BharatTax AI vs Instead

BharatTax AI is a web service for AI-assisted Indian income-tax, GST, and TDS filing. Its guided ITR wizard supports ITR-1 through ITR-4, while an ITR-1 chat can produce a portal-ready JSON file for download. GST tools cover GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, invoicing, and reconciliation. TDS tools list generation and filing for Forms 16, 26Q, and 24Q. The AI assistant classifies uploaded documents, suggests deductions, and extracts invoice data for GST. BharatTax AI says it supports all 22 scheduled Indian languages, including right-to-left support for Urdu, Sindhi, and Kashmiri. Its E-Way Bill Generator sends generated bills to NIC. The service offers a free plan at free with 5 AI credits. AI features consume credits; prices are in Indian rupees including 18% GST, and Razorpay processes payments. The company says data is not used to train its base AI models. Its terms describe AI tax guidance as informational and potentially erroneous, requiring independent verification.

Instead is a web-based AI agent for tax research, planning, preparation, filing, and defense. It lists support for individual 1040, C corporation 1120, S corporation 1120-S, partnership 1065, and trust and estate 1041 returns. Users choose which workflows to run, and credits are consumed only when they start a task; the credit estimate is shown beforehand. Users can review the agent’s work before filing. Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box are live integrations with two-way sync, version tracking, and automatic folder mapping. Instead says it is IRS-approved and supports e-filing in 48 or more state jurisdictions, as well as local filing. Federal and state e-file and prior-year import are listed. The free Instead Platform plan is free and includes unlimited users, entities, e-file and print file, multi-entity support, and collaborators and viewers. Instead Agent is billed per credit, with pricing dependent on volume and usage; purchased credits are valid for 12 months. The service lists a free trial, US-based customer support, and 24/7 support, with email responses within 24 business hours.