Software for Business and Trust Tax Returns: 1041, 1065, 1120-S

A small business doesn’t need to file a separate tax return if it’s set up as a sole proprietorship or an LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship. Income from the business is included on a Schedule C in the owner’s personal tax return. A revocable living trust is a “disregarded entity” under federal tax law. Income in a revocable living trust is treated as earned by the grantor.

Separate Tax Returns and K-1s

If the business is set up as a partnership, an S-Corp, or an LLC that chooses to be taxed as an S-Corp, it must file a separate tax return and issue a Schedule K-1 to the owner(s). An irrevocable trust or an estate must also file a tax return for itself and issue a Schedule K-1 to the beneficiaries. The owner or the beneficiary then includes income and deductions from these K-1s on their personal tax return.

Some tax software products marketed to consumers have a “Home and Business” or “Self-Employed” edition, but the “business” or “self-employed” component only refers to Schedule C. These consumer tax software will accept K-1s issued by a business, a trust, or an estate as inputs, but they don’t produce the tax return for an irrevocable trust or an estate, a partnership, an S-Corp, or the associated K-1s.

You’d have to buy a separate product if you need to file Form 1041 for a trust or an estate, Form 1065 for a partnership, or Form 1120-S for an S-Corp. Software that generates these tax returns is a lot more expensive than software for personal tax returns. TurboTax Business sells for $134 on Black Friday (the list price is $190). TaxAct Business sells for $140 to $165. These business tax software products are completely separate from the regular TurboTax or TaxAct. They don’t include personal tax returns.

H&R Block is an exception. Its Premium & Business edition can do both personal tax returns and business or trust/estate tax returns. You can buy it for as low as $50 when it’s on sale at Amazon, Newegg, or Walmart. Considering that H&R Block’s Deluxe + State edition, which only does personal returns, sells for $30 when it’s on sale, you only pay $20 extra for the business program. Even if you use something else for your personal return, paying $50 only to use the business portion of the software is still a lot less expensive than the alternatives.

This post isn’t sponsored by H&R Block or anyone else. I’m only writing as a user of this software since 2018.

Two Apps in One Package

H&R Block Premium & Business installs two distinct apps on the computer: H&R Block Premium and H&R Block Business. H&R Block Premium is the normal software for personal tax returns. It supposedly includes more features than the Deluxe + State edition, but I don’t see much difference. H&R Block Business is the software for business and trust/estate returns. It’s a separate app developed by ATX for H&R Block. ATX, owned by Wolters Kluwer, makes professional tax software for CPAs and tax preparers.

These two apps don’t interact with each other directly. You would take the K-1s produced by H&R Block Business and input them into H&R Block Premium or another software you use for your personal tax return.

H&R Block Business works, but because ATX primarily makes software for tax professionals who know what they’re doing, the software doesn’t include much handholding. There’s an interview, as in typical personal tax software, but there isn’t much explanation if you don’t understand the question. It feels like you’re just filling out tax forms one part at a time.

If you have a simple return or you can reference a prior-year return done elsewhere, the software does its job. You can e-file the federal return, as well as the state return for a handful of states, or you can print and mail. If you need to create both a business return and a trust return, the same software can do both. I don’t see any limit on how many returns you can generate in H&R Block Business.

I’ve used H&R Block Business for several years. Here are some notes for new users:

Windows Only

H&R Block Premium for personal tax returns normally has both a Windows version and a Mac version. However, because H&R Block Business only works on Windows, the Premium & Business bundle only has a Windows version. You need a Windows machine to use H&R Block Business.

ARM Processor Not Supported

Furthermore, H&R Block Business 2025 doesn’t run on a machine with an ARM processor, because it uses RavenDB, which doesn’t work on Windows ARM64. This means you can’t run it in an ARM-based Windows virtual machine on a Mac with Apple Silicon.

Most Windows PCs don’t use an ARM processor, but if yours does, you need to find a different computer to run H&R Block Business 2025.

Run as Administrator

H&R Block Business 2025 requires running as an administrator on Windows 11. If you get an error launching it as a standard user, right-click on the shortcut and select “Run as Administrator.”

Backup Return

H&R Block Business keeps your tax return data in a local database. When you’re done with a return, you should create a backup by exporting the data to a file. The exported backup file can be read only by the software for the same tax year. For instance, you export a backup file myreturn.atx25Export with the 2025 software. This backup file can only be read by the 2025 software.

This YouTube video shows how to export a backup and restore from a backup:

Save the Installer

When you install H&R Block Business 2026 on the same computer next year, it can find the 2025 data in the local database and import it for 2026. It doesn’t use the exported backup file. However, if you switch to a new computer and install the 2026 software, it can’t import from the 2025 backup file. You need to install the 2025 software as well on the new computer and restore from the 2025 backup file. Then the 2026 software will find the 2025 data to import.

Therefore, don’t delete the original installer after you install the software. You’ll need it if you switch computers. Save the installer and the activation code together with the exported backup for each year.

Form Release Dates

As with personal tax software, some tax forms become available only later in the tax season. ATX updates this web page with the estimated release date for each form:

https://taxcut.atxinc.com/taxcutformsstatus.aspx

Bookmark it and check when everything you need will be available.

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H&R Block Business isn’t as user-friendly as tax software for personal tax returns, but it’s professional-grade in terms of its capabilities. Tax professionals charge hundreds of dollars and up for business and trust tax returns. It’s worth trying DIY with inexpensive software if you have a simple return or there are no major changes from last year. There’s a learning curve for anything new, but you’ll have a sense of accomplishment when you finish.