busy season 2026 clouded by regulatory shifts and client pressures.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
fewer than half of accounting firm leaders report entering the 2026 busy season in better shape than a year ago, according to the new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.
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the readiness gap, evident across firm sizes and specialties, sets the tone for a season overshadowed by heightened concerns about tax law changes and mounting pressure on margins.
the survey shows that only a minority of respondents say they are ahead of last year’s preparations. the rest acknowledge they are either in the same place or worse off. that split highlights an unsettled profession.
“we are stratifying clients into immediate extension buckets,” says kurt krueger, a partner in the cpa group, with 1,800 clients in his book, based in monett, mo., northwest of branson. “that’s the only way to stay sane.”
the weight of this year’s chief concerns amplifies the readiness gap. when asked what keeps them up at night, the largest share — by a wide margin — cite tax code and regulatory changes. staffing shortages place a distant second, followed by client lateness, pricing pressures, and technology issues. even concerns that have loomed large in past seasons, such as cybersecurity or late k-1s, were far outpaced by anxiety about the new tax law.
“tax advisory and preparation is our bread and butter, but the constant shifts are wearing us out,” says dean saul, who runs a solo practice in lewisville, texas, north of dallas, serving about 100 individuals and 10 businesses. “i spend more time keeping up with congress than keeping up with clients.”
tax law changes top the worry list
that sentiment echoes across firm sizes. the danger is systemic for thomas cicero, a partner and senior executive at dhjj cpas, a firm outside chicago in naperville, ill., with more than 100 staff. “late and erroneous k-1s we can manage. but new regs? that changes the whole workflow.”
the contrast in frequency is stark. tax law changes dominate the concern list, cited at roughly twice the rate of staffing shortages and far ahead of other issues. the gap underscores the singular impact of washington’s pen strokes on main street accountants.
expectations for metrics in 2026 are equally revealing. asked to project performance on measures such as total revenue, profit, and number of clients, many respondents anticipate sideways movement or outright declines. optimism is muted. revenue per client and profit per client are particularly vulnerable, with many signaling they expect those figures to drop.
for some firms, the downward expectations are a function of pricing pressure. “we’ve raised fees, but not enough to offset the complexity,” says jim o’toole, who serves about 650 individual clients and 100 businesses from bayside consulting in tuckerton, n.j., north of atlantic city.
reducing ‘confusion’
for others, it is a function of volume. a senior partner in a nonprofit-heavy practice projected that client counts would rise but profitability would lag, saying, “we’ll work more, earn less. that’s the trajectory.”
even among those projecting flat results, the mood is cautious. a large firm controller with over 100 employees, serving hundreds of businesses, described the outlook as “sideways at best,” pointing to client delays and software problems that often turn january optimism into march headaches.
to be sure, practitioners are not standing still. they are experimenting with both incremental changes and structural adaptations. automation, alongside staffing moves and client management strategies, appears as a common theme. krueger, who manages 1,800 clients, says his firm is experimenting with live onboarding to “reduce confusion.”
readiness gaps
others point to workflow redesigns.
“we are using more automation–we hope,” says one midsize firm manager.
“added a new staff member. moved to larger offices,” another reports.
and in a particularly telling line, saul answers simply: “sanity breaks.”
these voices illustrate the numbers. firms recognize the gaps in readiness and take tactical steps to close them, but the scale of the challenges remains large. regulatory demands and client unpredictability offset technology investments and staffing hires. the demographic data behind these responses makes a sharper point about the contrast. the burden of compliance shifts is particularly heavy among solo practitioners, who report typical annual client fees in the $2,000 range. larger firms, with hundreds of clients and more diversified revenue streams, express more concern about staffing shortages and pricing pressures.
across the board, though, tax law change is the one worry that unites them. client loads underscore the pressure. respondents report serving dozens to thousands of clients, spanning individuals, businesses, and nonprofits. krueger’s 1,800 individual clients and 800 businesses represent one end of the scale. saul’s 100 individuals and 10 businesses illustrate the other. in both cases, tax preparation dominates the revenue model. in both cases, margins are described as tightening.
‘sideways’ every day
the reports of annual fees also highlight disparities. median client payments fall in the mid-thousands, but the range is wide. that variability makes pricing decisions fraught. some firms see an opportunity to raise fees, while others fear client attrition. this divergence feeds directly into the mixed expectations on metrics.
what emerges is a profession that is adapting, but under strain. less than half say they are ahead of last year, and far more cite tax code headaches than any other issue. expectations for revenue and profit lean negative, and many acknowledge they will be doing more work for less return. the measures they plan to adopt — automation, staff changes, workflow redesign — are all attempts to manage within those constraints rather than escape them.
the outlook sections of the survey, where practitioners assess business conditions over the next 12 to 18 months, carry that same cautious tone. yes, there’s optimism, but it is tempered by memories of past seasons and awareness of policy risks ahead.
“sideways is the new up,” one respondent remarks.
the biggest gulf lies between the dominance of regulatory concerns and the smaller, though still meaningful, worries about staffing, pricing, and competition. the readiness split reinforces it, with a minority feeling better prepared, while the rest face the season bracing for impact. and the financial expectations show more leaning toward flat or negative than toward growth.
the words of practitioners themselves may capture it best. “we’ll work more, earn less,” says o’toole.
when set against the hard numbers, these remarks describe an accounting profession at once pragmatic and weary, pushing forward into another tax season under the weight of rules, clients, and the simple arithmetic of hours versus dollars.
one response to “barometer: firms brace for a tough tax season”
drcfo
well, it’s their own damn fault! they never push back on stupid legislation because they are more interested in profits from more complex tax calculations. nevertheless the weight of complexity is now having it’s say. cpas push back on stupid legislation, collectively you have power.