Here’s what you’re looking for: CPA Trendlines Research

CHARTS & GRAPHS

The Forecast: Partly Gloomy, Chance of Doom

Almost three in four accountants now foresee a deeper downturn for the U.S. economy.

It gets worse: Almost 25 percent of accountants forecast a “much worse” outlook for the nation’s economy over the next 12 to 18 months. And another 48 percent predict “somewhat worse.” (CPA Trendlines Research)

BUSY SEASON BAROMETER:
How accountants are battling the Coronavirus recession
Join the survey. Get the answers.

By CPA Trendlines Research

New CPA Trendlines 2020 Busy Season Barometer results bear bad tidings for CPA firms, their clients, and their families. The forecast is not good. Accountants know numbers, and the numbers they are seeing do not bode well.

MORE BUSY SEASON 2020: Busy Season Benchmarks in Free Fall | FIinal RS eFiling Stats: The End of Tax Season? | Say Hello to the New 24-Month Busy Season | 9 Big Ways the IRS Could Help Accountants | The Mystery of 10 Million Missing Tax Returns | Tax Pro E-Filings Down 20 Percent | IRS Web Traffic Doubles over Year-Ago | COVID Drowns IRS in New Filings |   Percent | IRS Web Traffic Doubles over Year-Ago | COVID Drowns IRS in New Filings | 2020 Tax Season Comes to a Screeching Halt | The Tax Season 2020 Dumpster Fire | Tax Pros Fall Behind 6.2% in Returns Filed
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As the U.S. braces for a summer surge in coronavirus infections, the economy is crashing – with GDP down at an annual rate of 33 percent last quarter, and a 10 percent drop from the first quarter – the worst declines in more than 70 years of record-keeping. And new jobless claims in the latest week rose by 867,000 to 17 million.

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CHARTS & GRAPHS

Busy Season Benchmarks in Free Fall

Major declines in all KPIs: Clients, revenues, profits, revenue per client, and profit per client.

BUSY SEASON BAROMETER:
How accountants are battling the Coronavirus recession
Join the survey. Get the answers.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Last year’s busy season was complicated, no doubt about it. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the IRS shut-down made life difficult for tax practitioners. But ultimately, they had a good year. A good 56 percent enjoyed an increase in clientele, and only 16 percent saw a decrease.

Flash forward to the annus horribilis, aka 2020. According to this year’s CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer, only 46 percent of accountants are gaining clients — a 10-point reversal from last year. And another 25 percent are losing clients – a 15-point swing from 2019.

MORE BUSY SEASON 2020: FIinal RS eFiling Stats: The End of Tax Season? | Say Hello to the New 24-Month Busy Season | 9 Big Ways the IRS Could Help Accountants | The Mystery of 10 Million Missing Tax Returns | Tax Pro E-Filings Down 20 Percent | IRS Web Traffic Doubles over Year-Ago | COVID Drowns IRS in New Filings |   Percent | IRS Web Traffic Doubles over Year-Ago | COVID Drowns IRS in New Filings | 2020 Tax Season Comes to a Screeching Halt | The Tax Season 2020 Dumpster Fire | Tax Pros Fall Behind 6.2% in Returns Filed
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It’s impressive that so many tax offices have actually expanded their clientele during such hard times. And it’s not surprising that so many have lost clients.

What happened?

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CHARTS & GRAPHS

Say Hello to the New 24-Month Busy Season

Deann Auman Hill and Mike Shost at AICPA Engage: “The 24-Month Tax Season?”

COVID chaos turns Busy Season 2020 from bad to worse.

BUSY SEASON BAROMETER:
How accountants are battling the Coronavirus recession
Join the survey. Get the answers.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Last year—the good old days!—Busy Season seemed to be about as bad as it could get. Congress enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act without explaining how it was to be enacted, and then changed some things. And then the IRS shut down before the rules could be set and the new forms and schedules made available. And all of a sudden it was April 15.

MORE on the 2020 SEASON: The Mystery of 10 Million Missing Tax Returns | Tax Pro E-Filings Down 20 Percent | IRS Web Traffic Doubles over Year-Ago | COVID Drowns IRS in New Filings | 2020 Tax Season Comes to a Screeching Halt | The Tax Season 2020 Dumpster Fire | Tax Pros Fall Behind 6.2% in Returns Filed
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Tax practitioners had little good to say about 2019. According to last year’s CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer, 46 percent said 2019 was worse than the previous year. Only 13 percent thought it was “much better.”

That was then.

This is now. And, now is worse.

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FEATURED

9 Big Ways the IRS Could Help Accountants

Number 9 created by gaps between many small green plastic 9'sDeadlines could change. So could options.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The Taxpayer Advocacy Service’s mission is to make life easier for taxpayers, but when it succeeds, it alleviates the burden on tax practitioners as well.

MORE: Flexibility in a Time of Pandemic | What Are IRS FAQs Worth? | The Top Six IRS #FAILS this Tax Season (So Far)
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With that mission in mind, the TAS has set itself a serious series of nine objectives for fiscal year 2021. Each one touches on the services of CPAs and tax practitioners, so it’s worthwhile to follow how successful the TAS is.
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