CHARTS & GRAPHS

Tax & Accounting Profession Grows, but Wages Don’t

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Total employment at tax, accounting, payroll, bookkeeping and related businesses hits a record high of 1,166,700 jobs.

Tax preparation and payroll services are exceptions.

By Beth Bellor

Are there really staffing shortages? Employment numbers in the accounting profession keep rising.

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Perhaps they could be rising even faster if the right people met the right spots – or the right incentives, according to a new CPA Trendlines analysis.

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Tax and Accounting Pay Advancing at 5.9% Pace

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Payroll services hours take some wild swings.

By Beth Bellor

What would help recruit more people to the accounting profession? How about that trusty standby, more money?

Most accountants are bringing home more in hourly earnings, according to the latest available data.

MORE on JOBS: What an A.I.-Powered Workforce Means for Accountants | New Businesses Mean New Business | Accounting Jobs Up 4% for Year |

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For the accounting profession overall, hourly earnings hit a new high at $41.39, up 35 cents or 0.9 percent for the month and $2.32 or 5.9 percent for the year. Staff earnings hit a new top mark at $31.76, up 20 cents or 0.6 percent for the month and $1.64 or 5.4 percent for the year.
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Accounting Jobs Up 4% for Year

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Payroll services up over 7 percent.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

Employment in the accounting profession continues to climb, according to the most recent federal jobs data. New highs were set in

  • employment overall and for staff, CPA firm staff, payroll, payroll staff, bookkeeping and women
  • earnings overall and for staff, and for payroll staff

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Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 339,000 in May, with the unemployment rate ticking up by 0.3 percentage point to 3.7 percent. The professional and business services sector added 64,000 jobs, similar to April.
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Tax Pros File 54% of Season’s Returns

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Refunds down over 7 percent.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

The IRS issued its last weekly update of the spring and every figure but one was down for the year.

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The agency received 142.6 million individual income tax returns, down 1.2 percent from the same week the previous year. It processed 140.2 million returns, up 0.5 percent, the only positive note in the report.
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Accountants Raise Alarms on Small Business Outlook

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The Avalara Accountants Confidence Report points to difficulties ahead for small businesses to access capital, increase profits, raise revenues, hire new employees, and control costs.

Looking ahead 12-18 months, accountants expect increasingly acute hardships, led by problems in accessing fresh capital, hiring, and managing labor costs. But new technology and automation could help cushion the pain for some.
https://cpa.click/smb23outlook
Click to download (PDF 19 pages)

Avalara, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based tax compliance automation for businesses of all sizes, released a new survey of over 500 Main Street accountants representing more than 100,000 small businesses.

Survey responses revealed that looming economic headwinds could create challenges for small businesses in the next 12–18 months. The survey, conducted during the 2023 tax season, shows that accountants believe small businesses will face challenges in accessing fresh capital, increasing profits, managing payroll costs, weathering supply chain difficulties, and hiring new staff.

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The Avalara Accountants Confidence Report

The 2023 Avalara Accountants Confidence Report, produced in conjunction with CPA Trendlines, queried trusted advisors with clear insights into the financial health of small business clients. The report measures accountants’ attitudes and outlook on a variety of pressing issues, leading with sentiment on the health of small business clients, and providing a read on the national economy and the state of smaller accounting practices. Accountants were surveyed as they combed through business clients’ financials and prepared their tax returns.

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Pros End Tax Season Filing 53% of Returns

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In sheer numbers, they fared the same as last year.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

The April 18 deadline for individual income tax returns came and went, leaving a scattering of negative figures in its wake. The largest ones had dollar signs attached: average refunds down nearly 9 percent, total refunds down 11 percent.

MORE: Tax Refunds Down 8 Percent | Pros Filing 54% of Individual Tax Returns | Average Tax Refunds Down 10% | Tax Pro E-filings Up 3% | Pros Handle 45% of Income Tax Returns | Only 39% of Tax Returns Filed by Pros | Tax Season Opens with Refunds Up 85%
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The Internal Revenue Service received 137.1 million returns, down 1.3 percent from 2022, according to data released for the week ending April 21. It processed 134.7 million returns, up 0.7 percent – the only positive in our report.
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Tax Refunds Down 8 Percent

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table of IRS weekly tax season dataPros handle 55 percent of e-filings.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

The Internal Revenue Service has a little less to do than usual.

MORE: Pros Filing 54% of Individual Tax Returns | Average Tax Refunds Down 10% | Tax Pro E-filings Up 3% | Pros Handle 45% of Income Tax Returns | IRS Processing Returns as Fast as It Gets Them | Only 39% of Tax Returns Filed by Pros | Tax Season Opens with Refunds Up 85%
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With four days left in the season – as of April 14, the latest data available – the agency has received 117.3 million individual income tax returns, down 4.3 percent from the same period in 2022. It has processed116.2 million returns, down 2.2 percent.
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Pros Filing 54% of Individual Tax Returns

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data tableTotal refunds down 10 percent.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

With 11 days to go in the tax season, the Internal Revenue Service was seeing red. Only two of its weekly data points were on the plus side, and those at less than 1 percent.

MORE: Average Tax Refunds Down 10% | Tax Pro E-filings Up 3% | Pros Handle 45% of Income Tax Returns | IRS Processing Returns as Fast as It Gets Them | Only 39% of Tax Returns Filed by Pros | Tax Season Opens with Refunds Up 85%
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The IRS received 101.3 million individual income tax returns as of April 7, the latest data available. That’s down 1.9 percent from the same period in 2022.
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