Tax research you can put in the file.

Ask in plain language. Get a written answer with every claim cited to the Code, the regulations, or IRS guidance — .gov sources only, numbered so a reviewer can check them. $299 a year for the whole firm.

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From a real answer

When services or property are received in lieu of cash rent, the fair market value of those services must be included as rental income.1

1IRS Publication 527verified ✓
“If you receive property or services as rent, instead of money, include the fair market value (FMV) of the property or services in your rental income.”
irs.gov ↗
Primary sources onlyThe Code, the regs, IRS guidance. .gov domains.
Every claim numberedEndnotes in order of first appearance, checkable one by one.
Exports as a memoYour letterhead, citations intact, ready for the file.
How it works

Ask, read, file

The value is not that a machine answered — it is that the answer arrives already attached to the authority a reviewer would have asked you for.

1Ask it the way you would ask a colleague

Plain language, with the facts that matter — entity type, year, state, what the client actually did. No boolean operators, no citation format, no guessing which treatise chapter it lives in.

2Read an answer, not a result list

What comes back is written prose that answers the question, with every assertion carrying a numbered endnote to the authority behind it. Endnotes are numbered in order of first appearance, so the third claim can be checked without reading the first two.

3Keep it as a workpaper

Save it to the firm’s research library, or export it as a memo on your letterhead with the citations intact. What goes in the file is a document, not a chat transcript.

Real answers

The last three questions asked of Brightline

Not written for this page and not chosen to flatter it — these are the three most recent questions the product was asked, with the quotation its verifier fetched from each source. Every excerpt below was confirmed against the page it came from.

1 of 3
Should my client's S-corp make the Connecticut PTE tax election this year, and how does the owner credit work now?
Sources scoped: Federal + CT (portal.ct.gov)
Verdict. Depends on whether the S-corp has Connecticut-sourced income (or "substantial economic presence") and whether its owners receive meaningful federal SALT-cap relief. If both conditions are met, election is nearly always beneficial because the credit percentage remains 87.5%.

Making the election. Connecticut's pass-through entity (PE) tax is optional; entities that elect must do so annually, and the election is irrevocable. 1 For taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, an entity electing the PE tax must provide written notice to the Commissioner no later than the due date (or extended due date) of the return; checking the box on a timely filed Form CT-1065/CT-1120SI electing to file a pass-through entity tax return constitutes written notice. 2

Computing the tax. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, Connecticut eliminated the option to use the standard base or alternative base method; all entities now calculate PE income similar to the alternative base method from prior years. 2 The tax rate is 6.99% applied to the entity's income. 3

Cited sources3 of 5 shown
  1. 1
    Conn. DRS, Pass-Through Entity Tax Informationverified ✓
    “The Pass-Through Entity (PE) Tax is optional. Entities that elect to pay the PE Tax must do so annually, and the election is irrevocable.”
    portal.ct.gov
  2. 2
    Conn. DRS, Form CT-PET Instructions (2024)verified ✓
    “Starting with taxable years commencing on and after January 1, 2024, any entity that elects to pay such tax must give the Commissioner written notice no later than the due date for filing the return.”
    portal.ct.gov
  3. 3
    Conn. DRS, OCG-7: Pass-Through Entity Tax Creditverified ✓
    “For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2019, the PE Tax Credit percentage is 87.5%. A partner may claim the PE Tax Credit in the year the distributive share is included in income.”
    portal.ct.gov

The questions firms actually ask

Where do the citations come from?

Primary authority on .gov domains — the Internal Revenue Code, the regulations, revenue rulings and procedures, and IRS guidance. Not a secondary summary, and not a blog that read one.

How do I know it is right?

You check it. That is the design. Every claim names the authority it rests on, so verifying an answer means opening two or three citations rather than re-researching the question. Brightline does not replace professional judgment and does not ask you to take anything on trust.

What does it replace?

The research subscription your firm renews without loving. Most are priced per user and climb every year; this is $299 for the whole firm, unlimited users, with a monthly research allowance published on the pricing page.

Does the firm keep its work?

Yes. Saved answers stay in the firm’s library and stay searchable, so the question a colleague answered in March is not researched again in September.

$299 a year. For the whole firm.

Per firm, unlimited users. Add unlimited reasonable compensation studies for $400 more — Brightline complete is $699.

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