“Can an AI agent replace the entire tax preparation workflow — research, planning, filing, defense — and collapse the software+labor cost of tax work into a single per-credit price?”
Instead is an AI-native tax platform founded in 2023, positioned as a replacement for legacy tax prep software (CCH Axcess, UltraTax, Lacerte, Drake, ProConnect). The company relates to the earlier Corvee tax-planning product (Corvee, LLC terms of service still hosted on instead.com), suggesting Instead is either a rebrand or evolution of Corvee toward an agentic AI product. Its unique moat is regulatory: full IRS + 48-state e-file approvals across five entity types.
Instead integrates with Google Drive, OneDrive and Box.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 2 layers in Instead's stack: Accounting (Google Drive, OneDrive and Box); Tax (Instead (self-operated)).
Instead is founded in 2023 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Instead and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.