TAX

Four Times to Spend Time on Tax Question Research

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businessman entering number on desk phone

Sometimes “quick and easy” isn’t, but it’s still worthwhile.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide

I keep a few of the one-volume tax guides in my office so I could look up a quick answer when I need to. Recently a golf buddy emailed me a question that I thought I could answer quickly. He wanted to know that if he was in the “zero” percent capital gains tax bracket, did that apply to an unlimited amount of capital gains? Sounds like a simple question.

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Well I looked it up online and then in three one-volume tax guides. Only one source had thorough coverage of the issue. I ended up spending an hour on this “simple” question including my emailed response. Nothing is simple anymore. 
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Busy Season 2026: Chaos Looms as DOGE Cuts and OBBBA Changes Collide

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Downsizing and backlogs become national policy.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The Internal Revenue Service is heading into the 2026 filing season with fewer employees, more complex tax law changes, and less capacity to resolve problems when returns go wrong — a combination federal watchdogs say will leave tax professionals managing the fallout even as headline service metrics appear stable.

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National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins says most taxpayers with straightforward, electronically filed returns should see few disruptions. But she warned that the true test of the filing season will be how the IRS handles the millions of returns that require human intervention — at a time when the agency’s workforce has been cut by more than a quarter.

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With Congress Stalled, Tax Professionals Take Control of Preparer Standards

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Why Tax Pros Are Imposing Standards on Themselves.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Scott Artman, NATP: New credentialing program

As the 2026 filing season begins, the National Association of Tax Professionals is launching a formal credentialing program for taxpayer representation.

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The NATP is stepping into a regulatory void left by years of congressional inaction, leaving more than 500,000 paid preparers operating without national standards, even as IRS and GAO data show higher error rates on paid-prepared returns than on do-it-yourself filings, and Congress is delaying action.

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The IRS in 2026: Quiet Backlogs, Harder Fixes, and Late Guidance

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Less capacity, more obligation.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Identity theft is becoming one of the biggest time drains for tax professionals this filing season, and the IRS may be less equipped than ever to handle it.

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According to the IRS Advisory Council—the body representing tax professionals—identity-theft refund cases now take nearly two years to resolve, as staffing cuts and system limits slow IRS response.

But identity theft is only one of a long list of problems that can only get worse this year. Tax professionals are bracing for prolonged client disputes and frustrating follow-ups with an understaffed, ill-equipped IRS.

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Six Times to Pick Up the Phone This Tax Season

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Businessman talking on phone in the office

The personal touch goes a long way toward client retention.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide

Clients are not numbers on a list that needs to be reduced. They are all individuals and consider themselves very important people and want professionals who treat them accordingly.

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It is attitudinal and accountants must adopt that mindset and transmit that through to their culture. So you need to know when it’s essential to pick up the phone.

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