卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer: modest gains, mixed outlook, cautious tech upgrades ahead
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the 2026 tax season shows some gradual improvement for certain firms, but most practitioners report conditions that remain largely unchanged from a year ago, according to the latest data from the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.
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more tax season 2026
the good news is: 2026 hasn’t turned into the disaster some were expecting with a new tax law and diminished irs. the bad news is: 2026 is turning into a relatively routine year — without the advances in workflow or the better margins from higher-value services that some were hoping for.
“clients have come in significantly later than last year,” says frank stitely, managing member of stitely & karstetter cpas in chantilly, va., and the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 best-selling author of the relentless cpa and turbocharge your profits. “the reason is that clients don’t care about their taxes during times of unrest and upheaval. they are too busy doomscrolling. by the end of march, we saw our numbers trend back up to normal levels. by april, the industry’s return filing numbers will have evened out. it’s another needlessly wild tax season ride driven by clients. for now, the ai tools available don’t do much beyond research. the scan-and-populate ai tax-prep software was largely a bust this year.”
overall, 36% of respondents say this busy season is better than last year, including 8% who say it is “much better” and 28% who say “somewhat better.” however, 44% say it is about the same, and 20% report a worse season, leaving a clear majority—64%—experiencing flat or declining conditions.
“it’s not worse, but it’s not better in any meaningful way,” one practitioner tells 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. another adds: “we’re moving, but not forward.”
small firms, high volume
most responses come from small firms. 79% report having 10 or fewer staff, while 11% fall within the 11–50 range and 10% in the 51–100 range. leadership participation is high, with 74% identifying as owners, ceos, or managing partners and 26% as partners or senior executives.
nearly all respondents—95%—operate in public accounting, with 58% mainly focused on tax preparation and planning, 21% on bookkeeping, and 15.8% on client advisory services.
workloads remain high. firms report average client loads of around 600 individual clients, 195 business clients, and 44 nonprofit clients, reflecting the heavy workload condensed into the filing season.
“we’re handling hundreds of returns in a tight window,” one practitioner says. that hasn’t changed.”
clients set the pace
when asked about the biggest challenge this season, respondents overwhelmingly point to clients. 46% cite late or unprepared clients as the top issue, far more than any other issue.
other challenges include irs-related issues at 23%, delays or inaccuracies in forms such as k-1s and 1099s at 22%, and tax law complexity at 5%.
“clients are still the bottleneck,” one practitioner says. “we can only move as fast as they do.” another adds, “the returns aren’t harder—they’re just later.”
expectations: slight gains, limited declines
when asked about expected year-over-year changes in key metrics, firms generally anticipate modest gains.
for client numbers, 14% expect a significant increase of over 10%, and 33% expect a smaller rise of 5% to 10%. about 29% foresee little change, 19% expect a 5% to 10% decline, and 5% anticipate a larger drop.
for total revenue, expectations are more optimistic: 14% foresee a big increase, 43% anticipate some growth, 24% expect stability, 14% foresee some decline, and only 5% expect a significant decrease.
for net profit, 10% expect a considerable boost, 43% foresee moderate gains, 29% expect stability, and 19% anticipate some decline, with no accountants expecting a large drop.
for revenue per client, 14% expect a sizable increase, 38% moderate growth, 33% stability, and 14% some decline.
profit-per-client outlook is more subdued: 5% expect a big increase, 33% moderate gains, 48% no significant change, and 14% a decline.
“we’re expecting growth, but not dramatically,” one respondent tells the busy season barometer. “it’s incremental.”
outlook: cautious, especially about the economy
looking 12 to 18 months ahead, accountants show mixed expectations.
among their clients, 42% anticipate conditions worsening “somewhat,” 32% expect no change, and 26% foresee improvement.
for their own firms, 38% expect progress, 48% anticipate stability, and 14% expect some decline.
regarding their personal situations, 38% expect improvement, 38% foresee no change, and 24% anticipate some decline.
views on the broader economy are more negative: 21% expect the national economy to be much worse, 47% “somewhat worse,” 16% no change, and 15% improvement.
expectations for business owners remain mixed: 10% expect conditions to be much worse, 38% somewhat worse, 19% unchanged, and 33% somewhat better.
“there’s a lot of uncertainty out there,” another tax pro says. “we’re planning cautiously.”
ai adoption expands, with cautions
artificial intelligence is gaining traction, but adoption remains cautious. 29% report moderate encouragement of ai use, while 29% say usage is minimal, 19% are experimenting more structuredly, and 10% remain in a wait-and-see mode.
ai is most commonly used in tax preparation (33% of accountants), tax planning (33%), and research (14%).
one emerging impact: 19% say ai is reducing their total weekly work hours.
at the same time, concerns persist. 37% say ai makes clients overconfident, 21% cite security risks, 20% believe it is overhyped, and 15% say it isn’t practical yet.
“clients come in with ai answers,” one practitioner says. “we spend time explaining what’s wrong with them.”
planned changes post-tax season
looking past april, firms plan targeted changes to their practices and technology.
more than 43% say they plan to upgrade practice management and workflow systems, while 33% plan modifications in tax preparation and 33% in tax planning. 14% focus on tax research, and 14% say they will make no changes.
“we’re focusing on workflow,” one accountant says. “that’s where we see the biggest opportunity.”
private equity: interest and resistance
private equity receives mixed reactions. about 50% say they oppose it and plan to stay independent, while 30% are considering it, 5% are in discussions, and 5% have completed a deal.
another 19% believe private equity will have little or no effect on most traditional firms.
perceptions of private equity are mostly negative. 52% say it weakens the cpa brand, and 48% say it disadvantages smaller firms. conversely, 43% say it accelerates ai adoption, and 29% believe it improves operations.
“there are efficiencies,” one accountant says. “but independence still matters.”
across all responses, the pattern remains consistent. firms report modest gains, expect incremental growth, adopt new technologies cautiously, and continue to face pressure from client behavior.
“different year, same problems,” one seasoned professional says.