tax season

tax season 2019 serves up a taste of the future

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“thirty percent of tax services will be obsolete in three years.”

robert hockensmith talks about tax season 2019 on local tv news in phoenix.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

this year’s tax season is giving tax preparers a taste of the future—a future where tax returns are both simpler and more complex.

according to data streaming into the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer survey, tax practitioners are just beginning to get a handle on the radical changes wrought by the tax cuts and jobs act—not just the technical changes to the tax code but the resulting changes to the business of tax preparation.

more: the biggest reason fraudsters run rings around the irs  | the big free-file flop | the demise of schedule a? | refunds still up, but only by 0.7% | survey: busy season goes sour | tax refunds up 1.7% | lessons learned: how the federal shutdown hit busy season 2019 | tax refund fury roils busy season | taxpayer advocate slams congress over funding

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robert f. hockensmith, cpa, ea, in phoenix, ariz., and a website site notably named azmoneyguy.com, offers a variety of tax and non-tax services, sums it up thus: “thirty percent of tax preparation will be obsolete in three years. clients will want advice and tax resolution more than preparation for 50 percent of taxpayers. and only 50 percent of all tax returns will be prepared by professional tax preparers.”

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the demise of schedule a?

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join the survey. get the results.

“if you charge by the form, schedule a’s are almost obsolete.”

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

with the countdown clock running down toward april 15, many tax professionals’ early-season optimism is turning into frustration and anger, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.

the latest readings from the tracking poll show:

  • only half as many professionals now predict “significant increases” in the number of clients, and who now expect a “significant decrease” has almost doubled.
  • the number of practitioners forecasting revenue gains has been cut in half.
  • the number expecting better profits than last year has been cut by a third.

what’s happening?

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the irs mess: taxpayer’s roadmap is a plumber’s nightmare

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fixing the irs: add your comments with the busy season barometer here.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

every year, the taxpayer advocate service, an independent agency within the internal revenue service, issues a report to congress on the 20 most serious problems taxpayers face in trying to fulfill their patriotic duty to fund their nation.

 

today’s bonus question: fixing the irs

more on busy season: fixing the irs: tax professionals speak out |  refunds rebound, up 1.3% from last year  | tax refund fury roils busy season |  irs in crisis: tax professionals bear the brunt  |  the tax season funnies: worst video game ever  |  taxpayer advocate slams congress over funding  |  1.6 million tax clients gone missing?  |  busy season: fear, hope & frustration  |  alternative minimum tax: what’s it like today? |  clients’ top worry: going broke  |  the latest rules on charitable donations |

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taxpayer advocate nina e. olson, who just this year announced her retirement from the agency, notes that identifying the 20 problems that are most serious is not objectively possible or even desirable. sometimes, for example, the problems are the same as those of previous years, so the legislated mandate allows for subjective decisions about what to include. read more →

fixing the irs: tax professionals speak out

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what accountants are saying, in a word cloud

“all it takes is money.” sounds easy? except for the politics.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

wow! we asked for it, and we got it: an avalanche of advice on how to fix the irs.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 has always received smart, candid, and often outspoken responses to our busy season survey—  thousands of tax preparers from sea to shining sea telling us what’s happening in their offices.

click here to open survey

more on busy season:  refunds rebound, up 1.3% from last year  | tax refund fury roils busy season |  irs in crisis: tax professionals bear the brunt  |  the tax season funnies: worst video game ever  |  taxpayer advocate slams congress over funding  |  1.6 million tax clients gone missing?  |  busy season: fear, hope & frustration  |  alternative minimum tax: what’s it like today? |  clients’ top worry: going broke  |  the latest rules on charitable donations  |  busy season: accountants worry for u.s. economy  |  tax shops bulk up for big busy season  |  busy season: the busiest ever? |  more real-time busy season coverage here

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but this year, halfway through the season, we asked a loaded question: how would you fix the irs? the professionals in the trenches of tax prep know what the problems are and what to do about them. they also seemed a bit miffed (to put it mildly) that the solutions seem so obvious, yet the problems keep compounding. read more →

refunds rebound, up 1.3% from last year

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blanton

but filing remains sluggish and tax pro market share loses 1.5 million filers.

busy season barometer
today’s bonus question: how to fix the irs?
join the survey. get the results.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

four weeks into tax filing season, we’re seeing some positives.

more: tax refund fury roils busy season | tax pro efiling drops 12.5% after shutdown  | tax shops bulk up for big busy season | 16 big questions for tax season
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is it a misleading positive because we’re just now seeing refunds that include the eitc and child tax credit? mmm, maybe. but after a gloomy first few weeks, we might be willing to take whatever good news we can get.

“we’re definitely off to a slower start this year.,” cpa and financial planner brian blanton in carmel, ind., tells the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer. “clients are behind in sending in tax information compared to last year.”
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irs in crisis: tax professionals bear the brunt

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join the survey. get the results.

america’s tax and accounting practitioners are suffering the brunt of the shortcomings at the irs. but the profession may have some of the solutions.

that’s why we’re asking in today’s bonus question:
how would you fix the irs?
join the survey. get the results.

special to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

national taxpayer advocate nina e. olson has issued to congress a scathing report on worsening dysfunction at the internal revenue service.

more on busy season 2019:  the tax season funnies: worst video game ever  |  taxpayer advocate slams congress over funding  |  busy season: fear, hope & frustration  |  alternative minimum tax: what’s it like today?  |  clients’ top worry: going broke  |  the latest rules on charitable donations  |  accountants worry for u.s. economy |  tax shops bulk up for big busy season  |  busy season: the busiest ever?  |  free to pro members: busy season 2019 trend report

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

the annual report to congress, mandated by law, presents a lurid indictment of an essential government agency that “is stretched to its breaking point.” read more →

1.6 million tax clients gone missing?

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chart of tax filing data for the week ending feb. 8, 2019
^ tax filing data for the week ending feb. 8, 2019

opening days show accountants filed only 40% of irs intake. blame the shutdown.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

the irs might have rushed into action as soon as the government shutdown ended, but it still is feeling the effects as all filing statistics remain on the downside two weeks in.

more: busy season: accountants worry for u.s. economy | tax shops bulk up for big busy season | busy season: the busiest ever? | survey: tax season launches with a whimper | 16 big questions for tax season | survey: tax accountants alarmed by tcja & shutdown

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as of the week ending feb. 8 – the latest data available – the internal revenue service had received 28.8 million returns, down 6.9 percent from the same week in 2018. it had processed 27 million returns, down 10.2 percent, for a processing rate of 93.8 percent.

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busy season: fear, hope & frustration

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how's busy season so far? join the survey. get the results.
join the survey. get the results.

accountants face angry, confused clients.

next question: what to tell clients?
join the survey. get the answers.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

america’s tax practitioners are in a swirl of fear, hope, and frustration as they recover from the irs shutdown, present their clients with the realities of the tax cut and jobs act, and scramble to deal with new regulations, unobtainable irs forms, obsolete software, and inevitable filing extensions.

more on busy season: accountants worry for u.s. economy  |  tax shops bulk up for big busy season  |  busy season: the busiest ever?  |  survey: tax season launches with a whimper16 big questions for tax season   |  survey: tax accountants alarmed by tcja & shutdown | shutdown: what to tell tax clients during “the lapse” | beware the leeches and consultants | charitable giving under tcja | why padding tax deductions is a risky proposition |  handling the delay in 199a regs |  survey: clients rush for tcja answers|

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

free to pro members: busy season 2019 trend report (log-in required)

the 2019 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer is forecasting a profitable year, but the higher revenues are coming with higher anxiety. read more →

busy season: accountants worry for u.s. economy

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卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer: the business & economic outlook

but upbeat on their clients’, their firm’s, and their families’ outlook.

today’s bonus question:
the tcja impact on your practice and your clients
join the survey: get the results.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

tax and accounting professionals are headed into the jaws of busy season 2019 fairly confident in the business and economic outlook for their clients, their firms and themselves – except they are distinctly negative on the direction of the nation’s economy as a whole, according to the latest readings from the annual 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.

more on busy season:  tax shops bulk up for big busy season  |  busy season: the busiest ever?  |  survey: tax season launches with a whimper16 big questions for tax season   |  survey: tax accountants alarmed by tcja & shutdown | shutdown: what to tell tax clients during “the lapse” | beware the leeches and consultants | charitable giving under tcja | why padding tax deductions is a risky proposition |  handling the delay in 199a regs |  survey: clients rush for tcja answers |

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

free to pro members: busy season 2019 trend report (log-in required)

with more than 475 practitioners reporting, 52 percent expect better times ahead for their firms, 37 percent see no change, and only 10% are bracing for declines, yielding a weighted average of about 2.4 on a five-point scale. read more →

busy season: the busiest ever?

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tax professionals expect a very busy busy season.

today’s bonus question:
the tcja impact on your practice and your clients
join the survey: get the results.

busy season barometer: 63 percent expect an increase in clients this year, and 78 expect higher revenues.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

one thing’s certain about the 2019 tax season: nothing’s certain.

the early results from the 16th annual 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer show tax practitioners hopeful but nervous.

more busy season:  tax season 2019 launches with a whimper  | 16 big questions for tax season  |  survey: tax accountants alarmed by tcja & shutdown  |  shutdown: what to tell tax clients during “the lapse”   |  beware the leeches and consultants   |  charitable giving under tcja  |  why padding tax deductions is a risky proposition  |  handling the delay in 199a regs |  survey: clients rush for tcja answers |goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

for many, the season seems to be shaping up for more clients and increased revenues. at the same time, however, practitioners are showing unprecedented concerns that instead of success, they could end up with a mess.

and mess or success, they’re in for a lot of work. read more →