For tax professionals, year-end planning is where technical knowledge meets speed, accuracy, and client communication. BNA Income Tax Planner, now commonly associated with Bloomberg Tax, is one of the long-standing professional tools built for modeling individual income tax scenarios, comparing strategies, and presenting planning outcomes in a client-friendly way.
TLDR: BNA Income Tax Planner is a powerful, professional-grade tax planning platform best suited for CPAs, wealth advisors, and firms handling complex individual tax situations. It helps compare multiple scenarios, such as whether a client should realize $80,000 in capital gains this year or spread the gain across two tax years. Pricing is typically quote-based rather than publicly posted, so smaller firms should weigh the cost against expected planning revenue. If you need simpler forecasting, alternatives like Intuit ProConnect, Drake Tax Planner, or Holistiplan may be easier and more affordable.
What Is BNA Income Tax Planner?
BNA Income Tax Planner is a specialized tax planning application designed to help professionals project federal and state income tax outcomes. Unlike basic tax preparation software, which focuses on filing completed returns, this planner is built for what-if analysis: What happens if a client exercises stock options? Converts part of an IRA to a Roth IRA? Sells a business interest? Moves to another state?
The software is especially useful for advisors who work with high-income individuals, business owners, executives, investors, and retirees. It allows users to model the tax impact of different decisions before those decisions are made, which can be far more valuable than simply reporting the result after the year ends.
Key Features
BNA Income Tax Planner has earned its reputation because it focuses deeply on planning rather than compliance. Its feature set is built around precision, comparison, and presentation.
1. Multi-Year Tax Projections
One of the most important features is the ability to create multi-year projections. Advisors can forecast income, deductions, credits, capital gains, retirement distributions, and estimated tax payments over several years. This is useful for strategies such as Roth conversions, charitable giving, equity compensation planning, and retirement income sequencing.
2. Side-by-Side Scenario Comparisons
The software allows professionals to compare multiple tax scenarios side by side. For example, an advisor might model:
- Scenario A: Sell an investment property in the current year.
- Scenario B: Use an installment sale over five years.
- Scenario C: Use a 1031 exchange if eligible.
This type of comparison helps clients understand not only the tax bill but also the cash flow and timing implications of each option.
3. Federal and State Tax Calculations
BNA Income Tax Planner includes federal tax calculations and state-level planning capabilities. This matters because high-income clients often face complicated interactions between federal tax, state tax, net investment income tax, alternative minimum tax, and phaseouts of deductions or credits.
4. AMT and NIIT Analysis
The alternative minimum tax and net investment income tax can surprise clients who have large capital gains, incentive stock options, or investment income. BNA Income Tax Planner is designed to identify these issues earlier, allowing advisors to recommend timing strategies before year-end.
5. Professional Reports
Tax planning is not just about numbers; it is also about communication. The software can generate reports that summarize projected liabilities, cash flow, and planning alternatives. These reports can be used in client meetings or included in broader financial planning presentations.
User Experience and Learning Curve
BNA Income Tax Planner is not usually described as a lightweight or beginner-oriented tool. It is built for professionals who understand tax law and need a robust engine to test assumptions. The interface is practical rather than flashy, and users coming from consumer tax software may need time to adjust.
That said, the learning curve is often worthwhile for firms that do recurring tax planning. Once templates and workflows are established, advisors can move faster from data entry to interpretation. The value comes from the ability to show clients clear differences between strategies, especially when the tax impact reaches thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.
Pricing: What Does BNA Income Tax Planner Cost?
Pricing for BNA Income Tax Planner is generally not publicly listed in a simple monthly or annual package format. Bloomberg Tax products are commonly sold through quote-based subscriptions, and the final cost may depend on firm size, number of users, licensing needs, and bundled research or software products.
For this reason, the best approach is to request a quote directly from Bloomberg Tax and compare the fee against your expected use. A solo practitioner doing only a handful of projections per year may find the investment harder to justify. A CPA firm or advisory firm preparing dozens or hundreds of planning analyses annually may see a clearer return.
As a practical benchmark, consider a firm that charges $750 per tax planning engagement. If the software helps support 30 engagements per year, that represents $22,500 in planning revenue. In that context, a premium planning tool may be easier to justify than it would be for a firm that offers planning only occasionally.
Who Is It Best For?
BNA Income Tax Planner is best suited for professionals who need detailed, reliable projections for complex individual tax situations. It is particularly useful for:
- CPA firms offering year-end tax planning and advisory services.
- Wealth management firms coordinating investment and tax strategies.
- Family offices managing multi-year income, gifting, and liquidity events.
- Advisors serving executives with stock options, RSUs, bonuses, and deferred compensation.
- Retirement planning specialists modeling Roth conversions and distribution strategies.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Deep planning functionality for complex individual tax cases.
- Strong scenario modeling for comparing multiple strategies.
- Useful federal and state projections for multi-jurisdiction clients.
- Professional reporting that supports client conversations.
- Trusted brand history in tax research and professional solutions.
Cons
- Quote-based pricing makes it harder to evaluate quickly.
- Learning curve may be steep for occasional users.
- May be more than necessary for simple tax projections.
- Best suited to professionals, not DIY taxpayers.
Top Alternatives to BNA Income Tax Planner
While BNA Income Tax Planner is powerful, it is not the only option. The best alternative depends on your firm’s workflow, client complexity, and budget.
1. Intuit ProConnect Tax
Intuit ProConnect is a cloud-based professional tax platform with planning capabilities that may appeal to firms already using Intuit products. It is often more accessible for small and mid-sized practices that want integrated tax preparation and planning tools.
2. Drake Tax Planner
Drake Tax includes tax planning tools that are popular with cost-conscious CPA and tax preparation firms. It may not match BNA’s depth for complex scenario modeling, but it can be a practical choice for firms focused on affordability and straightforward projections.
3. Holistiplan
Holistiplan is widely used by financial advisors for tax return analysis. It scans tax returns and identifies planning opportunities, making it excellent for advisor-client conversations. However, it is more focused on analysis and opportunity detection than full professional tax projection modeling.
4. CCH Axcess Tax and Planning Tools
CCH Axcess offers a broader professional tax ecosystem with compliance, research, workflow, and planning capabilities. It may be a strong alternative for larger firms that want an integrated suite rather than a single-purpose planner.
5. Lacerte Tax Planner
Lacerte, another Intuit product, is commonly used by professional tax preparers and offers planning features suitable for many individual and business clients. It is a good option for firms already committed to the Lacerte environment.
Final Verdict
BNA Income Tax Planner remains a strong choice for professionals who need advanced tax planning, especially for high-income and complex individual clients. Its biggest strengths are scenario comparisons, multi-year projections, and detailed calculations that help advisors turn tax complexity into clear recommendations.
However, it is not the ideal fit for everyone. If your firm only needs occasional, basic projections, a lower-cost alternative may be more efficient. But if tax planning is a major part of your advisory model, BNA Income Tax Planner can be a valuable engine for delivering smarter strategies, stronger client conversations, and more confident year-end decisions.