Built for estate & trust firms

Filing-ready Form 1041s,
in minutes — not days.

Drop in the K-1s, 1099s, brokerage composites, and the trust instrument. form1041.ai computes DNI, the distribution deduction, and the full tier-system allocation — then generates the 1041, every beneficiary K-1, and your state fiduciary returns. A CPA/EA reviews and signs. We never auto-file.

No consumer software. B2B only — firms doing 50–500 returns a year.
~90%
of the return, automated
From $1k
per return · CPA-signed
40+
state fiduciary returns on the roadmap
0
returns auto-filed — a human signs
The wedge

We don't compete with TurboTax.
We replace a $3,000 CPA engagement.

Form 1041 work is high-stakes, deadline-driven, and slow. Firms either wait weeks on an outside CPA at $2,500–5,000 a return, or grind it in-house and bleed billable hours. It's repetitive, rules-based, and document-driven — the perfect shape for automation, with a licensed professional keeping the signature.

 
Old way
form1041.ai
Cost per return
$2.5k–5k
From $1k
Turnaround
Days–weeks
Minutes
DNI & tier allocation
By hand
Computed
State fiduciary returns
Manual
Generated
Licensed sign-off
Yes
Yes
How it works

Documents in. Reviewable filing out.

Click Run to walk a sample estate through the engine, end to end.

01
Intake
K-1s, 1099-INT/DIV/B, brokerage composites, prior 1041, trust instrument
02
Classify
Estate vs. trust · simple vs. complex · grantor status · fiscal vs. calendar year
03
Compute
DNI · income-distribution deduction · tier-system allocation · Schedule B
04
Generate
Filing-ready 1041 + per-beneficiary K-1s + state fiduciary returns
05
Review & sign
A CPA/EA reviews flagged fields and signs — we never auto-file
Sample: The Harding Family Trust · complex trust · calendar year · 3 beneficiaries
Distributable Net Income (DNI)
$84,200
interest + dividends + net rental, less tax-exempt
Income Distribution Deduction
$72,000
lesser of DNI or distributions
Trust Taxable Income
$12,200
retained at the trust level
Schedule K-1 allocation — character flows to beneficiaries by the tier system
BeneficiaryOrdinary incomeQualified divNet LT cap gainTotal K-1
A. Harding (1st tier)$18,400$9,600$0$28,000
B. Harding (1st tier)$18,400$9,600$0$28,000
C. Harding (2nd tier)$10,520$5,480$0$16,000
Distributed to beneficiaries$47,320$24,680$0$72,000
Reviewer flags — surfaced for the CPA/EA before sign-off
  • low confidenceBrokerage 1099-B wash-sale adjustment extracted at 71% — verify against the composite statement.
  • classificationCapital gains allocated to trust per instrument §4.2 default — confirm no discretionary distribution of corpus this year.
  • passedDNI, income-distribution deduction, and all three K-1 character lines reconcile to the as-filed prior year within tolerance.

All figures above are illustrative placeholder data for a fictional trust — not a real return.

The moat

The hard part is the tax brain.

Anyone can OCR a K-1. Almost no one gets the allocation logic right across simple vs. complex trusts and 40+ state regimes — then puts a licensed signature behind it.

⚖️

DNI & allocation engine

The actual tax brain — tier system, capital-gains allocation, simple vs. complex, Schedule B. Rock-solid and reconciled against your own as-filed returns.

🗺️

State fiduciary returns

40+ states, each one different — where incumbents are weakest. We start with our own states and expand return by return.

🔒

Licensed e-file (MeF)

An EFIN and authorized-provider status is a real regulatory gate — and a real barrier to copycats. A CPA/EA signs every return.

Business model

Starts at $1,000
a return.

Service-led to start — we prep the return, the AI does ~90%, a CPA signs. Sell outcomes, not software. As volume grows, seat-and-volume tiers for firms doing 50–500 returns a year. B2B only: estate & trust firms, family offices, and small CPA shops.

From $1,000 / return

Below a traditional firm's $2,500–5,000 for a complex fiduciary return — delivered in minutes, not weeks.

Seat + volume tiers

For firms running 50–500 fiduciary returns annually.

Path to revenue

Built to dogfood first.

We validate on our own multi-state firm's estate matters before selling a single seat.

M0

Federal engine

DNI/allocation engine + Form 1041 + K-1 generation, validated against 10–20 of our own as-filed returns (the golden set).

M1

First states

PA + NJ state fiduciary returns bolt on top of the federal core.

M2

Service offering live

We prep, the AI does ~90%, a CPA signs. Sell outcomes — funds the build.

M3

External pilots

2–3 outside firms run real returns through the engine.

M4

Self-serve SaaS

Full self-service platform with EFIN e-file.

Stop losing money on 1041s.

We're onboarding a small set of estate & trust firms as early design partners. If that's you, let's talk.