Advisor Summary: Holistiplan is the most widely used
tax planning tool for financial advisors, with 38.92% market share and a
9.1/10 satisfaction rating (T3/Inside Information 2026 Survey). Advisors
typically search for alternatives when they need tax analysis that
connects to the actual retirement income plan, not a standalone snapshot
from last year’s 1040. The top alternatives are Income Lab Pro (tax
planning integrated with retirement distribution, guardrails, Social
Security, and Medicare/IRMAA planning), TaxPlannerPro (multi-year tax
projections), and Covisum Tax Clarity (effective marginal rate
visualization).
Your client is 63, retired last year, and sitting on $1.1M in
traditional IRAs. You upload her 2024 1040 into Holistiplan. In 45
seconds you get a clean federal summary, a bracket visualization, and a
Roth conversion scenario. Good analysis of where she was last year.
But here is the problem: her 2024 return reflects a past year of
employment income that will not recur. Her Social Security claiming
decision at 65 will shift her taxable income profile. She is two years
from Medicare, and a poorly timed Roth conversion could push her into a
higher IRMAA bracket that costs her $4,620 per year in Medicare parts B
and D premium surcharges. Medicare IRMAA uses a two-year MAGI lookback,
so a 2026 conversion affects 2028 premiums. None of that context exists
inside a 1040.
Holistiplan tells you what happened in the past. For many advisors,
what matters more is what happens next.
That gap is why advisors search for Holistiplan alternatives. Not
because Holistiplan is bad at what it does. It is category-defining. But
the question has shifted from “What does this tax return tell me?” to
“How does this tax situation connect to the full retirement plan?”
Table of Contents
- What Holistiplan Does
Well - Why Advisors Look for
Alternatives - What to
Look For in a Tax Planning Alternative - Feature Comparison: Holistiplan vs
Income Lab Pro - Other Alternatives
Worth Considering - Who Should Use Which
- Pricing Comparison
- Sources
What Holistiplan Does Well
According to the T3/Inside Information Advisor Software Survey 2026
(2,906 respondents), Holistiplan holds 38.92% market share in the tax
planning category with a 9.1/10 satisfaction rating. It earned that
position for good reasons. Any honest comparison starts by acknowledging
where it excels.
Speed. Per Holistiplan’s product documentation
(holistiplan.com, April 2026), their OCR scans a 100+ page tax return in
under 60 seconds. That speed changed the category. Before Holistiplan,
most advisors treated tax planning as a once-a-year project. Holistiplan
made it possible to run a quick analysis during a client meeting.
Simplicity. Upload a 1040, get a report. The
workflow is clean and intuitive. Advisors with 200+ clients can scale
tax reviews without drowning in complexity.
Tax prep letters. Holistiplan generates
ready-to-send letters to clients’ CPAs with specific tax planning
recommendations. This is a genuine differentiator that saves hours of
advisor time.
Expanding scope. Holistiplan has added insurance
planning (P&C coverage gap analysis) and has estate planning on
their product roadmap. They are building a multi-module platform, not
just a tax scanner.
Enterprise adoption. Holistiplan partners with 9 of
the top 15 RIAs, including Carson Group, Mercer Advisors, and Osaic. SOC
2 Type II certified. Association discounts through NAPFA, ACP, and
Garrett Planning Network.
Why Advisors Look for
Alternatives
Advisors searching for Holistiplan alternatives are not looking for a
faster 1040 scanner. They are looking for tax planning that connects to
everything else.
The backward-looking data
problem
A 1040 is a historical document. A client’s 2024 return filed in
April 2025 reflects income from months ago. For clients in or near
retirement, where income composition changes year to year (Social
Security timing, pension start dates, Roth conversion windows, RMD
onset), the gap between “what the 1040 shows” and “what is actually
happening” grows quickly.
Advisors who lead with forward-looking tax planning need a tool that
starts from projected 2026 numbers, not 2024 actuals.
The plan disconnection
problem
Holistiplan operates independently from the client’s financial plan.
That means a Roth conversion analysis in Holistiplan cannot
automatically account for the client’s Social Security claiming
strategy, guardrails-based spending adjustments, withdrawal sequencing
across account types, or IRMAA bracket positioning.
To model those interactions in Holistiplan, you recreate plan
assumptions manually. That is extra work, and it introduces the risk of
inconsistent assumptions between your planning tool and your tax tool.
And since Holistiplan never set out to be a full forward-looking
comprehensive planning tool, there are many things in the plan you just
can’t reproduce at all.
The multi-year projection
gap
Holistiplan excels at current-year and scenario-based tax analysis.
Multi-year tax projections that show how a five-year Roth conversion
ladder interacts with future RMDs, lumpy planned expenses and portfolio
withdrawals, Social Security taxation thresholds, and IRMAA brackets
over time require a different architecture. Those projections need a
full plan model underneath them.
What to Look For
in a Tax Planning Alternative
If you are evaluating alternatives, these are the capabilities that
matter most for retirement-focused practices:
- Forward-looking tax projections. Can the tool
project taxes using current-year and future-year assumptions, not just
historical values? - Plan integration. Does tax analysis connect to the
client’s actual spending plan, Social Security strategy, and account
structure? - IRMAA awareness. Can the tool model how a Roth
conversion in 2026 affects Medicare premiums in 2028 (the two-year MAGI
lookback), and do that for every year of the plan? - Multi-strategy comparison. Can you run three Roth
conversion strategies side by side and see the tax impact of each across
10+ years? - Bracket management automation. Does the tool
automatically optimize conversions to fill a targeted bracket without
exceeding it? - Net-of-tax spending. Can the tool answer “What can
my client actually spend after taxes?” rather than just showing gross
withdrawal amounts? - Document upload. Can you upload a 1040 and get
immediate analysis without building a full plan first?
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Holistiplan Premium | Income Lab Pro with Penny |
|---|---|---|
| Document upload (1040 scan) | Yes (OCR, 45-60 seconds) | Yes (AI-powered analysis) |
| Marginal rate explorer | Yes (current year) | Yes (multi-year, connected to plan) |
| Roth conversion modeling | Yes (scenarios) | Yes (20 strategies with bracket management) |
| IRMAA impact analysis | MAGI tier analysis | Full ordinary income and IRMAA bracket management |
| Multi-year tax projections | Limited | Yes (connected to full plan timeline) |
| State tax modeling | Yes (Premium tier) | Yes (all 50 states + DC + local) |
| Tax prep letters | Yes | No (gap; available via AI chat) |
| Social Security optimization | No | Yes (9,000+ claiming combinations, 8.60 rating per T3 2026) |
| Guardrails-based spending | No | Yes (core methodology, recalculated monthly) |
| Estate planning tools | Waitlist | Yes (Inherited IRA optimizer, Beneficiary optimizer, Gift vs Step-Up, Charitable Giving) |
| IRMAA appeal instructions (SSA-44 guidance) | No | Yes (generates instructions, does not file) |
| Practice intelligence | No | Yes (scans entire client set for planning opportunities) |
| Medicare roadmap | No | Yes (enrollment timelines, IEP dates, cost estimates) |
| W-4 analyzer | No | Yes |
| NUA analysis | No | Yes |
| Connected to retirement income plan | No (standalone) | Yes (every analysis reflects the full plan) |
The fundamental difference: Holistiplan is a tax analysis tool that
stands alone. Income Lab Pro with Penny is a retirement planning
platform where tax analysis is connected to the client’s actual
financial plan, including spending, Social Security timing, withdrawal
sequencing, and guardrails.
As Johnny Poulsen puts it, ‘the stove belongs in the kitchen, not in
the garage or the living room.’ Tax planning belongs inside your
planning software, connected to the full picture, not in a separate tool
that requires you to recreate plan assumptions.
Other Alternatives Worth
Considering
TaxPlannerPro
TaxPlannerPro focuses on multi-year tax projections and scenario
modeling. Strengths include detailed year-by-year tax forecasts and Roth
conversion analysis across extended timeframes. It is purpose-built for
tax projection work and used by advisors who want a dedicated tax
modeling engine. Limited integration with broader financial planning
tools.
Covisum Tax Clarity
Covisum Tax Clarity shows hidden effective marginal tax rates and
their impact on cash flow in retirement. It is part of the broader
Covisum suite (Social Security Timing, Income InSight, SmartRisk).
Strengths include clear visualization of how marginal rate interactions
create unexpected tax cliffs. Known limitations include limited state
tax modeling and no business-owner deduction handling. Covisum Suite
pricing starts at approximately $2,800/year for the full bundle (as
listed on covisum.com, February 2026).
Altruist Hazel
Launched in February 2026, Hazel is Altruist’s AI-powered tax
planning tool for advisors. It sees detailed account-level data for
Altruist custodial accounts (cost basis, holdings, transaction history).
Key limitation: it is built on a custodian, not a planning platform. It
sees account data but does not see the client’s spending plan, Social
Security strategy, or long-term income projection. Pricing is
approximately $60/seat/month.
RightCapital Tax Analyzer
RightCapital includes a 1040 OCR feature within its comprehensive
planning platform. Useful for advisors already on RightCapital who want
tax return data to populate plan inputs. Not positioned as a standalone
tax analysis engine. Part of RightCapital’s broader planning suite
($149.95-$254.95/month as of March 2026, per rightcapital.com). For a
detailed breakdown of RightCapital’s retirement income capabilities, see
our Income Lab vs RightCapital
comparison. Advisors evaluating eMoney’s tax features can also see
Income Lab vs eMoney Advisor.
Client Scenario:
When the 1040 Is Not Enough
Mark and Susan, both 63, retired in mid-2025. Combined traditional
IRA balances: $1.4M. Mark will claim Social Security at 67; Susan at 65.
They want to do Roth conversions during the “gap years” before Social
Security and RMDs compress their tax bracket space.
What Holistiplan shows: Upload their 2024 1040.
Holistiplan identifies $87,000 of remaining space in the 22% bracket
based on 2024 data. A clean analysis of last year.
What the integrated approach shows: Their 2026
income profile is completely different. No W-2 income. No employer
health insurance (they are on COBRA transitioning to ACA marketplace).
Their base income drops to $95,000 (pension plus investment income). The
22% bracket has roughly $130,000 of conversion space. But a $130,000
conversion would push their 2026 MAGI to $225,000, crossing the $218,000
IRMAA Tier 1 threshold when Medicare starts in 2028 (per the two-year
lookback), adding $1,148 per person ($2,297 for the couple) in annual
Part B and D surcharges (per CMS 2026 tables).
The optimal strategy: convert $120,000 in 2026 (filling the 22%
bracket while keeping MAGI at $215,000, safely below the $218,000 Tier 1
threshold), then convert $115,000 in 2027 before Social Security income
begins. Over two years, they convert $235,000 at the 22% rate while
avoiding $2,297 per year in IRMAA surcharges. The last $10,000 of the
larger conversion would have triggered the full Tier 1 surcharge for the
couple.
That multi-variable optimization requires a tool that sees the tax
picture, the Social Security timeline, and the IRMAA brackets
simultaneously.
Who Should Use Which
Stay with Holistiplan if: – Your primary need is
fast 1040 scanning for annual tax reviews at scale – You rely on tax
prep letters to coordinate with clients’ CPAs – Tax planning is a
supplementary service, not your core value proposition – You use a
separate planning platform for the retirement income conversation and
are comfortable maintaining two tools with independent assumptions or
simply not trying to do tax planning in the context of the long-term
plan.
Consider Income Lab Pro if: – Tax planning is
inseparable from your retirement income conversation – You need Roth
conversion analysis that automatically accounts for Social Security
timing, IRMAA brackets, and spending adjustments – You want one platform
where tax, Medicare, Social Security, estate, and income planning share
the same data – You serve clients in or near retirement where income
composition changes year to year – You want forward-looking tax analysis
using projected 2026 numbers, not last year’s return
Consider TaxPlannerPro if: – Your focus is detailed
multi-year tax projections as a standalone deliverable – You need a
dedicated tax modeling engine separate from your planning software
Consider Covisum Tax Clarity if: – You want marginal
rate visualization alongside Covisum’s Social Security and income
planning tools – You are already using other Covisum products and want a
unified suite
Pricing Comparison
| Tool | Pricing | Model | What’s Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holistiplan Basic Tax | $749-$11,049/yr | Per household (30-750 HH) | Federal tax scanning, auto reports, scenario analysis |
| Holistiplan Premium Tax | $1,499-$15,499/yr | Per household (30-750 HH) | All Basic + state tax, Roth projections, tax prep letters, 1:1 expert sessions |
| Income Lab Core | $1,990/yr | Per advisor | Retirement distribution, guardrails, Tax Lab, Social Security Optimizer |
| Income Lab Pro | $2,990/yr | Per advisor | All Core + Penny (tax tools, Medicare tools, estate tools, practice intelligence) + AI productivity tools (for building and updating plans from documents, notes, and Zoom meetings) |
| Covisum Tax Clarity | Part of suite (~$2,800/yr) | Per advisor | Tax assessment, marginal rate analysis. Full suite adds SS Timing + Income InSight + SmartRisk |
| Altruist Hazel | ~$60/seat/mo (~$720/yr) | Per advisor | AI tax analysis for Altruist custodial accounts |
Holistiplan pricing as listed on holistiplan.com, April 2026.
Income Lab pricing confirmed April 2026. Covisum pricing per
covisum.com, February 2026. Altruist Hazel pricing per launch
announcements, February 2026.
The pricing models are fundamentally different. Holistiplan charges
per household, which scales with practice size. At 30 households,
Holistiplan Premium ($1,499/yr) costs less than Income Lab Pro
($2,990/yr). At 200+ households, Holistiplan Premium becomes
significantly more expensive. Income Lab’s per-advisor pricing stays
flat regardless of client count, and includes retirement distribution,
guardrails, Social Security optimization, and the full Penny tool suite,
not just tax analysis.
The real comparison is not price per dollar but scope per dollar.
Holistiplan Premium at 30 households gives you tax analysis. Income Lab
Pro at $299/month or $2,990/year gives you tax analysis plus retirement
income planning, Social Security optimization, guardrails-based
spending, Medicare/IRMAA tools, estate planning tools, and practice
intelligence across your entire book.
Ready to see tax planning connected to the actual retirement
plan? Book a walkthrough to see how Income
Lab Pro with Penny handles Roth conversions, IRMAA bracket management,
and multi-year tax projections inside the client’s full financial
plan.
See our full tax
planning software comparison for advisors for a broader look at the
category.
Sources
- T3/Inside Information Advisor Software Survey 2026 (2,906
respondents, November 2025 to February 2026) - Holistiplan pricing and features: holistiplan.com, verified April
2026 - Income Lab pricing: incomelaboratory.com, confirmed April 2026
- Covisum pricing and features: covisum.com, verified February
2026 - Altruist Hazel: launch announcements, February 2026
Last verified: April 2026
All trademarks are property of their respective owners. Income
Lab is the author of this page.
Disclosure: Justin Fitzpatrick is Co-Founder of Income Lab, one of the products discussed in this article.
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