CHARTS & GRAPHS

Tax Refund Numbers Down, Amounts Up

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Tax pros handled 54% of e-filings.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

More than 100,000 individual income tax returns have flowed in and out of the Internal Revenue Service, and for the most part, we’re slightly ahead of the 2023 season.

MORE: Tax Pros Own 53% of E-filings | Tax Stats Still Playing Catchup | Tax Pros Take the Edge in E-Filings | Tax Pros Gain Ground, and DIYers Maintain Lead | Tax Pros Handle 46.4% of E-filing | Tax Refunds, Tax Pro Market Share Trending Up | Refunds Up as Tax Pros Tackle 41.5% of E-filings | Tax Pros Handle 37.7% of E-filings | Tax Pros File 33% of Early Returns
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With 10 days before deadline – as of April 5, the latest data available – the IRS received 101.9 million returns, up 0.5 percent from the same period the previous tax season. It processed 100.1 million returns, down 0.3 percent.
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Tax Pros Own 53% of E-filings

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data table

Most stats are on the plus side now.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

With just over two weeks before the nation’s major tax deadline, most statistics are landing on the positive side … finally.

MORE: Tax Stats Still Playing Catchup | Tax Pros Take the Edge in E-Filings | Tax Pros Gain Ground, and DIYers Maintain Lead | Tax Pros Handle 46.4% of E-filing | Tax Refunds, Tax Pro Market Share Trending Up | Refunds Up as Tax Pros Tackle 41.5% of E-filings | Tax Pros Handle 37.7% of E-filings | Tax Pros File 33% of Early Returns
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The IRS has received 90.3 million individual income tax returns as of March 29, the latest data available, up 0.2 percent from the same period in 2023. It has processed 88.8 million returns, down 1 percent.
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Tax Stats Still Playing Catchup

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data tableRefund numbers are down but amounts are up.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

The end is in sight. Documents are signed, buttons are pushed and tax returns are filed. The pile is growing smaller.

If you want optimism, don’t look at the latest Internal Revenue statistics. With the 2023 filing season opening Jan. 23 and the 2024 season kicking off Jan. 29, every week of 2024 reporting has seven fewer days of data than the corresponding period the previous year.

MORE: Tax Pros Take the Edge in E-Filings | Tax Pros Handle 46.4% of E-filing | Tax Refunds, Tax Pro Market Share Trending Up | Refunds Up as Tax Pros Tackle 41.5% of E-filings | Tax Pros Handle 37.7% of E-filings | Tax Pros File 33% of Early Returns
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As of the latest report, for March 22, the IRS had received 80.5 million individual income tax returns and processed 79.2 million returns, down 0.3 percent and 1.4 percent respectively from last year. The impact on your firm? Dare we say, none?

Perhaps you’ve been the beneficiary of another stat, though … the one showing tax professionals gaining ever more ground on the self-preparers.
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Tax Pros Take the Edge in E-Filings

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Refunds up 5+ percent.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

The machine that is the Internal Revenue Service keeps clicking along. As of March 15, the IRS had received 71.6 million individual income tax returns, down 0.4 percent from the same period in 2023, and had processed 70.6 million, down 1.2 percent.

MORE: Tax Pros Handle 46.4% of E-filing | Tax Refunds, Tax Pro Market Share Trending Up | Refunds Up as Tax Pros Tackle 41.5% of E-filings | Tax Pros Handle 37.7% of E-filings | Tax Pros File 33% of Early Returns
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E-filings

Electronic filings totaled 69.5 million, down 0.3 percent.
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Tax Pros Gain Ground, and DIYers Maintain Lead

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data table

Refunds are up over 4 percent.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

With about a month left in the 2024 tax season, the individual income tax returns keep pouring in, and the Internal Revenue Service keeps grinding them out.

The IRS had received 62.8 million returns, down 1.1 percent from the previous year, as of March 8, the latest data available. It had processed 61.9 million returns, down 2.1 percent.

MORE: Tax Pros Handle 46.4% of E-filing | Tax Refunds, Tax Pro Market Share Trending Up | Refunds Up as Tax Pros Tackle 41.5% of E-filings | Tax Pros Handle 37.7% of E-filings | Tax Pros File 33% of Early Returns
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E-filings

Electronic filings totaled 61.2 million, down 0.9 percent.
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Tax & Accounting Profession Keeps Growing

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Overall profession employment

 

More workers, with some making quite a bit more money.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

Winter doldrums didn’t seem to affect the tax and accounting profession, which saw several sectors hit new hiring highs in February.

Elsewhere in the nation, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 275,000 in February, nudging the unemployment rate up to 3.9 percent. Professional and business services saw little change for the month.

MORE: Accounting Hiring Hits Another High | Staff Wages Hit Record High | Despite Staffing Crunch, Firms Freeze Pay Raises | Tax & Accounting Firms Grow for 9th Straight Month | Tax & Accounting Profession Grows, but Wages Don’t | Tax and Accounting Pay Advancing at 5.9% Pace | Accounting Jobs Up 4% for Year
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Overall accounting profession employment at a record 1,163,600 was up 1,000 or 0.1 percent for the month and 29,600 or 2.6 percent for the year. Employees averaged 35.9 hours per week, down 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the month but up 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the year. Their earnings hit a new high of $41.41, up 21 cents or 0.5 percent for the month and 34 cents or 0.8 percent for the year.
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Revenue Growth Is Top Priority for Small Firms

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bar charts

Cost reduction? That’s on the list, too.

By CPA Trendlines Research

As in years past, CPA firms of all sizes are putting revenue growth at the top of their priority lists.

The rest of their priority lists tells how they plan to get there.

MORE: Survey Shows Challenges, Priorities Shifting | Survey Shows That Tech Remains the Great Divide | Will Unclogging the Accounting Pro Pipeline Kill Mobility? | Accountants Bullish on Income | SURVEY: Which Niche’s the Best Niche? | Ethics on Sustainability Puzzle Some Accountants | Accountants Hopeful, Concerned and Confused about AI
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According to the Wolters Kluwer 2024 Accounting Industry Report, 61 percent of responding firms – 90 percent of which are small firms – are primarily aiming at higher revenues and profits. That’s 11 percentage points above secondary goals.
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