OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Tax Preparers Share Advice for Your Clients

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Man and woman at table in client meeting

Help them prepare for what’s to come.

Join the Busy Season Barometer. Get the results.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Accountants sound worried. When the 2025 Busy Season Barometer survey asked if anyone had advice on how small businesses should prepare for the next 12-18 months, almost half took the time to respond.

MORE Barometer: Staffing, Tech, Prices Top Tax Pros’ Concerns | Tax Pros Gear Up for a Better Busy Season
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Here’s a list of some of the more meaningful responses. Which would apply to your clients? Which should you share with them?

___ Figure out which labor-intensive functions they can automate ASAP. (Andrew Schwartz)

___ Take advantage of near-term opportunities with post-Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation (as they become clearer) and provide services/planning for more probable changes in taxes/economy for 3-5 year, 5-10 year and 10 year+ timeframes. (Anthony Aleta) READ MORE →

First Tax Filing Reports Are In

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data table
* Total tax returns processed includes returns received in the prior or current year and processed in 2025. # Total refunds issued represents refunds for returns received and processed in 2025, which reflects current year returns only. However, the number of direct deposit refunds represents refunds for both current and prior year returns processed in 2025, which makes this figure larger than the “total number of refunds” listed for the current year.

 

Refunds are up; everything else is down.

By Beth Bellor

The first week of tax season is over! Cue the applause!

Some of you seem less than excited. We know it’s early. All too early.

MORE: Steve Yoss: Unlocking Business Insight with Power BIs | Quick Tax Tip | More Than 1 Million ERC Claims Still Not Processed | Art Werner: The Godfather and Tax Issues | Quick Tax Tip | Advanced Tax Preparers Need Managing, Too | The Top Ten Problems the IRS Still Needs to Fix | Tax Pros Gear Up for a Better Busy Season | IRS Processing Up; Payouts Down | Help Tax Clients Help You | Four Challenges of Managing New Tax Preparers
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Still, it’s time to begin our weekly tally of how things are going, starting with 13.2 million individual income tax returns received as of Jan. 31, down 14 percent from the same period in 2024. The total returns processed was 11.7 million, down 15.8 percent.
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Accounting Profession Sees Some Job Losses

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line chart
Overall accounting profession employment

 

Payroll earnings up 11 percent.

By CPA Trendlines Research

A bit up here, a bit down there is the story for January employment figures, the most recent data available. Professional and business services saw little change, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 143,000 and the national unemployment rate ticked down to 4.0 percent.

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There are 1,144,700 people employed in the accounting profession as of January, up 600 for the month but down 9,500 or 0.8 percent for the year. They average 35 hours, down 6 minutes for the month and 1 hour or 2.8 percent for the year. They earn $42.79, up 12 cents for the month and $1.58 or 3.8 percent for the year.
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Staffing, Tech, Prices Top Tax Pros’ Concerns

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bar chart

 

Small businesses are advised to prepare for change.

Join the Busy Season Barometer. Get the results

By CPA Trendlines Research

If you think we’re in for a year of stability and calm, you haven’t been paying attention.

Whether you think the nation and the world are moving in the right direction or the wrong, one thing we can all agree on is: we’re in for some change.Join the survey

MORE: More Than 1 Million ERC Claims Still Not Processed | Art Werner: The Godfather and Tax Issues | Quick Tax Tip | Advanced Tax Preparers Need Managing, Too | The Top Ten Problems the IRS Still Needs to Fix | Tax Pros Gear Up for a Better Busy Season | IRS Processing Up; Payouts Down | Help Tax Clients Help You | Art Werner: Beneficial Ownership and Control | Four Challenges of Managing New Tax Preparers | IRS Funding Pays Eye-Popping 415x ROI | Tax Season 2025 Begins. Ready or Not. | Every Tax Reviewer Should Be Able to Answer These Ten Questions
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

If you need details on that, consider yourself lucky. Return to your cave and go back to sleep.

On the other hand, if you’re an accountant, you need to stay awake, monitor the political-economic-financial situation and keep your clients advised. They need you now more than ever.
READ MORE →