A tax forecast whenever you need one
With approved business and tax records connected, Owner Insights AI can help update a provisional projection whenever you ask, well before a return is due. See what you may owe, what could change it and what you may still need to pay, explained in plain English.
It can analyze the records and ask follow-up questions about how your company operates to surface lawful planning opportunities you may not have considered. Bring the figures, assumptions and possibilities to your CPA to confirm what applies while there is still time to act.
See a tax planning example
Why use AI for this?
A CPA may begin with a prior return and a standard list of questions. Those are valuable, but they may not reveal every detail of how your business operates. A system configured with the right records can revisit the numbers throughout the year and ask you about the activities behind them. It gives your CPA a better-informed starting point.
Estimate a range, compare it with tax already paid and discuss what cash to set aside. Refresh the forecast as sales, costs and plans change.
Examine actual spending, assets, credits, timing and owner decisions. AI can ask follow-up questions when the transactions do not tell the whole story.
Start with “What might we owe?” Then ask why, what changed or what one decision might do to your after-tax cash. Request the short version or the detailed work.
Bring a forecast, source figures, a list of possible actions and specific unresolved questions. Your CPA can test the assumptions and advise on the right course.
The aim is a better business decision. A tax deduction does not make an unnecessary purchase free. The useful comparison is what remains in the business after the cost and the tax effect.
Beyond the figures
Tax planning depends on more than the totals in a report. How you use an asset, where your people work and which sales came through a marketplace may all change the questions worth asking.
Owner Insights AI can ask about those facts, show what the records support and flag possibilities for your CPA to evaluate. It should also make missing information visible.
See questions you can askA practical tool for business owners
You should not have to wait until a return is prepared to learn where you stand. With the right business and tax information, Owner Insights AI can help you project your probable liability, explore lawful ways to reduce it and ask questions that uncover details the books alone may miss.
Get a clear explanation you can understand, then take the numbers, assumptions and opportunities to your CPA to validate and act on.
Make the projection useful
A credible estimate shows each step and identifies whose tax it is. For example, corporate book income can differ from income reported on a tax return, and S corporation income generally passes through to its owners.
What the accounting records currently show, plus a forecast for the rest of the year.
A provisional bridge from book results to tax treatment, with missing items clearly flagged.
A range based on the entity, owner facts, applicable jurisdictions and rules for the year.
Likely liability less verified payments and withholding, with timing and cash needs for CPA review.
The IRS estimated-tax guidance uses expected income, deductions, credits and prior-year information. No single percentage applied to book profit can reliably supply every owner's answer.
What makes the answer better
Bookkeeping reports can start the conversation, but tax estimates also depend on facts that may live elsewhere. Owner Insights AI should identify the gaps rather than fill them with confident guesses.
Questions you can actually ask
These prompts are for a system configured to access the business information you have approved. Ask for a short owner-friendly answer first, then the calculations and source records. If something important is missing, the AI should ask you one question at a time instead of guessing.
“Give me the likely range, why it may change, and what you need to know next. Avoid accounting jargon.”
“Start with five plain-English bullets. Then show the calculation, records used, assumptions, state-specific official sources, uncertainty and questions for my CPA.”
“Based on the records available through today, what is our probable full-year federal and state income-tax range? Answer in plain English first. Separate what is known, what is assumed and what you still need to ask me. Do not treat accounting profit as taxable income.”
“After the tax payments and withholding you can verify, how much might the business or its owners still need to pay or reserve? Keep company tax, owner tax and sales tax separate. What must our CPA confirm?”
“What are the three most relevant legal ways we might reduce this year's tax liability, based on what our business actually does? For each, show why it might apply, the records needed, the deadline if any and a question for our CPA. Do not assume we qualify.”
“How has our probable tax position changed since the last forecast, and which business results or assumptions caused the change? Give me the short answer before the supporting detail.”
“Ask me one question at a time about how we operate, pay people, buy equipment, sell, ship and work in other states. Use my answers to identify potential tax issues or opportunities that the accounts alone may not reveal.”
“Which states might affect our income or sales-tax obligations because of our offices, people, inventory, services, direct sales or marketplace sales? Give a state-by-state list of questions, current official state sources and what still needs professional review.”
“Explain our provisional tax picture as if I am an owner, not an accountant. What is the difference between business profit, taxable income, likely tax liability, tax already paid and the amount still to pay?”
Business-specific follow-ups
Choose the subjects that actually fit your company. The aim is to find relevant possibilities and evidence, not produce a generic list of deductions.
When business crosses state lines
Consider a company that sells services, ships products from its own website and also sells through a marketplace. An owner needs to know where the work happens, where goods are stored or delivered, what each platform collects and which state rules apply. These are separate questions from the company's federal income-tax forecast.
AI can organize sales and operating data by state and surface the right questions. It must check current state guidance and show its sources before making a state-specific suggestion. A marketplace collecting sales tax on one order does not automatically settle the seller's obligations for direct sales or other taxes.
Three views to ask for
People, offices, projects, inventory and possible state income or franchise-tax issues.
Customer destination, product and service taxability, sales volume, exemptions and registration questions.
Direct checkout versus marketplaces, who collected tax and what the seller still reports or retains.
A useful state question: “We provide services and ship products from our website and marketplaces into Michigan, California and New York. Using our actual sales and locations, show separate income-tax and sales-tax issues in each state, the current state tax authority source, and what facts our adviser must confirm.”
Give the AI the tax year and the states involved. Ask it to date every official source and to ask you for missing facts before drawing a conclusion.
State rules are not interchangeable. Compare the official Michigan marketplace guidance, California remote-seller guidance and New York marketplace guidance. Sales-tax collection, income or franchise tax, and owner income tax each need their own analysis.
See what this could look like
Our fictional Acme Kitchens report shows how an owner could ask for a year-end tax view and a CPA discussion plan. Its January–August 2026 figures are assumed for demonstration, not reconciled to a tax return. It deliberately leaves actual taxable income and tax due unresolved where the facts are missing.
Owner Insights AI can help an owner understand a provisional position, test scenarios, identify possible lawful opportunities and prepare a focused discussion. It does not prepare or file the return through this page, establish eligibility for a deduction or credit, guarantee a saving, or replace advice from a qualified tax professional. Calculations must be checked against complete records and the rules that apply to the year, entity and jurisdictions involved.
For CPA firms: See how a client-approved setup could help you request the information you need.
Use your approved business setup for sensitive records. Do not paste confidential company or owner tax information into an unapproved public AI chat. Read our accuracy and data terms.
Page reviewed September 26, 2026. Tax law and state guidance can change.Start with your questions
Tell us what records you use, where you operate and what you want to understand. We can discuss a scoped setup that helps you ask better questions and work more effectively with your CPA.