Reasonable comp studies that hold up in an exam.

Unlimited studies, priced from public Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data using a documented cost approach. Signed onto your letterhead as a workpaper. $499 a year for the whole firm — not per study, not per seat.

See what you get: a signed memo for the file, and the client’s one-pager (PDFs, no signup)

Annual billing · Free to try · No card required to start

Reasonable compensation memorandumTY 2026
Executive management11-102140%
Accounting operations13-201130%
Sales and client development41-309120%
Administrative support43-601410%
Reasonable compensation determined$154,128

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2025 · bls.gov/oes

Unlimited studiesOne annual price for the firm. Run one or a hundred.
Public, checkable dataBLS OEWS at the metro level, vintage cited on the memo.
Your letterheadSigned by the preparer, ready for the workpaper file.
The method

Three steps, nothing proprietary

The cost approach: value the role by what it would cost to hire out each part of it. Every input is public and every step is stated on the memo, so there is nothing to explain away if the return is examined.

1Describe the role

Split the shareholder’s year into the functions they actually perform. Each duty gets a Standard Occupational Classification code and a share of time; the shares total 100%, and the study will not sign until they do.

2Price it from public data

Every duty is priced at your chosen percentile from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS wages for the client’s metropolitan area. The weighted result is a composite hourly rate, annualized at the hours you specify.

3Sign it onto your letterhead

The memo states the method, the duty table, the wage source and vintage, the composite rate, the annual figure, and the independent-investor test — signed by the preparer, issued under your firm’s name.

The questions firms actually ask

What happens next year?

Roll the study forward. The duties carry over, the wages reprice against the current OEWS vintage, and you get a fresh draft to review rather than a blank form. Last year’s signed memo stays exactly as issued.

Will the shareholder confirm the split?

Send them a link. They see the duty breakdown — no dollar figures — and confirm it reflects how their time was spent. The confirmation and its date land on the study, so the allocation is not just your assertion.

What if we run a lot of these?

Run as many as you like. The price is per firm per year, not per study and not per seat. One study billed at a typical rate covers the subscription.

What is the data, exactly?

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — the same public survey an examiner can pull themselves. Brightline names the vintage on the memo so the figure can be reproduced.

$499 a year. Every study you run.

Per firm, unlimited users, unlimited studies. Add tax research cited to primary sources for $200 more — Brightline complete is $699.

Annual billing · Free to try · No card required to start