Best Partnership Tax Return Software (Form 1065) in 2026

I have nearly two decades of experience in finance and accounting, including banking, financial management, and bookkeeping. I currently work with US-based businesses and have hands-on experience managing their books, reconciling accounts, reviewing financial reports, and maintaining the accounting records that ultimately support tax preparation.

As a QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor and Xero Advisor, I have also worked extensively with accounting software and understand what makes financial software practical for day-to-day use. For this guide, I evaluated each product specifically for preparing partnership returns, focusing on Form 1065 and Schedule K-1 support, pricing, ease of use, filing capabilities, and the needs of both partnerships filing their own returns and tax professionals preparing returns for clients.

JR Suralta

To determine the best tax software for Form 1065, this guide focused on the specific complexities of partnership taxation:

• Partnership tax features (30%): Evaluated Form 1065, Schedule K-1, partner allocations, capital accounts, guaranteed payments, and multi-state support.
• Pricing and value (20%): Compared software pricing, state filing costs, e-filing fees, and the number of returns included.
• Ease of use (15%): Assessed setup, navigation, data entry, guided workflows, and overall usability.
• Tax filing and compliance (15%): Reviewed e-filing, error checking, diagnostics, extensions, and other filing tools.
• Customer support (10%): Considered available support channels and access to tax or product experts.
• User reviews (10%): Reviewed third-party feedback on usability, reliability, support, and overall value.

TaxSlayer Pro Premium makes the most sense if you prepare Form 1065 returns for multiple clients, not just one partnership. The $1,695 price is high for a business owner filing a single return, but tax professionals can prepare unlimited business returns without paying a fee for each one. It also supports other business and entity returns, so it can serve firms with a mix of partnership, corporate, S corporation, estate, trust, and nonprofit clients.

Standout features

• Unlimited business returns: Prepare unlimited Form 1065 and other supported business returns.
• Full business tax suite: Supports partnerships, C corps, S corps, estates and trusts, nonprofits, and estate and gift tax returns.
• Unlimited federal and state e-filing: No per-return e-file charges.
• Client portal: Securely exchange documents and information with clients.
• TaxesToGo integration: Lets clients submit tax information and documents through the mobile app.
• Paperless office tools: Supports digital document storage and workflow management.

TaxAct Online Partnership is a practical choice if you want to prepare your own Form 1065 without paying for a tax professional to do the entire return. Its guided online workflow walks you through partnership income, expenses, partner allocations, and Schedule K-1s. If you need help along the way, you can also upgrade to Xpert Assist or Full Service rather than switching to another tax platform.

Standout features

• Guided Form 1065 filing: Step-by-step online preparation for partnership returns.
• Automatic K-1 generation: Creates Schedule K-1s for individual partners.
• Partner allocation tools: Handles each partner’s share of income, deductions, and other tax items.
• Trial balance import: Imports accounting data through CSV to reduce manual entry.
• Built-in error checking: Reviews the return for potential errors and missing information before filing.
• Online access: Prepare and file without downloading desktop software.

Drake Tax Online's pay-per-return structure makes sense for tax professionals who prepare fewer Form 1065 returns and don't need an unlimited-return package. You pay for business returns as needed, while still getting professional tax preparation, diagnostics, e-filing, and multi-user capabilities through a browser-based platform.

Standout features

• Cloud-based tax preparation: Prepare Form 1065 entirely through a web browser without installing the full Drake Tax desktop software.
• Professional Form 1065 tools: Supports partnership returns, Schedule K-1s, and related partnership schedules.
• Pay-per-return model: Well suited to tax professionals preparing a smaller number of partnership returns.
• Built-in diagnostics: Identifies potential errors and missing information before returns are filed.
• Multi-user access: Supports additional users for firms with multiple tax preparers.
• E-filing: Electronically files supported federal and state partnership returns.

TurboTax's Expert Assist and Expert Full Service products pair filers with a tax expert for the full partnership filing package: preparing Form 1065 and generating each partner's Schedule K-1. Both options provide access to a business tax expert, but the level of involvement differs. Expert Assist lets you prepare the return with expert guidance and a final review, while Expert Full Service has an expert prepare and file it for you.

Filers who want to prepare the return entirely themselves without expert involvement need the separate TurboTax Business desktop product, which isn't part of this pricing.

Standout features

• Unlimited expert assistance: Get help from business tax experts while preparing Form 1065.
• Final expert review: A tax expert reviews the return before filing.
• Guided Form 1065 preparation: Walks users through partnership tax filing step by step.
• Automatic K-1 preparation: Generates Schedule K-1s for partners.
• QuickBooks integration: Imports eligible financial data from QuickBooks to reduce manual entry.

H&R Block's Premium & Business bundles personal and business tax prep in one purchase, with unlimited business returns included rather than priced per return. It's a genuine budget option for a partnership filing alongside personal returns, though the Windows-only requirement and limited state e-filing availability are real constraints worth checking against your setup before buying.

Standout features

• Unlimited business returns: Prepare multiple federal business returns with the software.
• Form 1065 support: Prepares partnership returns and Schedule K-1s.
• Personal and business filing: Handles both individual and business tax returns in one package.
• Payroll and employer forms: Supports applicable payroll-related tax forms.
• Built-in accuracy review: Checks returns for errors and potential issues before filing.
• Desktop-based preparation: Keeps tax preparation on a Windows computer rather than requiring a browser-based workflow.