Longview Tax Review
Longview Tax is insightsoftware's income tax provision and reporting platform for corporate tax departments at multinationals, calculating current and deferred tax under ASC 740 or IAS 12 with ETR forecasting, state-level provision, Pillar Two and country-by-country reporting.
Independently scored, one dimension at a time. Every dimension is sourced, and we say whether a claim is published, reported, or estimated.
The documentation supports both ASC 740 and IAS 12, with interim ETR, return-to-provision, uncertain tax position inputs, regional apportionment factors and deferred tax netting. The Global Transparency module covers Pillar Two (GloBE income, covered taxes, QDMTT, UTPR, safe harbours and GIR-aligned data) and CbCR with an HMRC-format XML export and, since release 26.3, EU and Australian public CbCR. Release 26.2 added Canadian EIFEL calculations. It prepares no income tax returns, and the guides describe customers importing and updating tax rates themselves, with no rate content feed documented.
insightsoftware's trust center lists a Longview SOC 1 Type 2 audit report and a Longview SOC 2 Type 2 audit report for 2025, October 2026 bridge letters and a 2026 Longview penetration test report (checked 10 October 2026). The documentation covers workflow statuses through Submitted for Approval and Approved, data locks, an Effective User Authorization report and a native SSO service. The weak point is the data audit trail: the server configuration reference shows it cleared by default, and the audit article says journal entry changes and server-calculated values are left out.
The platform runs national, regional and multi-regional provisions with currency translation, and release 26.2 (April 2026) reorganized FX and deferred tax calculations for systems with many dimensions and currencies. Longview reported 700 enterprise customers and more than 100,000 users when insightsoftware acquired it in February 2020, a platform-wide figure that includes Close and Plan. IHG said in May 2023 that it had run its tax close on Longview Tax for more than 10 years. No public limits on entities or users are documented, and on-premises scale depends on the customer's own Windows Server and SQL Server or Oracle estate.
The product page names Oracle E-Business Suite, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, SAP, Infor, Workday and PeopleSoft as integration examples, and release 24.4 added a live SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud connection for new cloud customers. The integration guide documents ODBC imports, calls to third-party REST APIs, SOAP web services, an ODS extract and a REST API of its own, and the Excel add-in writes data back. insightsoftware's webinar page for releases 25.3 and 25.4 announces Deloitte, KPMG and Orbitax connectors for Pillar Two, while the public release notes describe a generic CSV extract. No packaged export to a named US return package is documented.
insightsoftware says an out-of-the-box implementation normally takes six to eight weeks across six stages, in a blog dated 22 January 2021. The Vanderlande case study shows a November 2020 kickoff, testing finished by mid-February 2021 and a March 2021 deadline met with partner Taxvibes, on time and on budget according to the customer. The implementer guide lists import templates for hierarchies, tax rates, FX rates, beginning balances and users. Custom journal entry output and ERP feeds add work, and the administrator clients are Windows applications.
The Support Policy dated September 2026 sets service hours of 3 am to 8 pm Eastern on weekdays, three named support contacts at no charge and Priority 1 acknowledgement within one regional business hour. It commits to 99.5 percent monthly SaaS availability, with service credits starting in the second consecutive month missed. The policy lists no 24x7 option for Longview, and versions more than 18 months old fall out of support. Instructor-led Longview Tax courses for analysts, administrators and implementers are listed with CPE credit.
No first-party MCP server appears in the public MCP registry or on GitHub (checked 10 October 2026). The Longview help center, as read on 10 October 2026, documents a REST API with GET and PUT on data plus hierarchy and attribute endpoints, a framework for custom endpoints and, per the 26.1 release notes, Organization API Keys as service accounts. In-product AI is assistive: Lineos Data Assist, Text Assist and Report Assist in the Excel add-in from release 26.3 under a separate entitlement, plus a documentation chatbot; the vendor's webinar page for releases 26.1 and 26.2 also lists natural-language data queries, report templates and Excel formula help.
There is no list price; the product and demo pages lead to a pricing request form (checked 10 October 2026). The only public benchmark is Vendr's company-wide insightsoftware median of $47,000 a year (reported; page last updated February 2026), which spans every insightsoftware product. The documentation shows Task Management and the Lineos AI features need a separate license or entitlement, and the June 2026 agreement allows annual fee changes on 60 days' notice.
A flexible provision platform for global groups, with opaque pricing, dated admin tools and no return filing.
Written by the Audit Friendly research team. No vendor edits, no sponsored placement.
Longview Tax is a provision and tax reporting database built on the Longview performance management platform, which insightsoftware bought in February 2020. It calculates current and deferred tax by legal entity and jurisdiction under ASC 740 or IAS 12, drafts the income tax disclosure, forecasts the effective tax rate and runs state-level provisions through its regional and multi-regional processes. The same data set feeds Pillar Two, QDMTT and country-by-country reporting, and versions 26.1, 26.2 and 26.3 shipped in January, April and July 2026. The pitch is control by the tax team: a tax administrator configures it, and an Excel add-in writes back to the database.
The catch is scope and transparency. The product stops at reporting, with no return preparation or e-filing, so a US group still needs a compliance package and a way to carry provision data into it. Pricing is quote only, licensing defaults to named users, and Task Management and the Lineos AI assistants need their own license or entitlement. The published agreement lets insightsoftware change fees every year on 60 days' notice. The administrator tools are Windows clients, tax rates are loaded by the customer, and the server configuration reference shows the data audit trail off by default.
Before signing, get a written quote that names every module, user type and AI entitlement, with a multi-year cap on fee changes. Confirm that the data audit trail and workflow approvals will be enabled from day one, and ask for the Longview SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2 reports listed in the trust center. Have the implementation plan state who builds the ERP feed and the journal entry output. Ask how the 15-day window to request data after a SaaS term ends will apply to your contract.
- A multinational reporting under IFRS or US GAAP that wants provision, ETR forecasting, CbCR and Pillar Two estimates on one data set
- A tax department with a capable in-house administrator that wants to own configuration without leaning on IT or consultants
- A Canadian or US group that needs state-by-state provision or the EIFEL interest limitation inside the provision workflow
- A US tax department that wants provision and Form 1120 compliance in one system, which Longview Tax does not offer
- A small domestic team that needs a list price or a self-serve trial before it will start a sales cycle
- A buyer who wants AI agents operating the provision today: the shipped AI assists inside Excel and no MCP server exists
The jobs a tax team actually hires Longview Tax for
Jobs, mapped to how finance teams actually buy.
Close the quarterly and annual provision under ASC 740 or IAS 12
Once the trial balance and permanent and temporary differences are in, Tax Provision calculates current and deferred tax by legal entity and jurisdiction and drafts the income tax disclosure with supporting schedules. Separate input apps and user guides exist for each standard, so an IFRS parent and a US GAAP subsidiary group can sit on the same platform. Interim and actual processes are both covered.
Run a state-by-state provision in place of a blended rate
The regional and multi-regional processes hold state tax rates, apportionment factors and regional temporary differences, and the regional provision flows into the national current provision as a deduction. Release 26.2 (April 2026) added National Transfer Exceptions, which stop national temporary differences flowing to regions where they do not apply. The customer maintains the state rates and factors.
Estimate Pillar Two and QDMTT top-up tax during the close
The Global Transparency module fills GloBE temporary differences from provision balances, populates GloBE income and covered taxes through configured automations, and calculates the jurisdictional ETR and top-up tax. Releases through 26.1 added QDMTT additional top-up tax, UTPR allocation, transitional safe harbour thresholds and a GIR-aligned account structure. Full local filings go through a partner tool: insightsoftware announced an Orbitax integration on 29 July 2025.
Produce country-by-country reports and filing files
CbCR data is collected by entity, reviewed and exported as a CSV for a third-party filing tool, an HMRC-format XML file or an Australian public CbC XML file. Release 26.3 added multi-currency entry with translation to the group currency. BiC, in the vendor's case study, went looking for a tool when it had to implement CbC reporting in 2017.
Forecast the effective tax rate before year end
Forecast scenarios and interim ETR calculations reuse the provision model, so the tax team can see the likely year-end rate while there is still time to act. Vanderlande's tax assurance specialist told insightsoftware that most users reported 25 to 50 percent less time on corporate income tax reporting after go-live, a self-reported figure the vendor publishes. No independent study backs a typical saving.
Calculate the Canadian EIFEL interest limitation inside the provision
Release 26.2 computes interest and financing expenses and revenues, adjusted taxable income, excess and absorbed capacity and the group ratio election, with automation from trial balance accounts. The unused capacity carryforward then flows into deferred tax. insightsoftware claims Longview Tax is the only tax platform with native EIFEL functionality, a vendor claim that no independent source confirms.
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What it actually costs
Here's what it really costs: published rates where a vendor lists them, aggregated quote data where they don't, plus a path to your own number.
Current and deferred provision under ASC 740 or IAS 12, ETR, forecasting and state-level regional provision. No list price is published; the default licensing model is Named User.
Pillar Two, QDMTT and country-by-country reporting. insightsoftware said in May 2023 that Pillar Two is also sold as a standalone offering.
Tracks tax tasks, due dates and documents. The Longview help center, as read on 10 October 2026, says it is purchased under a separate license.
AI assistants in the Excel add-in from release 26.3. The Longview help center, as read on 10 October 2026, says they require a valid AI entitlement and are off by default.
Operational transfer pricing is a separate Longview product on the same platform, with its own demo and pricing request.
Quoted by insightsoftware services or a partner; the training page says an expert follows up on scheduling and pricing.
Up to three named support contacts at no charge under the Support Policy; additional contacts may carry a fee.
What it actually takes to go live
Section 8.1.2 of the Software and Services Agreement, last updated 15 June 2026, says insightsoftware may modify fees annually during the term with at least 60 days' written notice, unless the purchase document states otherwise. Section 7.1 renews licenses automatically for a period equal to the initial term unless either party gives 60 days' written notice, and section 8.3 makes payment obligations non-cancelable. The agreement sets no percentage cap. Write a cap and the renewal term into the order form (checked 10 October 2026).
The Server Configuration reference in the Longview 26 help center, as read on 10 October 2026, lists the Data audit trail setting as cleared by default. The Reviewing Data Audit article, read the same day, adds that the feature is only available when enabled, that changes made by journal entry are excluded, and that server-calculated values such as translated currencies have no audit rows. That is the documented server default, so ask insightsoftware how a cloud-hosted system is set at handover. For a SOX-relevant provision, confirm in the design phase that the audit trail, workflow approvals and locks are all enabled, and test what your auditor will be shown.
The product pages and documentation describe provision, forecasting, disclosure, CbCR and Pillar Two, and list no US or other income tax return forms and no e-filing (checked 10 October 2026). CbCR leaves the system as a CSV or XML file for filing elsewhere, and insightsoftware's 29 July 2025 release pairs Longview Tax with Orbitax for local Pillar Two compliance and filing. A US group will keep a compliance package and should ask how provision data reaches it. ONESOURCE and Corptax both pair provision with their own return products.
The Task Management overview in the documentation says the module is purchased under a separate license. The Lineos AI assistants added in release 26.3 require a valid AI entitlement, and the environment setting is cleared by default, per the Server Configuration and user administration articles. Pillar Two was launched in May 2023 as part of the product and as a standalone offering. Ask for a quote that lists each module and entitlement as its own line (checked 10 October 2026).
The Longview 26 help center, as read on 10 October 2026, describes Application Administrator and Server Manager as Windows-based clients. On-premises installs need Windows Server 2022 or 2025 with SQL Server (Oracle 19c is listed for Windows Server 2022), and Windows Server 2019 support ended after version 26.1. The Support Policy dated September 2026 says insightsoftware is not obliged to support versions more than 18 months old. The live SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud connection in release 24.4 was introduced for new cloud customers, so existing installs should ask what applies to them.
The standard SaaS support terms in the Support Policy dated September 2026 give a customer 15 calendar days after termination or expiry to request its data in an insightsoftware-approved exportable format, with delivery within 15 calendar days of the request. The master agreement itself says access rights cease immediately on termination. Export provision history, rollforwards and supporting schedules before the term ends, and negotiate a longer window if year-end falls close to renewal (checked 10 October 2026).
Scored on what an outside agent can actually reach: the documented API, how it authenticates, and whether the vendor ships an MCP server.
Exists: No first-party MCP server exists for Longview Tax. The public MCP registry returns only an unrelated City of Longview, Texas mapping server for 'longview' and nothing for 'insightsoftware', and a GitHub search for an insightsoftware MCP repository returns no results (checked 10 October 2026). insightsoftware's separate Simba Intelligence product markets governed API and MCP access to enterprise data, and its page does not name Longview Tax as a source.
Scope: The reachable surface is the Longview REST API, documented in the public Longview 26 help center (read 10 October 2026). Standard endpoints return and update data (GET and PUT on /solutions/data), read and update hierarchies and read attribute values. The Application Framework also lets a developer expose any procedure as a custom REST endpoint, and the docs give posting a calculated tax provision journal entry from Longview Tax to Longview Close as an example. Calls need a session and the Connect to Application Framework authorization, and the base URL is the customer's own Longview web server. The 26.1 release notes (January 2026), as read on the same date, describe Organization API Keys as service accounts for customers on the insightsoftware Platform; the vendor's webinar page for that release does not list them, so confirm availability with insightsoftware.
Turnkey: Nothing is turnkey. An administrator has to create the service account or API key and grant authorizations, an implementer usually has to write Application Framework procedures for anything beyond the standard endpoints, and someone has to build a custom MCP wrapper or script before Claude can call it. The Software and Services Agreement updated 15 June 2026 defines Authorized Users as humans and states that bots are never Authorized Users, so ask in writing how agent access is licensed.
In-product AI: The 26.3 release notes, as read in the Longview help center on 10 October 2026 and dated July 2026, add Lineos AI to the Longview Add-In for Office. Data Assist analyzes selected worksheet data, Text Assist summarizes or rewrites text, and Report Assist summarizes Longview reports. The docs say these need a valid AI entitlement, are switched off by default at the environment level and are granted to individual users or user groups. insightsoftware's webinar page for releases 26.1 and 26.2 (January and April 2026) also lists Longview AI features that query data in natural language, generate report templates and help with Excel formulas; ask which of these are generally available and how they are licensed. AI Doc Assist, a chatbot that answers how-to questions from the documentation with links to source articles, arrived with release 24.3 in 2024 for systems on the insightsoftware Platform. None of these runs or reviews the provision calculation.
Longview Tax, kept current
insightsoftware launched three brands on 16 September 2026. Longview Tax remains listed as a standalone insightsoftware product, and the company says it will keep selling and supporting insightsoftware products.
The release notes, read in the Longview help center on 10 October 2026 and dated 15 July 2026, add Report Assist, Data Assist and Text Assist under license, EU and Australian public CbCR, multi-currency CbCR entry and self-service scheduling for cloud-hosted customers.
The master agreement was last updated 15 June 2026. It keeps automatic renewal with 60 days' notice and an annual right to modify fees on 60 days' notice.
The release notes, read in the Longview help center on 10 October 2026 and dated 15 April 2026, add EIFEL interest limitation calculations, National Transfer Exceptions for multi-regional provision and faster FX and deferred tax processing. Windows Server 2019 is no longer supported.
The release notes, read in the Longview help center on 10 October 2026 and dated 13 January 2026, add QDMTT prior-year adjustments, SBIE automation, a GIR-ordered GloBE income hierarchy and schedule locking from Excel. insightsoftware's webinar page for releases 26.1 and 26.2 gives the same January timing.
insightsoftware and Orbitax announced an integration on 29 July 2025 that passes Longview Tax provision data into Orbitax's Pillar Two solution for jurisdiction-specific calculation, reporting and filing.
Longview Tax FAQ
There is no published price. The product, demo and pricing pages lead to a request form, and insightsoftware quotes each deal (checked 10 October 2026). The agreement's default licensing model is Named User, and the documentation shows Task Management and the Lineos AI assistants as separately licensed.
The only public benchmark is Vendr's company-wide figure for insightsoftware: a median of $47,000 a year, with the middle 80 percent of Vendr's reported deals between $19,957 and $103,563 (reported; page last updated February 2026, checked 11 October 2026). Those figures cover every insightsoftware product, so they do not tell you what a multi-entity provision deal with Pillar Two costs.
Budget separately for implementation and training, which the services team quotes. Ask for a written proposal that prices users by type, each module and the services hours, with a cap on annual fee changes.
The Software and Services Agreement last updated 15 June 2026 renews automatically for a term equal to the initial term unless either party gives 60 days' written notice. It lets insightsoftware modify fees annually on 60 days' notice unless the order form says otherwise, and payment obligations are non-cancelable.
For cloud customers, the Support Policy dated September 2026 gives 15 calendar days after the term ends to request data in an approved exportable format, delivered within 15 days of the request. During the term you can pull data yourself through the Excel add-in, CSV exports, the REST API and the ODS extract described in the integration guide.
On-premises customers hold the database on their own SQL Server or Oracle instance. Perpetual on-premises licenses are described in the agreement as available to existing customers only, so a new buyer should expect a fixed-term license.
insightsoftware says an out-of-the-box implementation normally takes six to eight weeks, in a blog dated 22 January 2021 that sets out six stages: project organization, system setup, design, configuration, testing, and final preparation and roll-out. The last stage includes a parallel run before sign-off.
The one dated customer account is longer. Vanderlande kicked off in November 2020, finished testing by mid-February 2021 and met a March 2021 deadline with implementation partner Taxvibes, on time and on budget according to the customer.
The vendor says a tax manager can do much of the configuration, with an IT contact for data integration. In practice you need a named tax administrator, someone who owns the trial balance feed, and insightsoftware services or a partner for custom calculations and journal entry formats.
There is no turnkey route today. No first-party MCP server exists in the public MCP registry or on GitHub (checked 10 October 2026).
A developer can build one on the REST API documented in the Longview help center (read 10 October 2026). Standard endpoints read and update data and hierarchies and read attribute values, and custom endpoints can run any Application Framework procedure. The 26.1 release notes describe Organization API Keys as service accounts for insightsoftware Platform customers, so ask insightsoftware to confirm they are available on your deployment. Check licensing first: the June 2026 agreement says bots are never Authorized Users.
Inside the product, the Lineos assistants in the Excel add-in analyze selected data, summarize text and summarize reports, under a separate AI entitlement. They do not calculate, review or approve the provision.
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