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TaxBuzz Chat: A Discussion About Tax Season Wrap-Up

TaxBuzz Chat: A Discussion About Tax Season Wrap-Up

It’s that time again, #TaxTwitter. After a small hiatus, this May’s #TaxBuzzChat was as busy as ever with some familiar faces as well as new faces. In this month’s chat – hosted on our Twitter account @TaxBuzzOnline – we invited professionals across the country to join us to discuss their thoughts on this past tax season.

Here are some key takeaways from the conversation:

Starting with how people felt about this past tax season, @bstonercpa said, “With the disaster zone in CA, many taxpayers are putting off filing if they owe a balance as they can pay off without penalty by October 16. Biggest issue was figuring out which counties were in the zone as the IRS had 3 different Proc adding counties.”

With all the new technologies and innovations as of late, many professionals are using technology to help them manage their time. For example, @PKubeyEA says, “I try to channel all my client communications through a secure messaging platform - avoiding regular email. All calls are pre scheduled. Almost all client meetings are virtual. All filing and payments are electronic. Works very well for me.”

One of these newer technologies, ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, has taken the internet by storm. Though many professionals don’t necessarily feel that ChatGPT is a threat to their practice, they are concerned about its ability to accurately help their clients. @RobergTax says, “I'm kind of in the neither camp. I haven't fully embraced the new technology, but I haven't found it to be a threat either. I figure there's going to be some good and bad but I have a lot to learn,” while @wealthandlaw said, “I’m trying to embrace it where I can. It has privacy issues that limit its use in my practice. But I can’t wait for it to be more user friendly!”

In today’s digital age when it comes to using technology to enhance the client experience @KJSAcct said that digitizing the client onboarding process has “...been a net positive. A few prospects struggled and ultimately were not a fit. But most of them commented that they lived how streamlined it was.”

Seeing so many changes already in the tech space, we asked professionals where they saw the economy today and throughout 2023. @PKubeyEA said, “I hope for a more holistic, less siloed working environment - with more integration of planning and more of a client-centered focus. And harnessing the power of technology to create a more balanced workflow and serve clients better.”

In the same line of thought, we asked professionals what they see as the most significant opportunity for growth for their practice, in which @CalebLJenkins replied, “Automation is always #1. Better communication is always near the top of the list. Better tech tools are always appreciated (e.g. ChatGPT). CAS through the year to avoid tax season cleanup,” and @CertTaxCoach said, “advanced tax reduction continues to be the biggest opportunity. Since many more taxpayers are being educated about it there is increased demand and that exceeds how many I can help. Good position to be in.”

Another big change we are still experiencing nationwide is inflationary pressure. When asked about how professionals have helped their clients manage during this time, @CalebLJenkins responded, “Investing cash in high-yield deposit accounts, delaying tax payments w/ CA disaster relief, utilizing technology to get paid faster & automatically, and better reporting & analysis of where someone currently is,” while @bstonercpa said “I tell clients if they are getting a big refund, adjust your withholding & get additional net payroll by paycheck. There are US money market funds paying over 3% with no minimum (Discover Bank for instance). Either pay off debt with the money or get the float. ”

To end the chat we asked professionals where they saw the tax and accounting industry in five years. @CalebLJenkins said,“ In 5 years, I hope to see programs fully integrated and sharing data holistically. I see automation becoming the foundation for everything else. Personalized service and holistic/client-centered focus is differentiator to AI.”

Thank you to all the members of the TaxBuzz community who participated in our May chat – and welcome to all our new attendees.

@TaxBuzzOnline will be hosting our next #TaxBuzzChat on Wednesday, June 7th, at 10am PDT/ 1pm EST. Check back for updates to make sure you don't miss out on the conversation and Tweet us if there are topics that you'd like to chat about in the future.

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TaxBuzz Staff

TaxBuzz Staff

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