The PrepReturns Journal
Notes from
the work.
Ideas about the tools we use, the returns we prepare, and what a small tax practice can build now.
Follow by RSS01 / From the practice
Why I'm Building Another Tax Program
The practitioner frustrations and product questions behind PrepReturns, a preparation system built inside Trio Tax.
Read the opening essayWe run a tax firm.
We built the software
we wanted to use.
Product philosophy
The Straightforward 90%
Why conventional returns deserve a deliberate product model, and why straightforward does not mean small or effortless.
Evidence & workflow
Source Documents Should Be Evidence, Not Data-Entry Instructions
A better preparation workflow separates what a document says, what software reads, and what the professional establishes.
Architecture
Why Tax Calculations Should Be Deterministic
AI can help build tax software. Explicit facts, rules, and reproducible calculations should produce the return.
Professional review
Every Number Needs a Story
A return should explain where an amount came from, which decisions shaped it, and which preparation it belongs to.
Professional tools
Let Me Test-Drive Your Tax Software
A better way to evaluate professional software: prepare, correct, inspect, and ask technical questions in a synthetic case.
Professional tools
The Problem With Feature Requests
Practitioners know where the work breaks down. Better software needs a better relationship with that knowledge.
Interoperability
Tax Software Needs Real APIs
Interoperability should preserve tax meaning, source history, and professional review—not simply move values between screens.
Open software
Can Professional Tax Software Be Open Source?
What inspectable, modifiable tax software could change for practitioners—and the review and maintenance it would still require.
Development
What Can a Small Tax Firm Build Now?
PrepReturns explores how frontier AI changes the feasibility of building professional software while leaving the hard work intact.
Have a different perspective?
Good tools begin with a better conversation about the work.