What’s 3-Step Filing?

For decades, tax filing software has been synonymous with DIY (Do It Yourself). Without AI, software relied on a rules-based system that couldn’t quite handle the complexities of tax law. The resulting tax filing experience is a maze of questions that shifts the responsibility for accuracy to taxpayers.

3-Step Filing takes a radically different approach. It mimics the experience of sitting down with a personal accountant: drop-dead simple, no hard questions, smart enough to make assumptions on your behalf. Let's break it down.

Step 1: Info dump

Like with a great accountant, you should be able to just dump your “tax stuff” and have the software figure out what to do with it. Tax forms are an important part of this, but they’re not enough. Taxpayers often don’t even remember everything they’re supposed to report. From itemized deductions to various credits that don’t come with their own forms, 3-Step Filing ensures nothing is overlooked. Transaction data, an incredibly rich data source when processed effectively, pinpoints potential deductions or credits, like childcare or overlooked income from places like Coinbase to personalize the tax filing experience.

Step 2: Keeper prepares your return

Next, Keeper sifts through your information, crafting a short list of “clarifying questions” tailored specifically to you, much like an accountant would. These can range from the banal “Let’s confirm your home office square footage” to the delightfully specific “Most real estate agents include their annual license fee as an itemized business deduction, are you sure you don’t have one?”.

Step 3: Review & sign

The final step is your chance to review all of your filled out tax information. Keeper presents your completed tax return clearly, showing a detailed breakdown of your final refund or tax bill. Here, you can ask as many followup questions as you’d like. Ultimately, every tax return filed through Keeper is reviewed and signed by a tax professional to keep you extra safe.

‍

Looking ahead

Our 50,000 paying subscribers have loved our first version of 3-Step Filing and the reviews have been gushing. Try it out for yourself! We’re just getting started. As a team of just 18 people, we can’t be the best tax filing software for everyone just yet. That’s why we're starting with the 60 million Americans who have some type of independent contracting or business income. Looking ahead to 2024, we’ll be expanding beyond that segment with a bolder positioning. Stay tuned!