Tax Pros Take Bigger Share of E-filings
Refunds up, but not by much.
By Beth Bellor
tax season
The Mystery of 10 Million Missing Tax Returns
While tax professionals’ efiling pace remains stalled, DIYer efiling grows by 4 million.
By Beth Bellor
Pros Filing More Returns than DIYers
… in the tax season that never ends.
By Beth Bellor
Bleak but slightly less so.
MORE: 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 | Tax Pros Trail by 908,000 Returns
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That’s probably the best way to categorize the trends in the most recent data from the Internal Revenue Service.
Tax Pros Hold Slimmest of Margins in E-filings
But those filings remain down 17 percent.
By Beth Bellor
Bright spots keep popping up in the Internal Revenue Service’s weekly data on filings. Yay!
MORE: 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 | Tax Pros Trail by 908,000 Returns | Tax Pro IRS Filings Lag by 532,000
Unfortunately, they’re in the same old spots: refunds (which don’t help overworked CPAs), IRS.gov traffic (maybe there’s where all the budget goes) and self-preparers (who even let them in?). Boo!
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Pro Tax Prep Stalls to a Crawl amid Covid-Extended Season
Pros hold the margin, but barely.
By Beth Bellor
New tax filing statistics show only a couple of upticks over last year: DIY e-filings and IRS website traffic, suggesting tax practitioners have hit the big “pause” button on Tax Season 2020.
MORE: 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 | Tax Pros Trail by 908,000 Returns | Tax Pro IRS Filings Lag by 532,000
Then again, if you’re in I.T. at the IRS, that might not be such happy news.
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Tax Pro E-Filings Down 20 Percent
IRS.gov visits top 1 billion.
By Beth Bellor
With two long months to go in this pandemic-stretched tax season, all the key figures are down, down, down … except visits to the IRS website, of course, and a flat spot for DIYers.
Will business pick up as states reopen? Or are the clients waiting in the wings the ones no one wants?
MORE: 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 | Tax Pros Trail by 908,000 Returns
The IRS had received 125.5 million individual income tax returns as of the week ending May 1, the latest data available, down 11 percent from the same period one year ago. It had processed 113.1 million returns, down 16.1 percent.
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IRS Web Traffic Doubles over Year-Ago
As filers seek stimulus checks.
BUSY SEASON BAROMETER
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By Beth Bellor
Want a bright spot in the IRS’ weekly updates on tax filings? It’s website traffic, more than double what it was a year ago.
MORE: 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 | Tax Pros Trail by 908,000 Returns | Tax Pro IRS Filings Lag by 532,000 | Tax Pro E-Filings Lag by 512,000 Returns | Tax Pros Kick into High Gear
Everything else? A sea of red.
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COVID Drowns IRS in New Filings
* Total includes returns filed to obtain Economic Impact Payments by those who would not usually file income tax returns.
Why not? Submissions are way down.
BUSY SEASON BAROMETER
How’s COVID-19 impacting your firm?
Join the survey. Sound off. Get answers.
By Beth Bellor
Coronavirus hit IRS data in a couple of ways this week.
People who don’t ordinarily file income tax returns, but did so to obtain economic impact payments, boosted filings higher than they might have been for the week ending April 17, the latest data. In addition, visits to IRS.gov shot up 77 percent over 2019 – the Get My Payment link surely was part of that picture.
MORE: 2020 Tax Season Comes to a Screeching Halt | The Tax Season 2020 Dumpster Fire | Tax Pros Fall Behind 6.2% in Returns Filed | Tax Pros Trail by 908,000 Returns | Tax Pro IRS Filings Lag by 532,000 | Tax Pro E-Filings Lag by 512,000 Returns | Tax Pros Kick into High Gear | Slow Start for Tax Pro E-filing | Data Points Down as Tax Season Opens | The Fight for New Tax Clients
The Internal Revenue Service reported receiving 116 million individual income tax returns, down 15.5 percent. It had processed 106.6 million returns, up 18.5 percent.
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The Tax Season 2020 Dumpster Fire
Coronavirus crushes tax prep.
How’s COVID-19 impacting your Busy Season?
Join the survey. Sound off. Get answers.
By Beth Bellor
Slammed by the COVID-19 crisis, Tax Season 2020 has gone off the rails.
Tax return filing activity is trending down, and who can blame filers? With an automatic three-month extension, those who owe taxes have no incentive to file anytime soon. And practitioners are consumed with protecting their firms and rescuing their clients.
MORE: Tax Pros Fall Behind 6.2% in Returns Filed | Tax Pros Trail by 908,000 Returns | Tax Pro IRS Filings Lag by 532,000 | Tax Pro E-Filings Lag by 512,000 Returns | Tax Pros Kick into High Gear | Slow Start for Tax Pro E-filing | Data Points Down as Tax Season Opens | The Fight for New Tax Clients
That may be impacting numbers for e-filings by tax professionals, which are down in double digits. Perhaps those whose dealings are complex enough to need assistance are seeking appointments in June now.
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