tax season

at the irs, short on staff means short on service

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guess who suffers?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

it probably won’t surprise the average tax practitioner to learn that in the american customer satisfaction index of federal agencies, the internal revenue service ranks dead last.

more: tax pros offer advice for small businesses | busy season barometer finds many cpas in transition | marchternity: just say ‘no’ | news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good
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it accomplished the same dubious rank in forrest research’s u.s. customer experience index of 221 companies and federal agencies.

two sad things about this:
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what makes an excellent tax return reviewer

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bonuses: a 10-question test (and answer key), plus 18 other issues you might want to test.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

firms have to decide who will do the tax return review, and how qualifed they are for this. ideally, trained tax department personnel are the primary reviewers. however, the bunching and compression of work often shifts some of the review to higher level, non-tax personnel such as audit managers and partners who might not have the comprehensive training, background, knowledge and experience to handle everything that comes up during the tax preparation process.

more: ‘quick and dirty’ tax review | when returns should be submitted for review | tax follow-up worksheets can mean more revenue | stop tax return review shortcuts | routine is key to reviewing tax returns | seven types of tax return reviews
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

additionally, in many firms, almost everyone on the staff will prepare some returns to ease the almost insurmountable burden on the tax department. that lack of trained preparers, though, places an added burden on the reviewers, making it important for them to be more aware and alert when they perform the review.
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busy season barometer finds many cpas in transition

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join the survey. get the results.

dropping services … and clients. help wanted.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the 2023 cpatrendlines busy season barometer generally looks for the status of firms as they dig into this year’s tax filings. practitioners tell us how things are going, how well they’re doing, what their main concerns are and what they see happening in local and national economies.

more: more cpas see worsening economy | has early tax season optimism peaked? | marchternity: just say ‘no’ | marchternity: the solution is community | why the irs is still doing data entry by hand | news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good | why we all hate the tax code | how bullish are you this tax season? | accountants’ top problems for tax season 2023 | tax season 2023: better or worse?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

at the end of the survey, we ask what else we should know about their firms. this year, we’re receiving hints of firms in transition – slowing down, branching out, shifting gears, moving on, revamping business models and generally looking for a better business life.
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more cpas see worsening economy

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… especially for small businesses.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

accountants have a unique view of economies – local, national and micro. more than anyone else, they scrutinize numbers, the real numbers, the numbers that real companies and real families report. they see what’s really happening in black and white … and red.

more: has early tax season optimism peaked? | marchternity: just say ‘no’ | marchternity: the solution is community | why the irs is still doing data entry by hand | news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good | why we all hate the tax code
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

and what they’re seeing now, in terms of economics, according to latest results from the 2023 cpatrendlines busy season barometer, doesn’t look good.

the economic future didn’t look good when the first responses came in, and now it’s looking a little worse.
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irs processing returns as fast as it gets them

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data tablerefund numbers up 20+ percent, but average amounts still down.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

has the internal revenue service been bingeing nascar videos? the agency put the pedal to the metal in processing individual income tax returns, with an incredible current rate of 99.8 percent.

more: only 39% of tax returns filed by pros | tax season opens with refunds up 85%
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as of feb. 17, the latest data available, the irs had received 36.9 million individual income tax returns, up 2.6 percent from the same period in 2022, and processed 36.8 million of them, up 9.9 percent.
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has early tax season optimism peaked?

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add your thoughts.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

tax practitioners were looking a bit optimistic last month, according to the early results coming in to the 2023 cpatrendlines busy season barometer.

more: marchternity: just say ‘no’ | marchternity: the solution is community | why the irs is still doing data entry by hand | news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good | why we all hate the tax code | how bullish are you this tax season? | accountants’ top problems for tax season 2023 | tax season 2023: better or worse?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

but as the second wave of responses comes in, the early-bird optimism seems to be waning.

what’s happening?
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‘quick and dirty’ tax review

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… in 17 steps.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

everything i suggest in my handbook is recommended and works well. each firm will use and adopt what they want and what fits into their practice.

more: when returns should be submitted for review | 10 errors that ‘smart’ scanners make | tax: the procedural checklists your firm needs | the best way to review a tax return | why you can’t skip checklists | how to turn tax returns into new business
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

many times, i am asked for a quick down and dirty suggested review method, so i put the following together. this should not be a substitute for reading the handbook and considering all my recommendations. reviewing is a process, not a thing to do.
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only 39% of tax returns filed by pros

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data tablerefund amounts are down 14%.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the second week of tax season brought more double-digit increases over 2022’s pace for the same period.

more: tax season opens with refunds up 85%
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

according to the latest data, the internal revenue service has received 28.8 million individual income tax returns, up 9.1 percent. it has processed 26.6 million returns, up 13.6 percent.

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tax season opens with refunds up 85%

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data tablenearly two-thirds of returns have been self-prepared.

by beth bellor

the latest tax season is off to a roar, with refunds up 85 percent and processing up 29 percent above last year at this time.

more on tax season: more: marchternity: just say ‘no’ | marchternity: the solution is community | why the irs is still doing data entry by hand | news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good | why we all hate the tax code | how bullish are you this tax season? | accountants’ top problems for tax season 2023 | tax season 2023: better or worse?

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as of feb. 3, the end of the first week of collections, the irs had received 19 million individual income tax returns, up 13.5 percent from the same week in 2022. it had processed 16.8 million returns, up 29.1 percent.
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when returns should be submitted for review

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three times it’s appropriate.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

the workflow of returns submitted to reviewers needs to be managed, otherwise the reviewer could become overloaded with incomplete or partially completed returns waiting on additional information. this adds nonproductive work to the reviewer that can best be delegated to the preparer, who is actually delegating it to the reviewer, i.e., upward delegation, which makes no sense, or have it assigned to an administrative person for follow-up. for efficiency i suggest that the preparer is the best person to follow up and maintain control of the incomplete return.

more: 10 errors that ‘smart’ scanners make | three ways to improve tax returns | don’t use eyes, use brain | three types of tax return reviews | tax review procedures are your quality control | seven types of tax return reviews | how to turn tax returns into new business
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the firm mindset must be to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the reviewer. (i keep repeating this. this must be a top goal if you want to get the best that the reviewers can offer to you.)
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10 errors that ‘smart’ scanners make

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man staring at computer screen in shockdon’t have one? ask another firm for a demo.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

for those who haven’t tried them yet, smart scanners are a fabulous tool, which, if used correctly can save time and cost. the one thing they don’t do is check their work.

more: three ways to improve tax returns | tax follow-up worksheets can mean more revenue | stop tax return review shortcuts | routine is key to reviewing tax returns | seven types of tax return reviews
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

however, smart scanners do not need lunch or dinner brought into the office, don’t take coffee or smoke breaks and you don’t have to listen to how their weekend was. but they do organize the digital work papers on your internal filing system. nothing is perfect but many things are good enough and you just need to determine your tradeoffs.
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marchternity: just say ‘no’

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whether marchternity continues depends entirely upon you.

more on marchternity:
the solution is community, by liz farr

by seth fineberg
at large

after nearly three years of what many tax pros consider one of the longest tax seasons on record –- a.k.a. ‘marchternity’ –- one would think this season would be different.

more fineberg: what bogs down accountants | your classic business model won’t allow growth

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

to be sure, plenty of tax practitioners in late 2022 did indeed call the end of marchternity and look forward to some sense of normalcy, as much of what caused the extended tax season in the first place appears to have subsided. so, do tax pros expect this season to be different?

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