AI that actually helps prepare returns

CCH Axcess Tax with agentic return preparation helps firms move supported 1040 workflows from source documents to a prepared return while keeping professionals in control. By extracting and validating information, linking return values to source evidence, and surfacing exceptions for review, firms can reduce manual effort, increase capacity, and focus more time on judgment and client service.

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Why firms need a new approach

Tax preparation is under pressure. Return volumes continue to rise, experienced professionals are difficult to replace, and firms need more capacity without increasing headcount. Agentic return preparation helps firms automate supported preparation activities while maintaining quality and professional oversight.
  • Increase capacity
    Move beyond manual preparation and repetitive data entry. Agentic return preparation helps automate preparation activities so professionals can spend less time assembling returns and more time reviewing, advising, and serving more clients without increasing headcount.
  • Work with confidence
    Gain visibility into return information, supporting evidence, diagnostics, and issues that require attention. By helping firms identify and resolve exceptions earlier, teams can improve return readiness while maintaining quality and consistency.
  • Keep professionals in control
    Automation supports the work. Professionals remain responsible for decisions. Human review, validation, and approval remain central to the tax preparation process. Built directly into CCH Axcess Tax, agentic capabilities extend the platform firms already trust while preserving professional oversight and judgment.

 

How work moves through the workflow

Tax preparation involves far more than completing a return. Agentic return preparation brings key preparation activities together into a connected workflow that helps firms move work forward more efficiently while maintaining visibility throughout the process.
  • Intake and import
    Prior-year context, document uploads, expected-document identification, document classification, and return creation help establish a stronger starting point for preparation. Missing documents are surfaced early so professionals can determine how to proceed.
  • Calculate and diagnose
    Calculations, diagnostics, blockers, and correction navigation help identify issues before work reaches review. Low-confidence values are flagged for review rather than automatically accepted, helping professionals focus attention where it matters most.
  • Review and correct
    Evidence-linked workpapers, return summaries, prior-year comparisons, and review findings help professionals focus attention where judgement is needed most. Return values link back to source documents, while notes, changes, and review decisions are maintained through the audit trail.
  • Workpapers and handoff
    Generate workpapers, audit trails, client-ready deliverables, and approved handoff packages while maintaining existing CCH Axcess workflows.
Agentic return preparation with CCH Axcess Tax

 
Agentic return preparation with CCH Axcess Tax

What changes for your firm?

The impact of agentic return preparation extends beyond individual tasks. By helping teams work differently across the preparation and review process, firms can create new opportunities to improve performance, consistency, and scalability.
  • Start review with a prepared return
    Agentic return preparation helps professionals begin review with a prepared return rather than starting from a blank return. Expected documents are identified, information is extracted and mapped, and diagnostics are surfaced before review begins.
  • Reduce manual preparation
    Spend less time on repetitive preparation tasks and more time applying expertise where it creates value.
  • Accelerate review
    Move toward exception-based review by surfacing diagnostics and areas that require professional attention earlier in the workflow.
  • Improve return readiness
    Gain greater visibility into supporting evidence, diagnostics, and review-ready returns.

 

AI prepares. Professionals decide.

As AI becomes more integrated into tax preparation, maintaining trust, accountability, and professional judgment becomes increasingly important. Agentic return preparation is designed to support the way tax professionals work today while preserving the oversight firms depend on.
  • Professional oversight
    Agentic return preparation is designed to support professional judgment, not replace it. Tax professionals review, validate, and approve work before returns are finalized.
  • Human review
    AI helps advance the work while professionals remain responsible for judgement, approval and filing decisions.
  • Built on CCH Axcess
    Unlike standalone AI solutions, agentic return preparation is built directly into CCH Axcess and works within the workflows firms already use.
  • Data security and privacy
    Client data is not used to train AI models. Processing remains within the audited CCH Axcess environment using private model instances, with data encrypted in transit and at rest under existing security controls.
Agentic return preparation with CCH Axcess Tax

Frequently asked questions

From firms like yours

  • What is agentic return preparation?
    Agentic return preparation is an Expert AI capability within CCH Axcess Tax that helps firms prepare returns using client documents, prior-year information, and established workflows while keeping tax professionals in control of review and approval.
  • How does AI help prepare tax returns?
    Agentic return preparation helps automate supported preparation activities by identifying and organizing documents, mapping information into the return, surfacing diagnostics and exceptions, and helping professionals start review with a prepared return rather than beginning from scratch. Professionals remain responsible for reviewing, validating, and approving the work.
  • How does agentic return preparation help firms increase capacity?
    By reducing manual preparation activities and helping move work forward faster, agentic return preparation allows professionals to spend more time reviewing returns, servicing clients and applying professional judgement.
  • How do professionals stay in control?
    Agentic return preparation is designed to support professional judgment, not replace it. AI helps prepare and advance the work, while tax professionals remain responsible for review, validation, approval, and filing decisions. Human oversight remains central to the tax preparation process.
  • What return types are currently supported?
    At launch, agentic return preparation is focused on supported 1040 preparation workflows. Additional return types and expanded capabilities are planned as the solution evolves.
  • Is agentic return preparation included with CCH Axcess® Tax?
    Agentic return preparation is an optional capability built for CCH Axcess Tax. Any CCH Axcess Tax firm can purchase the number of returns to be processed through agentic return preparation.
  • Can I trust the information prepared by AI?
    Agentic return preparation helps professionals start review with a prepared return while maintaining visibility into the supporting evidence behind the work. Return values are linked to source documents, low-confidence information is surfaced for review, and professionals remain responsible for validation, approval and filing decisions.

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