MasterTax vs Tax Pilot
The payroll tax compliance landscape gets more complex every year. Legacy providers have not kept up. Your tax engine should be absorbing that complexity, not handing it back to you.
Comparison.
| Capability | MasterTax | Tax Pilot |
|---|---|---|
| The platform | ||
| Filing and deposits | MasterTax: yes. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| Jurisdiction coverage | MasterTax: yes. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| Local jurisdictions | MasterTax: yes. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| Audit trail | MasterTax: yes. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| Daily variance | MasterTax: no. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| Continuous reconciliation | MasterTax: no. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| Single-employee corrections | MasterTax: no. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| Automated NSF handling | MasterTax: no. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| API integration | MasterTax: no. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| The advisory | ||
| Registrations | MasterTax: no. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| Notice resolution | MasterTax: no. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| Amendments and back filings | MasterTax: no. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| A team who runs it | MasterTax: no. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
| Continuity | MasterTax: no. | Tax Pilot: yes. |
Ready to switch?
Here’s how easy it is to get started.
Your tax types, states and accounts, mapped to ours, with any gaps in writing.
Your payroll and tax data comes straight in.
Every wage, tax and deposit ties out against MasterTax within two weeks.
MasterTax finishes the quarter it holds. Tax Pilot files from the next one.
Nothing is irreversible until you say so.
Common questions.
When is the best time to switch from MasterTax?
The start of a year is most common. MasterTax finishes the prior year’s fourth quarter, W-2s and annual reconciliations, and Tax Pilot takes everything from January 1. The start of a quarter also works, and mid-quarter is possible when the open liability is loaded from prior payrolls.
Do we have to move everything at once?
No staging needed. Once your data ties out to the penny, everything moves together at the start of a quarter, on a date we agree with you.
What happens to our filing history?
We export your deposit history, filed returns and payment confirmations and keep them on file. This year’s liabilities load from payroll and are reconciled against MasterTax’s deposit history before anything is filed. Periods already filed stay filed where they were.
Who files W-2s for the year we switch?
Whoever held the year. On a January 1 cutover, MasterTax files the prior year’s W-2s and W-3. From then on, Tax Pilot files.
Do you cover every state and local we file in?
We check your jurisdiction list against our coverage before quoting and give you any gaps in writing. Before you move, every liability and payment is checked to the penny.
We are still under a MasterTax contract. Can we start now?
Yes, without changing who files. Setup, the API connection and the check to the penny can start while MasterTax keeps filing, and the move is timed to a quarter start that fits your contract.
How long does it take?
It depends on the entities, the states and how clean the history is. Most teams cut over at the start of a quarter or a year. We scope it first, and we will say so if the honest answer is to wait until after year end.
What does it cost?
Quoted before we start, against a defined scope. Cleaning up prior quarters is priced separately, because it is a different amount of work.
Is MasterTax bad software?
No. It files accurately at volume and covers federal, state and local jurisdictions. The case for moving is about what sits around filing: daily variance checks, single-employee corrections, NSF holds, and a team that works notices and registrations.
Tell us what quarter end looks like.
How the work runs today, and who does it. That is enough to tell you what moving would take.