AI Now Prepares the Return: CCH Axcess, CoCounsel and Black Ore's Agentic Tax Prep, Compared (October 2026)

By The Professions Cloud Editors Updated October 2026 · 7 sources · 5 min read

Prices and facts checked October 31, 2026. We don't accept payment for rankings.

What happened: in one week of October 2026, three tax software vendors launched AI that does the preparation work on a return before a person reviews it:

• October 22: Thomson Reuters released the next generation of CoCounsel Tax, Audit & Accounting. It works with UltraTax and runs calculations, builds workpapers and drafts memos (Thomson Reuters).
• October 23: Wolters Kluwer added agentic tax preparation to CCH Axcess Tax. It prepares and calculates individual 1040 returns and flags exceptions before review begins (CPA Practice Advisor).
• October 27: Black Ore launched Black Ore for Small Firms, which prepares returns from source documents and delivers them into Intuit ProConnect Tax and Lacerte (Black Ore via GlobeNewswire).

Why it matters: until now, AI in tax software mostly answered research questions or pulled data from documents. These tools go further: they assemble the return and hand you a finished draft to review. That changes how you staff busy season, price returns and supervise work. Every vendor says a professional still signs off, and the responsibility stays with you.

The three tools compared

Sources: CPA Practice Advisor, International Accounting Bulletin, Thomson Reuters, Black Ore pricing, checked October 31, 2026.

Black Ore: the one with a public price

Black Ore's pricing page lists per-return pricing starting at $60 for small and mid-sized firms. It includes automated 1040 preparation, K-1 extraction and classification, workpapers and tie-outs, anomaly checks and direct export to your tax software (Black Ore pricing). Its site says it runs on US-based, SOC 2-compliant infrastructure (Black Ore).

The company says onboarding takes less than a day, with a named specialist, and that ProConnect firms get migration help from Intuit and Black Ore. It also claims more than 99% accuracy and up to 98% time savings (GlobeNewswire). Those are the vendor's own figures, and we found no independent test.

Does $60 a return make sense? Compare it with what a 1040 costs you in preparer time. If a preparer costs your firm $50 an hour and spends two hours on a return with K-1s, the AI saves money only if review takes clearly less time than preparing it yourself. For a simple W-2 return that takes 30 minutes, it probably doesn't.

How these tools fit with your duties

The AI prepares; you're still the preparer. Three rules to keep in mind:

• Due diligence and supervision. The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility's Alert 2026-19 applies Circular 230 to AI: review the output, use secure tools, and have firm leadership set written procedures. See our guide to the IRS's AI guidelines for tax practitioners.
• Client consent. Sending return information to a third-party AI vendor can need the client's written consent under Section 7216, depending on how the vendor uses it. See AI client data rules for tax preparers.
• Your security plan. Each AI vendor that touches client data belongs in your written information security plan (WISP) under the FTC Safeguards Rule. Our guide to MCP connectors for accounting firms explains why.

What to check before busy season

1. Run last season's returns through it. Pick 20 returns you already filed, including a few messy ones with K-1s, and compare the AI's draft with your filed return.
2. Time the review, not the prep. The saving is only real if reviewing the AI's draft takes much less time than preparing the return. Time it.
3. Check the evidence links. All three vendors say amounts link back to source documents. Make sure reviewers can trace every number in a click or two.
4. Ask what it can't do. CCH's agentic prep covers individual 1040s. Find out what happens with state returns, amended returns and business returns in each tool.
5. Get the data terms in writing. Ask where client documents are stored, whether they're used for training, and how long they're kept.
6. Decide how you'll price. If a return takes half the time, will you keep the fee, lower it, or move to fixed fees? In the Blue J and CPA.com survey, 69% of tax professionals expect to move to value-based, hybrid or fixed-fee billing (CPA.com).

Which to try first? It mostly comes down to the tax software you already use. CCH Axcess firms should ask Wolters Kluwer about rollout timing. UltraTax firms can try CoCounsel now. ProConnect and Lacerte firms can trial Black Ore per return with no long contract. For the research side, see our guide to AI tax research tools for CPAs. For Intuit's own AI plans, see Intuit Connect 2026.

FAQ

Can AI prepare a tax return by itself?

These tools prepare a draft return and flag exceptions, but every vendor requires a tax professional to review and approve the final return. The preparer remains responsible for its accuracy.

How much does Black Ore cost?

Black Ore's pricing page lists per-return pricing starting at $60 for small and mid-sized firms, with no enterprise contract or minimum. Enterprise pricing is on request.

Which returns does CCH Axcess agentic tax prep handle?

Wolters Kluwer's October 23, 2026 announcement covers individual Form 1040 returns. It finds missing documents, extracts data, calculates the return and flags exceptions before a professional reviews it.

Does CoCounsel prepare returns in UltraTax?

Thomson Reuters says the new CoCounsel works with UltraTax and handles work from source documents to finished deliverables, including calculations, Excel workpapers and memos. It's available now to US customers.

Changelog: Oct 31, 2026: first published.