CHARTS & GRAPHS

Busy Season 2021 Gets Off to Weak Start

Filings trail 31 percent. Tax pro outlook looks glum.

Busy Season Barometer
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By Beth Bellor

Statistics for individual income tax return filings are virtually all in the red, with total returns received lagging 30.5 percent behind last year’s pace.

The 2021 Outlook: Worse and “Much Worse” than 2020

 

Meanwhile, tax professionals are lurching into the heart of the 2021 busy season with 43% forecasting a worse year ahead than last year’s COVID-ravaged season, according to the first respondents to this year’s annual CPA Trendlines Business Season Barometer. Only about 6 percent are expecting a “much better” year, and 19 percent a predicting a “somewhat better year. Join the Survey. Get the Results.

MORE on BUSY SEASON: Team Expectations: A Checklist for Busy Season | You’re Not JUST Taxes | The Happier, Saner, Richer Tax Firm | SURVEY: A Glint of Optimism for 2021 | PPP Traps: 1 in 5 Accountants Report Shady Dealings |

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The difference in the start dates of the tax seasons had a huge effect on the percentage changes in every category. In 2020, tax season began for individual tax return filers on Jan. 27, and in 2021 the IRS didn’t begin accepting and processing returns until Feb. 12.