tax season

tax return filings still lag, but pros hold 57% of market

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chart of irs filing data for the week ended feb. 3, 2017
[click for larger image]

four days fewer in 2017 still skewing statistics.

the irs continues to churn back tax returns nearly as quickly as it receives them, while the percentage that were self-prepared is tracking higher than the same point last year.

more: tax filings down, but irs blames the calendar | survey results: bullish on busy season 2017 | 2017 fee survey: price for non-itemized 1040s advances 6% to $176
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with 20.18 million returns received as of feb. 3, the latest data available, the agency had processed 19.97 million or 98.9 percent of them.
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checklist: 46 avoidable tax-filing errors – if clients only knew

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tax season checklists: learn more

here’s a handy checklist to share with clients.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season checklists

taxes are hard enough without making avoidable errors. before clients file, they should double check to make sure they don’t make these errors. we often hand out this checklist to clients to avoid mistakes in advance.

  1. not signing the return (if you file paper copies)
  2. number transposition and spelling errors
  3. unchecked or unanswered questions
  4. entering incorrect or unpaid estimated tax payments
  5. missing pages in a paper filed return read more →

survey results: bullish on busy season 2017

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busy season bulls outnumber bears three to one. via 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

profession plows ahead with high hopes.

how’s your busy season so far?
join the survey; get the results.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

if expectations pan out, busy season 2017 might be a banner year, according to the first soundings from the 18th annual 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer. there’s optimism in the air.

a full fifth of respondents tell us they foresee a busy season “much better” than last year’s. and more than a third—36 percent—believe their season will be at least “somewhat better.” together these optimists make up 56 percent of respondents, more than three times the number who are dreading a tougher slog than last year.

more busy season: tax prep gets off to strong start  |  sample fee schedule for 1040s  |   tax filings down, but irs blames the calendar  |   survey results: busy season 2017 gets off to strong start   |   2017 fee survey: price for non-itemized 1040s advances 6% to $176   |   the annual tax meeting is dead. clients killed it.   |   reader sound-off: mandatory saturdays stir controversy    |   tax season opportunity kit free instant download   |   world envies low u.s. tax rates on luxury real estate transfers   |   the new small-business loophole you can drive a truck through

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

granted, that number isn’t as high as 2016’s, when 61% reported improvements over 2015, but 2015 was the infamous annus horribilis, the year of tax prep hell. it wasn’t hard to imagine the next year being better. so 2016 wasn’t so bad, making it surprising that so many see 2017 turning out even better. three upbeat respondents typify the three main causes of optimism.

read more →

tax filings down, but irs blames the calendar

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chart of tax filing data for week ending jan. 27
[click for larger image]

tax pros make up 38% of e-filings.

next question: how’s tax season so far?
join the survey; get the results

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

it’s a shiny new tax season, and that means more shiny new filing data from the irs.

more tax season 2017: free instant download: sample fee schedule for 1040s   |   tax filings down, but irs blames the calendar   |   survey results: busy season 2017 gets off to strong start   |   2017 fee survey: price for non-itemized 1040s advances 6% to $176   |   the annual tax meeting is dead. clients killed it.   |   reader sound-off: mandatory saturdays stir controversy

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

of course, since it comes from the irs, it also has its own set of footnotes and qualifiers. for one, even though we’re comparing the week ending jan. 27, 2017, with the week ending jan. 29, 2016, the 2016 figure included four more days of tax return processing – although when comparing identical numbers of days, 2017 marks an increase. for another, the new law requiring a hold on refunds involving the earned income tax credit and additional child tax credit until feb. 15 is skewing early season refund numbers and dollar amounts, because many taxpayers claiming these credits are early filers. read more →

survey results: busy season 2017 gets off to strong start

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join the survey. get the results.

i.d. theft and security issues emerge as top concern.

how’s busy season so far?
join the survey and get the latest updates

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

tax and accounting professionals are kicking off busy season 2017 with the highest confidence levels in years, but their optimism seems guarded and unsure, according to the latest results from the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.

see the charts below for additional detail. and stay tuned as the busy season unfolds. join the survey to get the latest updates.

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

so far, the survey shows that more than 58% of tax and accounting professionals expect a better season this year than in 2016, which, by comparison, was 61% cheerier than 2015.

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2017 fee survey: price for non-itemized 1040s advances 6% to $176

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national average fees for itemized form 1040 with schedule a and a state tax return. source: nsa

but some other prices are down.

next question: who’s succeeding with value pricing? 
join the survey; get the answer.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

the average fee for a professional to prepare and submit a form 1040 and state return with no itemized deductions will be $176 this year, according to a biennial survey conducted by the national society of accountants. the figure represents a gain of about 16 percent since the last survey in 2015.

more on pricing, fees & billing rates:  why offering packages can catapult your revenue  |  new survey finds widespread rate hikes in tax & accounting firms  |  client retention drives today’s pricing strategies  |  chaos in tax & accounting pricing  | tax & accounting firms wrestle fewer price increases from clients

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compared to two years ago, some prices rose and others dropped – a clear signal of volatility and pressure in the market. surveyed firms expected to increase their accounting service fees by an average of 6.1% in 2017, up from an actual increase of 5.3% in 2016.

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the annual tax meeting is dead. clients killed it. 

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four ways we’re better off without pre-scheduled client meetings.

by frank stitely

we had been scheduling tax meetings for over 20 years. we thought clients wanted them.

more: debunking the demise of the cpa firm | how to thrive as a 21st-century firm | farm-aid for accountants? | whittle down wip | the tax practice traffic cop
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they came because we told them to, not because they wanted to.

today, face-to-face meetings are so 1990s.

the tax meeting is dead.  clients – and maybe covid, too – killed it.

read more →

reader sound-off: mandatory saturdays stir controversy

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commenting on “mandatory saturdays,” clockwise from top left: stitely, boress, michel, evarts

is it work-life balance, or firm-employee balance?

sound-off: does your firm mandate saturdays?
join the conversation here.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

tax season has yet to start and already tempers are flaring in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 comments section as practitioners debate requiring staffers to work on saturdays during busy season.

more on staffing: making flex time work in the real world | guidelines for flexible work policies | do flexible hours help or hurt us? | survey: 97% of leading firms now offer flexible work arrangements | the 12 reasons your staff hates your firm | staffing: what cpa firms are learning the hard way

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

in “how to make mandatory saturdays a thing of the past,” 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 contributor jennifer wilson says the “cool firms” are eliminating the age-old practice nd replacing it with flex-time, work-at-home, and results-oriented strategies. still, she says, “i literally hear a gasp of surprise because it challenges one of the most fundamental elements of public accounting – tracking, measuring and valuing time.”

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survey results: tax software satisfaction ratings

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four software companies control more than 90 percent of the tax prep business. but which one has the biggest fans?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

for a more in-depth report, we recommend the tax software report: comparative intelligence for data-driven decision-making.

with only four companies already controlling 90 percent of the professional tax preparation software market, the competition is intense. to be sure, some 9 in 10 accountants can be counted on to renew year after year, giving vendors barely single-digit year-over-year percentage increases in organic revenue growth.

but with the advent of the cloud, evolving client needs, workflow innovations, and an uncertain outlook for a major tax code overhaul, this year could present a singular set of choices for tax professionals – and fresh opportunities for vendors.

four companies dominate the cpa tax software market:

  1. thomson, with ultratax and gosystem;
  2. cch, with prosystem, axcess tax, and atx;
  3. intuit, with lacerte, proseries and turbotax; and
  4. drake

in the rest of this report, based on a survey by the aicpa of its members, we provide additional detail on:

  • tax prep software market share
    • — overall
    • — small firms
    • — mid-size firms
  • likes and dislikes
  • product switching
  • best for a new practice
  • training, technology, and support

read more →