- Comprehensive form library: Lacerte covers thousands of federal, state, and local tax forms for individuals, businesses, estates, trusts, and nonprofits.
- Advanced calculations: The software can handle highly complex returns with speed and accuracy, which reduces the chance of errors.
- Pay-per-return or unlimited options: Firms can choose flexible licensing models that fit different workloads and budgets.
- Built-in diagnostics: Lacerte checks returns for common errors and missing information, which helps improve accuracy before filing.
- Workflow automation: Tools for importing data, generating reports, and managing documents save time and improve efficiency.
- E-filing support: Users can electronically file federal and state returns with built-in tracking features.
- Integration with Intuit tools: The software connects with QuickBooks, ProConnect, and other Intuit solutions to streamline data sharing.
- Document management and e-signatures: Firms can securely collect client documents, store them, and request digital signatures directly through the system.
- Client collaboration tools: Lacerte offers portals and features that make it easier to share files, collect forms, and communicate securely with clients.
- Dedicated support and training: Users have access to live technical support, training resources, and industry updates to stay compliant and efficient.
Lacerte
Lacerte is used for preparing, filing, and managing complex business taxes.
Updated July 29, 2026
Lacerte Overview
Lacerte is a professional tax software developed by Intuit, designed to help accountants and tax professionals manage even the most complex business and individual returns. It offers advanced calculation tools, extensive form coverage, and powerful automation features that reduce manual work and errors.
Lacerte also integrates with other accounting solutions, which streamlines workflows and enhances efficiency, making it a trusted choice for firms handling high-volume or specialized tax cases.
Key Features
Pricing
| Plan / option | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Annual pay-per-return licence (Fast Path) | $599 per year, down from a list price of $813 | Single-user Lacerte licence that unlocks filing on a per-return basis, with unlimited client tax advisory reports and digital signatures with knowledge-based authentication. The licence must be bought before any return can be filed per return. |
| Individual returns plus one state | $105 per return | Forms 1040 and 1040-NR with all related schedules and worksheets, filed for one state. |
| Additional state individual returns | $103 per return | Each extra state added to an individual return. |
| Business, partnership, estate, trust and exempt returns plus one state | $148 per return | Forms 1120, 1120-S, 1065, 1041 and 990, filed for one state. |
| Additional state business returns | $98 per return | Each extra state added to a business return. |
| Consolidated corporations | $146 per return | The fee to combine several corporate entities into one consolidated return. Each parent or subsidiary corporation still carries its own per-return fee on top. |
| Gift and estate returns plus one state | $99 per return | Forms 709 and 706, filed for one state. |
| Bundles and unlimited plans | Quoted | Intuit builds custom plans around bundles of individual or business returns, or unlimited returns with all states included. Those prices are not published, so you book a consultation with a Lacerte specialist. |
| Hosting (optional add-on) | From $80 per month | Cloud hosting run by Rightworks. Solo covers one user at $80 a month; Business is $128 and Advanced $153 per user per month, with lower promotional rates for the first two months on new subscriptions. |
Lacerte is billed per return and per year rather than per month, and a Fast Path licence is needed for every user who works in a hosted environment at the same time.
Pricing source: https://accountants.intuit.com/tax-software/lacerte/pay-per-return/
Pros
| Competitor | Pros of Lacerte |
|---|---|
| Drake Tax | Lacerte covers 7,200 forms and runs 25,000 diagnostics against a return before it goes out, which matters on estates, trusts, nonprofits and consolidated corporate filings. It also imports directly from more than 275 banks and financial institutions and sends every partner K-1 at once through secure email links. Firms already inside the Intuit ecosystem get QuickBooks and ProConnect data flowing in without a rekey. |
| CCH ProSystem fx | Lacerte is easier to pick up and does not need a dedicated IT person to keep running. The pay-per-return model lets a small practice buy the $599 annual licence and then pay $105 for an individual return or $148 for a business return, instead of committing to an unlimited contract up front. Intuit also staffs live phone support, which practitioners reach more easily than a Wolters Kluwer enterprise ticket queue. |
| UltraTax CS | Onboarding is shorter and the screen layout mirrors the tax workflow, so staff transition without a long training block. Intuit Sign handles digital signatures with knowledge-based authentication for all tax clients, and the Intuit Link portal collects client documents through an encrypted channel. The per-return option also gives a smaller firm room to scale spend with the season instead of paying a flat commitment. |
| TaxAct Professional | Lacerte reaches further into complex work, including oil and gas depletion calculations and multi-state filings that a lighter package will not model. Schedule D data imports straight from a spreadsheet, and Intuit Tax Advisor turns return data into client tax plans without a separate tool. For a firm that already runs QuickBooks, the shared data path is the practical advantage. |
Cons
| Competitor | Cons of Lacerte |
|---|---|
| Drake Tax | Cost adds up quickly here: the annual licence is only the entry ticket, and every 1040 then costs $105 and every business return $148, with $103 and $98 for each extra state on top. Drake users regularly cite faster processing during filing season. The learning curve is also steeper than Drake’s plainer, forms-driven screens. |
| CCH ProSystem fx | ProSystem fx goes deeper on customisation and on audit and compliance tooling, which suits very large firms. It also links more tightly to enterprise document management and tax research libraries. Lacerte is powerful but does not match that depth for multinational or highly specialised corporate work. |
| UltraTax CS | Thomson Reuters ships cloud hosting as part of the CS Professional Suite, while Lacerte hosting is a separate Rightworks subscription that starts at $80 a month and needs a Fast Path licence for every concurrent user. UltraTax also offers more detailed data analysis and report customisation. Remote access with Lacerte is therefore a second purchase and a second setup. |
| TaxAct Professional | TaxAct costs far less and asks less of a solo preparer, which makes it the easier choice for a practice handling straightforward returns. Its interface needs less training. Lacerte’s depth is hard to justify for a firm whose work never reaches consolidated corporations or multi-state complexity. |
Reviews
- Capterra Review (Rating: 4.3/5): Reviewers point to the “amazing features” and a form library deep enough to cover most return types, and one small firm titled its review “Best for Small Businesses! 10 out of 10.” The same review pool also carries sharp complaints: 30 to 45 minute support waits, a broken Lacerte tool hub, database corruption, and add-ons that push the real cost well past the licence fee.
- G2 Review (Rating: 4.3/5 from 187 reviews): Firms say Lacerte lets them close more returns because the tabs follow the order of the tax workflow and the client list can be filtered down to the columns that matter. Intuit puts 25,000 diagnostics and 7,200 forms behind that workflow, and on-screen critical alerts catch problems before a return is transmitted.
- Gartner Peer Insights (Rating: 3.0/5, from a single review posted March 2023): The lone reviewer, an adviser at a finance firm, called Lacerte Tax “capable but needlessly complex for simple tax help tasks,” citing poor help functionality and unclear navigation between tabs. One rating is far too thin to read as a verdict, so treat it as one practitioner’s experience rather than a score.
- verito.com Review: This write-up highlights the breadth of the tax form library, the import and export tools, and responsive support, and it walks through how firms run Lacerte on hosted infrastructure.
