remember these nine tax season resources

happy family of four outdoors in winter clothing on snow

don’t take them for granted.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

we have many resources and need to recognize that. and we need to treat each with its own importance. even if you did everything yourself, you’d still need to rely on your tax software company, fedex and the postal service, stationery supplier, computer consultant, the internet and email, cell phone provider and copier/scanner machine. and that’s just a few of the resources we rely on. managing your resources well creates an aura of security and consistency to your practice.

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but there more. and they are often overlooked. or taken for granted. here are some more resources that need to be managed:
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tax pros handle 46% of e-filings

table of tax return data

individual refunds are up 6 percent.

by beth bellor

busy season is rolling along pretty much as usual.

more: tax refund totals up 10% | tax refunds plummet, but no worries | tax refunds up 18% early on | first tax filing reports are in
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as of feb. 28, the latest data available, the internal revenue service had received 52.4 million individual income tax returns, down 3 percent from the same period in 2024. it had processed 51.8 million returns, down 2.7 percent.
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teach time management and tax reviewing

man and woman looking down at document

avoid the dreaded “what’s the status of” questions.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

let’s discuss two training issues in detail: teaching time management and teaching review skills.

the biggest training gift that you can give your staff is time management training. you may want to offer formal training, but i have never found one that was really specific to cpa firms and the daily challenges we face.

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two time-management skills are at the heart of what cpa firms do. first, teach your staff task switching. by that i mean they shouldn’t get locked in on one type of task to the exclusion of others.
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forty services for your tax clients

woman and man shaking hands across a desk

who needs what? a checklist for making matches.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

the following listing can give you ideas of additional services clients might need.

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this list is not complete, but it is a good start for you to start thinking about what types of additional services you can offer to your clients!
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tax refund totals up 10%

tax pros hold 44 percent of the market, one-half percentage point less than a year ago.

by beth bellor

for the first time this busy season, the irs is reporting not just refund numbers and average amounts but also the total amounts refunded. it’s good news: up 10 percent for both total and direct deposit refunds.

more: tax refunds plummet, but no worries | tax refunds up 18% early on | first tax filing reports are in
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

as of feb. 21, the most recent data available, the agency had received 42.7 million individual income tax returns, down 4.2 percent from the same period in 2024. it had processed 42.4 million returns, down 3.8 percent.
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how to assign projects to staff

magnet drawing in three peoplesoftware helps, so here are three tips for choosing it.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

let’s talk about assigning staff to projects. understand that this discussion will mean nothing the first two weeks of april, when you may be assigning the family dog to some returns.

and that makes perfect sense in those circumstances. i’ve done worse. who knew that goldfish can’t type?

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there are two factors to consider in assigning a project to a staff member.

first, does your staff member have the technical capability to complete the project? some people are good at personal tax returns. others are good at business returns. a few rare, wonderful individuals are good at both.
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what cpa firms could do better

businessman looking thoughtful

survey respondents have specific suggestions.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

people at cpa firms generally think their practice is pretty effective at meeting its objectives with consistency over time.

but only 5 percent think their firm’s doing a great job. and about that many think their firm’s doing a somewhat lousy job.

more barometer: survey: which client industries will grow this year | tax preparers share advice for your clients | staffing, tech, prices top tax pros’ concerns | tax pros gear up for a better busy season | tax season 2025 begins. ready or not.
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the 2025 busy season barometer is finding that on a scale of 1 to 10, 45 percent of respondents would rate their firm at an 8 or better, and another 25 percent give their firm a so-so 7.
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tax refunds plummet, but no worries

data table
* total tax returns processed includes returns received in the prior or current year and processed in 2025. # total refunds issued represents refunds for returns received and processed in 2025, which reflects current year returns only. however, the number of direct deposit refunds represents refunds for both current and prior year returns processed in 2025, which makes this figure larger than the “total number of refunds” listed for the current year.

 

tax pros handling 41% of e-filings.

by beth bellor

refunds, the one bright spot of the 2025 tax season so far, have dropped, and not just a little – 31 percent and more.

more: tax refunds up 18% early on | first tax filing reports are in
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

of course the irs has an explanation. it’s a plausible one and, as usual, tied to timing.

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avoid the top 12 tax return preparation errors

red word "error"

the good news: they’re preventable.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

here are the top 12 tax return preparation errors:

  1. number transposition and spelling errors. this includes income and deduction amounts and client social security numbers, addresses and zip codes. spelling errors should also be avoided – they indicate a lack of attention to what you are doing.

more by ed mendlowitz
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  1. unreported 1099 income. clients frequently leave out 1099s, but the preparer should make sure all 1099 items from last year are accounted for. missing 1099s that were not final for last year should be accounted for.

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