Rally Tax

Rally's pitch is narrower and more honest than most AI tax tools: it does not claim to replace a professional, it pairs AI with one. The mechanics are clear from the site — you upload documents or connect accounts, the AI reads, categorizes and organizes them with no manual cleanup, you are matched with a dedicated CPA, and you can ask questions in a chat interface that has your documents, returns and plans in context. That last piece is the real differentiator: a year-round assistant that already knows your RSU vesting history is a genuinely different product from a December Q&A session with a CPA who has to be re-briefed. Pricing is published, which is rarer than it should be in this category: Base from $399, Core from $699, Pro from $999, all flat-fee with audit protection, year-round advisory access and a 24/7 AI assistant included. The tier boundaries map to complexity rather than volume — RSU planning, ISO/NSO reporting, FBAR/FATCA and PFIC sit at Core; rentals, K-1 partnerships, Schedule C and advanced planning sit at Pro. Note the word "starts at": these are entry prices, and a multi-state return with several brokerage accounts and a K-1 will land above the sticker. The free Tax Plan (upload last year's return, AI analyzes it, pros review it) is the lowest-risk way to see whether the service finds anything you missed before you commit to a filing tier. Weaknesses worth naming: the emphasis is entirely on US individual and small-business returns, with no path for consolidated corporate filings or international filers without US ties; the savings figures shown on the homepage ($10,000–$30,000 in "potential savings" across real estate depreciation, oil and gas, EV credits, child Roth IRA) are illustrative of what the firm hunts for, not a promise for your return, and strategies like oil and gas drilling funds or QSBS are only worth pursuing if you actually qualify; and the marketing leans hard on client testimonials from a handful of large tech employers, which tells you who the target customer is but not how the service performs on, say, a two-state freelance return. Read the tier list literally, pick the cheapest one whose line items cover your actual documents, and let the free plan tell you whether the savings justify the fee.