Experts to Taxpayers: 2026 Might Be the Year to Hire a CPA

Experts are telling taxpayers something CPAs already know: 2026 is not the year to file your own return.

PBS interviewed tax policy experts this week, and the message was blunt: between the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's new deductions and the IRS's administrative changes, this filing season is more complex than usual. "It might be the year to get professional help if you normally do your taxes on your own," said Elena Patel, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

Translation: the value prop for CPA services just got stronger.

Why 2026 Is Different

The OBBBA introduced a pile of new deductions - some straightforward, some not. Bigger standard deduction ($15,750 single, $31,500 joint). Higher child tax credit ($2,200 per kid). New charitable deduction for non-itemizers (up to $1,000 single, $2,000 joint).

Those are easy. But then there are the three "no tax on" provisions: tips, overtime, and auto loan interest. And those are where it gets messy.

"Unfortunately, many workers are going to need to try to figure out for themselves whether and how much of their tips, overtime and auto loan interest payments qualify for these deductions," said Kathleen Bryant, policy advisor at NYU Law's Tax Law Center.

Here's the problem: the "no tax on tips" deduction only applies to workers in occupations that "customarily and regularly" receive tips - a finite list published by the IRS. The deduction caps at $25,000 and phases out at higher incomes. And it only eliminates federal income tax, not payroll or state taxes.

For overtime, only the "half" portion of "time and a half" counts. And for auto loans, not all vehicles qualify.

"You may not be able to tell from your tax forms alone how much tip income was deducted, and you might actually need to use your pay stubs to manually calculate how much overtime can be lawfully deducted," Bryant said.

That's not a DIY problem. That's a CPA problem.

Administrative Headaches Add to the Mess

The IRS also made things harder on the operational side. Direct File - the free online filing tool that 140,800 taxpayers used last year with 90% satisfaction ratings - is gone. The agency shut it down, citing "high costs and limited participation."

Paper refund checks are being phased out, too. Starting this year, filers who don't provide direct deposit info will get two letters in the mail asking them to update their payment method online. If they don't comply, refunds could take up to six weeks - double the normal time for e-filed returns.

"Functionally, they're sort of using this refund delay strategy as a cudgel to try to get as many people as possible to include direct deposit information on their returns," Bryant said.

And that disproportionately affects elderly, disabled, and unbanked filers - exactly the people who are least equipped to navigate electronic payment systems on their own.

What This Means for CPAs

If you've been marketing tax prep services, this is your moment. The policy complexity and administrative friction are real, and taxpayers are noticing.

"I don't like to tell people to pay preparers, because I think you should be able to do your own return," Patel said. "But we want to make sure that everybody is getting everything they're due, so to speak, and not overwhelmed by transitional things that are always true in the first year of a tax bill, but especially this time."

The experts are saying it out loud: this year is different. The stakes are higher, the rules are more complex, and the people who usually file on their own might need help.

Which means this is the year to make sure your clients - and their friends, families, and coworkers - know you're ready to handle it.

One more thing: because of the USPS's new postmark rules, returns have to be in the mail before April 15 to count as on-time. "IRS hasn't said anything about how they may or may not shift around the postmark, so for now you have to assume the law is the law," Patel said. "Once it gets postmarked on the 16th, it's late."

Plenty of time between now and April 15. But only if people start early. And only if they know where to get help.