Tax Preparation Services NAICS 541213

Jan 6, 2026 - Tax Changes Signal Chaotic Year Ahead

• The 2026 mix of tax cuts, tariffs, and benefit reductions will shape a complex year for CPAs and tax preparers. An estimated $125 billion in tax cuts tied to 2025 returns will arrive during spring filing season, with another $80 billion flowing through 2026 via payroll withholding changes, increasing demand for tax planning and return preparation, according to Evercore. Benefits, however, are skewed toward higher-income households, while low-income filers see almost no relief due to minimal income-tax liability. Cuts to Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, Affordable Care Act premium credits, and stepped up student loan collections will complicate household tax and financial situations, increasing advisory needs. Tariffs and benefit cuts are expected to reduce disposable income for most households outside the top 30% of earners, per Yale’s Budget Lab, raising questions around credits, deductions, withholdings, and retirement planning that CPAs and tax professionals will need to address in 2026.
• Starting with the 2025 tax year, the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) is rolling out a new form called 1099‑DA, part of the IRS's effort to bring more clarity to the growing crypto space. A 1099-DA reports transactions involving digital assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs. This form will be issued by custodial brokers - Coinbase, PayPal, Robinhood - to show the gross proceeds from trades, exchanges, redemptions, and NFT sales. Beginning in 2026, brokers will also “covered assets,” meaning assets acquired on or after January 1, 2026 and held on the same platform. Non-custodial platforms, such as decentralized exchanges or wallets that you fully control yourself, won’t be issuing 1099‑DAs, leaving it up to users to track and report their activity. A 1099‑DA gives you a snapshot of your transactions, but it doesn’t replace the need to keep careful records of your purchases, sales, and gains for accurate tax filing.

• Automation and AI are transforming how tax firms get work done, cutting out repetitive tasks and boosting accuracy, according to a recent The Future of Tax Automation webinar from Thomson Reuters. Nearly 80% of tax professionals believe AI will have a major impact on their industry within the next five years, and more than half of firms are already seeing returns from the investments they’ve already made. New tools like optical character recognition, automated verification, and generative AI can scan documents and pull out key data, cross-check for errors, and create detailed summaries. In addition, the Webinar estimated that AI would save accounting pros about 5 hours of busy work per week for a per employee added value to the organization of $24,000. The shift towards automation is especially important as accounting firms face heavier workloads and staffing shortages.
• CPA credentialing is declining across all company sizes, reflecting a shift in corporate hiring practices and licensing trends, according to INSIDE Public Accounting. Between 2020 and 2024, the average amount of corporate staff that held a CPA license dropped from 56% to 48%. Larger companies report even lower CPA licensing among staff at 41%. The trend is driven by fewer accounting graduates taking the time to complete the 150 hours of required training for a license, as well as firms expanding into non-traditional markets that require different skill sets than traditional accounting. Several states have created different pathways to CPA licensure - such as Ohio, Georgia, and Minnesota - acknowledging the existing process is too expensive and time-consuming. Alternative licensing pathways typically involve graduation with an accounting degree combined with experience in the field and passing a CPA exam.