Single-Owner Firms Trail Bigger Competitors in Tax Prep

z_tax tougher year for sllos vs othersAnalysis shows smaller firms having the most trouble.

CPA Trendlines Research

CPA Trendlines’ surveys reveal a panoply of gripes from sea to shining sea about tax season: Affordable Care Act. New regulations. Computers. Clients. Even health problems and weather problems can seem worse.

And who are suffering the most? Solo practitioners, the ones with the gumption to go it alone, the ones who can’t stop working on tax returns to fix a computer, go to a doctor, shovel some snow, or explain federal forms to a client.

Then again, there’s John Briggs, president of Incite Tax, a small but growing firm in Sandy, Utah, reporting a 2015 season of glee. “Referrals keep pouring in. We took on 92 new clients just during the tax season. Add that to 81 new clients we added between last busy season and January 2015, and we have a total of 173 new clients. Regulatory issues lead to opportunities.”