Outlook 2026

Busy Season 2026: Firms Look to Pricing for Growth

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Revenues and client rosters outpace profit gains as firms battle cost pressures.

On the front lines (clockwise from left): Clockwise from left: Hall, Langworthy, Lenz, Kwiecinski, Dickerson

By CPA Trendlines

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CPA firms heading into the 2026 tax season expect revenue gains driven primarily by higher prices, not by adding clients, even as a majority anticipate another heavy extension season.

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MORE TAX, PRICING, and THE 2026 OUTLOOK

According to the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer, about 6 in 10 firms expect total revenue to increase this year, while roughly one-third expect revenue to hold steady. Profit expectations trail revenue slightly, a pattern that points to continued cost pressure even as clients and would-be clients clamor for more, and more high-end, services

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Outlook 2026: Agentic AI Reaches the Tipping Point in Tax and Accounting Firms

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AI-powered firms are closing books faster, reallocating staff time to higher-value work, and widening the competitive gap with slower adopters.

By CPA Trendlines Research
Cornerstone Report

As artificial intelligence transitions from a buzzword to a business imperative, CPA firms across the U.S. are quietly beginning to deploy generative AI assistants, machine learning tools, and “agentic” AI platforms to automate audits, prepare taxes, and provide financial insights.

With the astonishing surge in AI adoption, firm leaders say we’ve reached a tipping point where those not investing in AI risk being left behind.

MORE CPA Trendlines Cornerstone Reports

In this Cornerstone Report, accounting firms show how they are leveraging AI to transform their operations, the benefits and challenges they are encountering, and what it all means for the future of the profession, including:

  • Why AI adoption in CPA firms has hit a tipping point
  • How agentic AI is transforming tax, audit, and advisory work
  • The real productivity, ROI, and revenue gains firms are reporting
  • What AI means for staffing, skills, and firm economics
  • The risks, governance challenges, and regulatory implications ahead
  • How firm leaders can deploy AI without falling behind

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Return Season is the New Stress Test | ARC

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E-commerce growth forces firms to rethink accruals, margins, and sustainability.

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Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

Build a 7-figure firm in just 4 hours a week!

Holiday shopping has never been easier. With a few taps on a smartphone, consumers can buy gifts from bed, track deliveries in real time, and return unwanted items with minimal friction. But behind that convenience lies a complicated accounting reality—one that came into sharp focus during a recent episode of Accounting ARC.

MORE Accounting ARC: Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don’t Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn’t Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC | Free Speech Is a Right; Respect Is a Responsibility | Cash Bags, Casinos & Audits: How First Jobs Shape Us | Gen Z Redefines Careers | Bootleggers, Baptitsts & CPAs: Rethinking Licensure

Hosts Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Liz Mason, CPA, examine the financial, operational, and environmental consequences of e-commerce returns, using the holiday season as a lens to explore broader shifts in consumer behavior and business sustainability.

Industry research shows that nearly 25% of e-commerce purchases are returned after the holidays, compared with less than 9% of in-store retail purchases. For accounting teams, that disparity introduces volatility into revenue recognition, inventory valuation, and profitability forecasting—often at the worst possible time of year.

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Outlook 2026: Can Tax & Accounting Payrolls Keep Surging to New Highs?

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Record High: Tax and accounting industry hits 1,163,600 jobs, an annualized growth rate of 2%, and a new all-time high.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The full tax and accounting industry—which includes accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services—has hit a new record high with 1,163,600 jobs, representing an annualized growth rate of 2%, which is measurably stronger than the year-over-year 1.23% gain, according to new data examined by CPA Trendlines. But a choppy economy and political volatility have accountants and observers alike wondering if the trends can continue in 2026

MORE Staffing and Pay Trends

CPA offices managed to add 1,700 jobs over the past year, keeping the segment on a slow but positive trajectory. Employment at offices of certified public accountants is holding steady at 544,300 positions, matching the month-before figure. The revision from the previous estimate of 544,600 marks a modest 0.06% downgrade. The year-over-year trend improved slightly to 0.3%, up from 0.2% in the prior report. READ MORE →

Outlook 2026: Higher Tax Prices, Rising Strains, and a Widening Gap Among Firms

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The 2026 filing season will have an increasingly uneven pricing structure.

Busy Season Barometer: Most tax practices remain clustered below $1,500 in typical annual client fees. A smaller, higher-priced tier is emerging, characterized by minimum fees, selective client retention, and a stronger willingness to raise rates. Dig deeper, and the reality is even more nuanced.

By CPA Trendlines

Top-priced tax practices are driving typical annual client fees toward $3,000 and above this year, according to the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer survey, underscoring how rising costs are pressuring most firms even as a smaller group gains pricing power through scale, selectivity, and tighter engagement control.

JOIN the Busy Season Barometer survey. Get the results. | MORE TAX and PRICING

One CPA respondent put it bluntly: “We are raising rates again this year. Some clients will leave. That’s fine. We can’t keep doing $400 returns when staff wages keep rising.” Another practitioner described a more selective approach: “We didn’t raise everyone equally. We raised prices where the work was painful and left simpler clients mostly alone.”

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