surveys & research

have no fear, april is here

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most early fears were unfounded. but not all of them.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the 2023 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy barometer has detected a clear sign that this year’s tax season is working out better than expected … or should we say better than feared?

more: survey: busy season looking good | on business outlook, cpas are confident … and concerned | tax pros offer advice for small businesses | busy season barometer finds many cpas in transition | more cpas see worsening economy | has early tax season optimism peaked? | marchternity: just say ‘no’ | marchternity: the solution is community | how bullish are you this tax season? | accountants’ top problems for tax season 2023 | tax season 2023: better or worse?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

comparing the barometer’s early results with those near the end of the season, we see that the fears of many practitioners were unwarranted. the fears of february are quite different from the experiences of march.
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average tax refunds down 10%

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table of irs weekly datareturns by tax pros are one of the only positives.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the average tax refund is down 10 percent, but it’s just part of a pattern. virtually every piece of data the internal revenue service reports weekly is in the red.

more: irs has big plans for its $80 billion | tax pro e-filings up 3% | pros handle 45% of income tax returns | can’t irs tax pro accounts do more? | hello? irs? anybody home? | taxpayer assistance centers need upgrade
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the agency has received 90.1 million individual income tax returns as of march 31, the latest information available, down 1.3 percent from the same period in 2022. it has processed 89.7 million returns, up 0.4 percent.
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hello? irs? anybody home?

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pulling people off the phones: not helpful.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the latest results from the 2023 cpatrendlines busy season barometer showed a significant shift in practitioners’ main concern this year. it used to be “late or unprepared clients.”

more: taxpayer assistance centers need upgrade | on business outlook, cpas are confident … and concerned | at the irs, short on staff means short on service | tax pros offer advice for small businesses | busy season barometer finds many cpas in transition | more cpas see worsening economy | has early tax season optimism peaked? | marchternity: just say ‘no’
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

now “irs operations” has surged to first place, cited by 53 percent of respondents.

ouch, right? the agency charged with collecting taxes is the biggest problem for those who file tax returns for a living.
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pros handle 45% of income tax returns

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data tablerefunds down by double digits.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

tax season 2023 has been consistent. refunds are down, and so are self-prepared filings and irs.gov visits. by every other marker, though, business is as usual or better.

more: on business outlook, cpas are confident … and concerned | at the irs, short on staff means short on service | more cpas see worsening economy | marchternity: the solution is community |
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as of feb. 24, the latest data available, the irs had received 46 million individual income tax returns, up 1.3 percent from the same period in 2022. it had processed 45.7 million returns, up 4.3 percent.

we always like to see processing go quickly, and the agency is speeding through returns right now at a clip of 99.4 percent.

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on business outlook, cpas are confident … and concerned

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accountants forecast a dreary, difficult 12-18 months ahead. with the exception of the promise held in leveling up tech stacks and seizing on automation.

what’s your opinion? how’s your practice doing? what are your concerns? 
take the five-minute busy season survey and contribute to the professional discussion.

fewer accountants = larger client lists.

your best advice for small businesses? taylor: “understand your financials, know your kpis, and you’ll inevitably thrive in any recession. do not hire employees unless you have a clear plan for how hiring will benefit you.” stocker: “monitor results. hang in there! this too shall pass.”

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

cpas and tax practitioners tend to know what’s happening in business. more than any other professionals, they have their fingers on the pulse of companies large and small. they understand numbers, they listen to their clients and they have the wherewithal to see where micro- and macroeconomies are headed.

more: at the irs, short on staff means short on service | tax pros offer advice for small businesses | has early tax season optimism peaked? | why the irs is still doing data entry by hand | how bullish are you this tax season? | tax season 2023: better or worse?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

when the 20223 cpatrendlines busy season barometer survey asks cpas and tax practitioners about the business and economic outlook from their view in the trenches of american business, the responses show a curious contradiction.

generally speaking, the earliest respondents are confident at the micro level – their own firms and families – but less so for their clients. they are notably concerned about the macro level – the national economy and the outlook for small businesses in general.

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at the irs, short on staff means short on service

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guess who suffers?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

it probably won’t surprise the average tax practitioner to learn that in the american customer satisfaction index of federal agencies, the internal revenue service ranks dead last.

more: tax pros offer advice for small businesses | busy season barometer finds many cpas in transition | marchternity: just say ‘no’ | news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

it accomplished the same dubious rank in forrest research’s u.s. customer experience index of 221 companies and federal agencies.

two sad things about this:
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busy season barometer finds many cpas in transition

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join the survey. get the results.

dropping services … and clients. help wanted.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the 2023 cpatrendlines busy season barometer generally looks for the status of firms as they dig into this year’s tax filings. practitioners tell us how things are going, how well they’re doing, what their main concerns are and what they see happening in local and national economies.

more: more cpas see worsening economy | has early tax season optimism peaked? | marchternity: just say ‘no’ | marchternity: the solution is community | why the irs is still doing data entry by hand | news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good | why we all hate the tax code | how bullish are you this tax season? | accountants’ top problems for tax season 2023 | tax season 2023: better or worse?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

at the end of the survey, we ask what else we should know about their firms. this year, we’re receiving hints of firms in transition – slowing down, branching out, shifting gears, moving on, revamping business models and generally looking for a better business life.
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more cpas see worsening economy

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… especially for small businesses.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

accountants have a unique view of economies – local, national and micro. more than anyone else, they scrutinize numbers, the real numbers, the numbers that real companies and real families report. they see what’s really happening in black and white … and red.

more: has early tax season optimism peaked? | marchternity: just say ‘no’ | marchternity: the solution is community | why the irs is still doing data entry by hand | news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good | why we all hate the tax code
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

and what they’re seeing now, in terms of economics, according to latest results from the 2023 cpatrendlines busy season barometer, doesn’t look good.

the economic future didn’t look good when the first responses came in, and now it’s looking a little worse.
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irs processing returns as fast as it gets them

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data tablerefund numbers up 20+ percent, but average amounts still down.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

has the internal revenue service been bingeing nascar videos? the agency put the pedal to the metal in processing individual income tax returns, with an incredible current rate of 99.8 percent.

more: only 39% of tax returns filed by pros | tax season opens with refunds up 85%
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as of feb. 17, the latest data available, the irs had received 36.9 million individual income tax returns, up 2.6 percent from the same period in 2022, and processed 36.8 million of them, up 9.9 percent.
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