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Heading into 2026, problems from the past several filing seasons are still unresolved.
By CPA Trendlines Research
The coming 2026 filing season is shaping up to be another high-stakes test of the Internal Revenue Service’s capacity to serve taxpayers and practitioners, with new reports from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration offering an unusually candid look at the agency’s most vulnerable operational seams.
Taken together, the findings forecast a filing season characterized by incremental improvements in training but overshadowed by enduring structural constraints in telephone service, submission processing, identity verification, and staffing.
Busy season 2026 clouded by regulatory shifts and client pressures.
Ready or Not: Less than half are ahead of last year’s preparation for Tax Season 2026. On the Front Lines: Clockwise from top left, Cicero, Saul, Krueger
By CPA Trendlines Research
Fewer than half of accounting firm leaders report entering the 2026 busy season in better shape than a year ago, according to the new CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer.
The readiness gap, evident across firm sizes and specialties, sets the tone for a season overshadowed by heightened concerns about tax law changes and mounting pressure on margins.
Key Players in Tax Planning: Clockwise from top left, Meyer, Beastrom, Argue, Alarie, Ali, Costanz
Once an add-on service for high-net-worth clients, tax planning is moving to center stage, powered by artificial intelligence and the profession’s accelerating shift to advisory from compliance.
Fresh evidence comes from TaxPlanIQ’s new partnerships with Liberty Tax and Elite Resource Team, which extend TaxPlanIQ’s reach from boutique firms to thousands of retail outlets and nationwide advisory networks. The deals show artificial intelligence transforming accountants’ handling of tax planning, strategy, and client communication.
“I can’t imagine a better thing to do than support accountants in that endeavor,” says Jackie Meyer, founder of TaxPlanIQ and CPA Trendlines contributor, positioning her company’s mission personally. TaxPlanIQ’s pitches ease of use. Just upload a 1040, surface strategies, and deliver a branded proposal that quantifies return on investment.
With Liberty Tax, the reach is in the mass market. With ERT, the audience is higher-value clients served by coordinated advisory teams. TaxPlanIQ claims $5 billion saved by clients identified through its system. More than 1,200 firms already use the platform, before the new partnerships,
Reaching for a $2.5 billion prize
The promise of the next evolution of tax planning is enticing, and the field is becoming more competitive by the month. The tax planning software market is projected to grow at a rate of 8% to 13% annually from 2026 to 2033, with the total market size expected to surpass $2.5 billion globally and $25 billion for the broader online tax software segment.
