cases and ambiguous scenarios to a human.

Filed says its system is deterministic rather than purely generative, and that each return carries an auditability trail. Returns are processed in parallel, which the company says turns a week of work into hours during busy season. It covers individual (1040), trust and estate (1041), partnership (1065), C corporation (1120) and S corporation (1120S) returns, at the federal and multi-state level.

Tax Planning Reports

Beyond preparation, Filed generates client-ready planning reports on retirement, business, real estate, charitable and estate strategies. These give advisers a starting point for planning conversations after the return is done.

Early Access Through Filed or the Rightworks Directory

• Sign up for early access: directly with Filed or through the partner offer in the Rightworks application directory, which lists Filed as working inside the Rightworks environment.
• Foundation phase: the AI prepares returns and learns the firm’s documents and conventions.
• Verification phase: staff review and correct the returns, and their corrections feed firm-specific learning.
• Go live: Filed describes the whole program as an 8-week pre-launch period.

Reviewers Sign Every Return and Handle Out-of-Rule Cases

A preparer or reviewer still signs off every return. Filed sends anything outside its rules to a person, and someone at the firm has to set and maintain those rules in the firm profile. Client conversations, judgment calls on positions and the final review stay with licensed staff.

That split matters for staffing plans. Filed’s pitch is that junior preparers spend less time keying numbers and more time reviewing, and that senior reviewers see cleaner first drafts. Firms should plan who owns the firm profile, who trains the AI during the Verification phase and how flagged returns are routed, before the first client documents go in.

Prices Agreed One Firm at a Time Through Early Access

Filed does not publish plans or prices. Firms request access through an early access signup, and pricing is agreed directly with Filed.

Busy-Season Capacity at 42 Minutes Saved per Return

Without a rate card, the useful sums are about capacity. These scenarios apply Filed’s own claimed figure of 42 minutes saved per return in review to illustrative return volumes; they show what the claim would be worth, not what Filed charges.

• A small firm preparing 400 returns a season: at 42 minutes each, the claimed review saving comes to 280 hours, or 7 working weeks of 40 hours.
• A midsize firm preparing 2,000 returns: the same claim works out to 1,400 hours, or 35 working weeks of one reviewer’s time.
• The training cost: the 8-week pre-launch program uses staff time before any savings start, so the first season carries the setup effort as well as the subscription.

Hidden or variable costs to ask about: whether pricing is per return, per seat or per firm; whether planning reports cost extra; and whether the Rightworks partner offer changes the terms. Compare the quote with the hours you expect to save at your own staff cost.

Filed Compared With Black Ore, Basis and Karbon AI

Accounting firms looking at AI for tax season mostly choose between tools that prepare returns, platforms that cover several practice areas and practice management software that adds AI around the work.

Black Ore is the closest rival and the easiest to price, thanks to its published per-return rate for small firms. Filed’s case rests on breadth of tax software support and its firm profiles. Basis suits firms that want one vendor across tax and audit. Karbon AI is a complement rather than a substitute: it runs the workflow around a return, while Filed prepares it. See more options in our guide to AI agents for accounting firms and AI agents for accounting.

Firms Short on Preparers and Running a Supported Package

• Tax firms short on preparers: Filed is built for firms that cannot hire enough staff and want reviewers to check returns instead of keying them.
• Firms on CCH Axcess, UltraTax, Lacerte, ProConnect or Drake: data goes straight into these packages, so there is no software migration.
• Practices with business and fiduciary returns: coverage includes 1065, 1120, 1120S and 1041, not just individual returns.
• Firms with documented review procedures: the firm profile mirrors your conventions, so firms with clear rules give the AI more to work with.
• Rightworks-hosted firms: Filed is listed as working inside the Rightworks environment, with a partner offer in its directory.

Self-Filers and Firms on Unsupported Tax Software

• Individuals doing their own taxes: Filed is sold to CPA and tax firms.
• Firms on other tax software: the supported list is five packages, and data entry into the firm’s software is the core of the product.
• Firms that need a price before a demo: there is no published rate card or self-serve trial; Black Ore publishes a small-firm price.
• Firms short on time before busy season: the 8-week pre-launch program needs staff to review and correct returns.
• Buyers who require certifications on paper first: Filed’s public materials do not list security certifications, so the security review has to happen in the sales process.

Claimed Speed Gains to Confirm With Outside Evidence

• Vendor figures: three times the returns, 40% less prep time and 42 minutes saved per return are Filed claims; customer results such as seven days to overnight come from Filed’s launch announcement. Measure your own numbers during the pilot.
• Security documentation: client tax data is sensitive. Ask for Filed’s security report, data retention terms, and whether client data is used to train models.
• Training effort: the AI learns from staff corrections, so the quality of the Verification phase depends on the time your reviewers put in.
• Edge cases: Filed escalates ambiguous scenarios rather than resolving them, so complex returns still need experienced reviewers.
• Company maturity: Filed launched in 2025 with seed funding. Ask about support during busy season and what happens to your data if terms change.
• Unpublished pricing: confirm how fees scale with return volume before committing for a full season.

Northzone Leads a $17.2 Million Round in May 2025

• On May 21, 2025, TechCrunch reported that Filed raised $17.2 million led by Northzone, with Day One Ventures and Neo participating, to hire more tax engineers and expand its team.
• The same day, CPA Practice Advisor covered the launch of Filed’s AI tax preparer, naming integrations with CCH Axcess, UltraTax, Lacerte and Drake and the firm’s selection for the 2025 AICPA and CPA.com Startup Accelerator.

Pilot-Worthy for Firms Losing Busy Season to Data Entry

For tax firms on one of the five supported packages that are losing busy season to data entry, Filed deserves a pilot. It scores 7.8/10 on our scale: strong on autonomy and tax software coverage, and published pricing, a shorter setup period and fuller public security documentation would lift it. The design choices are sensible for a regulated job. It keeps the firm’s software, rules and reviewers in place, and it escalates what it cannot resolve instead of guessing.

The evidence so far comes from Filed and its early customers, including firms such as JCG Tax, Smith CPA and KBS Tax. Before signing, ask for references at a firm your size, a written security review and a price tied to your return count, then use the 8-week program to compare prepared returns with your own staff’s work.

Supported Software, Return Types and the Black Ore Contrast

How Much Does Filed Cost?

Filed does not publish prices. Firms sign up for early access, either directly or through the Rightworks partner offer, and agree pricing with Filed. Budget for staff time during the 8-week pre-launch program as well.

Which Tax Software Does Filed Work With?

Filed works inside CCH Axcess, UltraTax, Lacerte, ProConnect and Drake. Firms keep their existing portal, workpapers and Excel tie-out templates, and staff do not need a new login.

Which Returns Can Filed Prepare?

Filed lists 1040, 1041, 1065, 1120 and 1120S returns and supports federal and multi-state filings. Edge cases and ambiguous scenarios are flagged for a human reviewer rather than resolved automatically.

How Is Filed Different From Black Ore?

Both prepare whole returns for CPA firms. Black Ore publishes a per-return price for small firms, while Filed does not publish pricing but lists support for five tax software packages and builds a profile of each firm’s conventions.

Does Filed Replace a Tax Preparer?

No. Filed takes on extraction, data entry and first-pass validation, and staff review and correct its work. Licensed professionals still make judgment calls, talk to clients and sign off on returns.