charts & graphs

irs processing up; payouts down

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data table

figures for 2024 topped those of 2023 until it came to refunds.

by beth bellor

as the 2025 busy season kicks off and we wait for the first individual income tax return reports to trickle in, let’s take a peek at how the last drips of 2024 compared to the dregs of 2023.

more: tax pros are making changes for a better busy season | 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 | art werner: corporate transparency act and fincen reporting | taxpayer advocate sees big improvements at irs | ask tax clients the right questions | major changes to circular 230: implications for tax professionals | cornerstone report | art werner: due diligence and irs enforcement | make ‘done but’ tax returns a thing of the past | six methods for getting paid faster this tax season | use humor to get tax documents in early
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

by the end of 2024, the internal revenue service had received 163.5 million returns, up 0.9 percent from the end of 2023. it had processed 163.5 million returns, up 0.3 percent, which included returns received in the prior or current year and processed in the calendar year.
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show us the money! accountants are making more

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young woman holding giant dollar sign in modern office

want to retain employees? here’s one way.

by beth bellor

more money. that’s what the latest data show for the accounting profession.

the final jobs report of 2024 saw the accounting profession’s numbers slip a bit, but the bodies in those seats were pulling down record earnings. employees in the profession overall, at cpa firms and non-staff in payroll services saw their highest hourly wages ever.

more: survey says 57% of firms are raising prices next year | how accounting firms are handling the staff shortage | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board | despite staffing crunch, firms freeze pay raises
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and about time! we heard the call for better compensation in the most recent rosenberg national survey of cpa firm statistics.
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twelve years and out: seasoned accountants join the exodus.

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no longer a problem confined to just new talent or middle managers.

where they go: the biggest slice, 19 percent, goes into finance, followed by business and operations. (via live data)

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

in a startling shift, thousands of highly experienced top-level accountants are leaving the field mid-career, challenging the long-held view that the staffing crisis is limited to new graduates or middle managers.

related: middle managers getting squeezed | explaining the talent shortage in one big chart | salary and compensation outlook for small cpa firms | gen ai in accounting: epic transformation, or overheated hype? | more: the talent crisis | download the national pipeline advisory group report

for many accountants on the edge of transition, the coming years will determine whether the profession can reinvent itself to retain the trust of its workforce or continue to lose ground as one of america’s fundamental professions.

read more →

main street accountants see turbulence ahead for small business

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the avalara accountants confidence report points to difficulties.

via avalara

nearly 50 percent of accountants surveyed believe the outlook for over 80,000 small business clients they represent will turn sour over the next 1avalara (prnewsfoto/avalara, inc.)2 to 18 months, according to a new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 study conducted with avalara, the sales tax automation provider.

full report: download (pdf)

fielded during the 2024 tax season, the survey shows accounting professionals flashing warning signs around key business issues, leading with clients’ abilities to hire and retain employees, manage costs and price increases, and keep up with technology changes ushered in by artificial intelligence. read more →

student accounting enrollment shows third year of recovery | cornerstone

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but

new data from the national student clearinghouse research center shows a 12 percent increase in fall 2024 accounting enrollment compared to fall 2023. the increase amounted to an additional 28,672 students.

total undergraduate accounting enrollment for fall 2024 was 267,278 students, the highest accounting enrollment reported since fall 2020 (263,092 students) and just shy of the pre-pandemic fall 2019 enrollment (275,963 students).

understanding the inflection points
in number of cpa exam candidates

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 cornerstone report

the key factors contributing to the ups and downs – mostly downs in the last three decades – of cpa exam candidates reflect broader trends in the economy, regulatory environment, and demographic landscape.

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payroll leads job gains in tax & accounting sector

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line chart
overall accounting profession employment

 

everyone is earning more this month, and most downs are slight.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the tax and accounting profession is not a bad place for job seekers, it seems. a new analysis by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 shows a lot of up notes, including some in the double digits.

more on jobs: let interns fix the staffing shortage? | accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally | accounting hiring hits another high | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff? | staff wages hit record high | despite staffing crunch, firms freeze pay raises | tax & accounting firms grow for 9th straight month | tax & accounting profession grows, but wages don’t
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

new highs are coming in:

  • the accounting profession overall
  • staff earnings
  • payroll staff
  • payroll staff earnings
  • women overall and in cpa firms

read more →

tax pros close season handling 53% of e-filings

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data table

the mark has been steady for three years now.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

april 15 has come and gone. finally, tax season is over!

hahaha! sure, it’s true for the 140 million+ represented on the returns filed so far, but it doesn’t speak to their neighbors who aren’t quite there yet. you know, the ones you filed extensions for.

more: tax refunds up about 4% | tax pros own 53% of e-filings | tax stats still playing catchup | tax pros take the edge in e-filings | tax pros gain ground, and diyers maintain lead | tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

still, it’s a national touchpoint, so let’s take a peek at the data the irs just released for april 19, just after the deadline.
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let interns fix the staffing shortage?

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source: iia

critical demand for data analytics, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence skills.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

internships could play a pivotal role in addressing the talent needs of the profession, according to a new study.

more in talent & career development: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | why would anyone become a cpa? | five questions about facing challenges | it’s time to prepare the next generation | fifteen strategies for first-time supervisors | measure knowledge gaps (then close them)

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

with 74 percent of internships designed to lead to permanent employment, these programs are not just supplemental but foundational to preparing students for professional roles.

still, only 28 percent of college programs make internships integral to the curriculum. read more →

tax refunds up about 4%

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data table

visits to irs.gov top half a billion.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the tax season has overcome its later start, with all the irs’ weekly markers surpassing 2023 figures except for the total numbers of refunds and direct deposit refunds.

more: tax pros own 53% of e-filings | tax stats still playing catchup | tax pros take the edge in e-filings | tax pros gain ground, and diyers maintain lead | tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as of april 12, the latest data available, the agency had received 119.6 million individual income tax returns, up 1.9 percent from the same period one year ago. it had processed 118.1 million returns, up 1.7 percent.
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tax refund numbers down, amounts up

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data table

tax pros handled 54% of e-filings.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

more than 100,000 individual income tax returns have flowed in and out of the internal revenue service, and for the most part, we’re slightly ahead of the 2023 season.

more: tax pros own 53% of e-filings | tax stats still playing catchup | tax pros take the edge in e-filings | tax pros gain ground, and diyers maintain lead | tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

with 10 days before deadline – as of april 5, the latest data available – the irs received 101.9 million returns, up 0.5 percent from the same period the previous tax season. it processed 100.1 million returns, down 0.3 percent.
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tax pros own 53% of e-filings

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data table

most stats are on the plus side now.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

with just over two weeks before the nation’s major tax deadline, most statistics are landing on the positive side … finally.

more: tax stats still playing catchup | tax pros take the edge in e-filings | tax pros gain ground, and diyers maintain lead | tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the irs has received 90.3 million individual income tax returns as of march 29, the latest data available, up 0.2 percent from the same period in 2023. it has processed 88.8 million returns, down 1 percent.
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tax stats still playing catchup

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data tablerefund numbers are down but amounts are up.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the end is in sight. documents are signed, buttons are pushed and tax returns are filed. the pile is growing smaller.

if you want optimism, don’t look at the latest internal revenue statistics. with the 2023 filing season opening jan. 23 and the 2024 season kicking off jan. 29, every week of 2024 reporting has seven fewer days of data than the corresponding period the previous year.

more: tax pros take the edge in e-filings | tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as of the latest report, for march 22, the irs had received 80.5 million individual income tax returns and processed 79.2 million returns, down 0.3 percent and 1.4 percent respectively from last year. the impact on your firm? dare we say, none?

perhaps you’ve been the beneficiary of another stat, though … the one showing tax professionals gaining ever more ground on the self-preparers.
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tax pros take the edge in e-filings

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data table

refunds up 5+ percent.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the machine that is the internal revenue service keeps clicking along. as of march 15, the irs had received 71.6 million individual income tax returns, down 0.4 percent from the same period in 2023, and had processed 70.6 million, down 1.2 percent.

more: tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

e-filings

electronic filings totaled 69.5 million, down 0.3 percent.
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