Tax Preparation Industry Statistics in 2026

Updated October 3, 2026

The IRS received 165.8 million individual income-tax returns through December 26, 2025, including 87.9 million electronic returns submitted through tax professionals, according to its year-end figures. Professional preparation remained a major part of filing activity in the comparable May 2026 snapshot, when both professional and self-prepared electronic filings increased from a year earlier.

Provider results reveal another side of the business: TurboTax revenue increased while its U.S. federal units declined. Filing volume alone therefore tells only part of the commercial story. Service mix and pricing deserve attention alongside demand, although the reported figures do not isolate each factor’s contribution.

These tax preparation industry statistics examine U.S. filing demand, workforce and wages, major providers, pricing, and technology. They give researchers and tax-business professionals a dated reference for assessing the industry’s activity and business models.

Key tax preparation industry statistics

Metric	Figure	Measurement period and source
Individual returns received	165.824 million	Through Dec. 26, 2025 — IRS
Professional e-files	75.316 million	Through May 8, 2026 — IRS
Professional share of e-files	53.40%	Through May 8, 2026 — calculated from IRS
Current preparer tax identification numbers	886,338	Sept. 1, 2026 — IRS
Tax-preparer employee jobs	76,480	May 2025 — BLS
Mean annual employee wage	$60,930	May 2025 — BLS
TurboTax product revenue	$5.3 billion	Fiscal year ended July 31, 2026 — Intuit

Filing demand and the role of professional preparers

The 2025 year end baseline

By December 26, 2025, professional e-files accounted for 56.7% of all electronic individual returns received, calculated from the IRS year-end filing table.

Filing measure	Through Dec. 26, 2025
Total individual returns received	165.824 million
Electronic returns received	154.911 million
Professional e-files	87.855 million
Self-prepared e-files	67.056 million

Source: IRS filing-season statistics. These are return counts, not counts of unique taxpayers or customers.

The December snapshot captures filing activity beyond the April deadline, making it a useful reference for the annual workload. Professional submissions exceeded self-prepared e-files, showing the continuing scale of demand for preparation services alongside software-led self-filing.

Professional and self prepared e filings both increased in 2026

The latest 2026 snapshot available through the IRS filing-season index during this research covered May 8. At that point, professional e-files had increased 0.6%, while self-prepared e-files had increased 1.7%, against the corresponding May 2025 cutoff.

Filing measure	May 9, 2025	May 8, 2026	Change
Total returns received	145.855m	144.992m	−0.6%
Electronic returns received	139.496m	141.046m	+1.1%
Professional e-files	74.896m	75.316m	+0.6%
Self-prepared e-files	64.601m	65.730m	+1.7%

Professionals supplied 53.4% of electronic returns in the May 2026 snapshot. Self-prepared e-files grew faster, but professional submissions also increased. The observed pattern is growth in both electronic channels at that cutoff; it does not establish that individual customers switched between them.

The May and December professional shares cover different portions of the filing season. Year-over-year comparisons should use the matched May periods in the table rather than comparing the May 2026 share with December 2025.

What counts as the tax preparation market

Tax-preparation market estimates depend on which businesses and services they include. A total for dedicated preparation offices has a narrower boundary than one covering CPA firms, software and other tax-related services.

The U.S. Census Bureau classification for tax preparation services, NAICS 541213, excludes CPA offices. It also excludes establishments that combine preparation with accounting, bookkeeping, billing or payroll processing. As a result, the classification does not encompass every business earning money from tax work.

Measure	What it describes	How to use it
Dedicated preparation industry	Establishments within a specified industry definition	Compare revenue or businesses only within that definition
Occupational employment	Employee jobs classified as tax preparers	Assess that workforce and its wages
PTIN registrations	Individuals with current federal preparer identification numbers	Describe the registered preparer population
Company or product revenue	Sales reported by a named business or product line	Assess that provider while preserving its reporting scope

Company results offer evidence of the scale of individual providers, but their revenue boundaries differ. A U.S. market-size estimate would need a consistent definition covering the businesses and services being counted.

Registered preparers and employee jobs measure different workforces

The IRS reported 886,338 individuals with current 2026 PTINs as of September 1, 2026. Its preparer statistics also identify professional credentials and other qualifications within that population.

Credential or qualification	Reported total
Certified public accountants	209,076
Enrolled agents	71,966
Attorneys	26,256
Annual Filing Season Program completion records	72,049

These categories overlap because a preparer can hold more than one qualification. Their sum cannot be subtracted from PTIN registrations to calculate an exact noncredentialed total. The CPA and attorney counts cover this preparer population, rather than their entire professions.

Related reading: Looking for a business tax ID? See our guide to obtaining a tax ID for a small business, which covers the EIN application process.

Employee counts and pay measure a narrower workforce

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 76,480 tax-preparer jobs in May 2025, with the following wage measures.

Wage measure	May 2025 estimate
Mean annual wage	$60,930
Mean hourly wage	$29.30
Median hourly wage	$26.40

PTIN registrations describe a much broader population than employee jobs classified as tax preparers. This matters when assessing the supply of professionals: the two totals are not competing estimates of the same workforce, and they also have different observation dates.

The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics methodology excludes self-employed workers and owners or partners in unincorporated firms. Its occupational categories also distinguish tax preparers from accountants and auditors. A count of employee jobs classified as tax preparers therefore cannot describe everyone who performs tax work.

The median hourly wage marks the midpoint of the employee wage distribution; the mean is the arithmetic average. These provide compensation benchmarks for the defined occupation. Annual wage estimates should not be treated as guaranteed seasonal earnings or as a measure of practice-owner revenue or profit.

Provider revenue growth can diverge from filing volume

TurboTax’s reported revenue increased even as its U.S. federal units declined, illustrating why filing volume alone cannot explain a provider’s commercial performance.

Intuit reported $5.3 billion in TurboTax revenue for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2026, up 7%. TurboTax Live revenue rose 37% and represented 53% of total TurboTax revenue. Meanwhile, U.S. TurboTax federal units totaled 39.0 million, a reported 2% decline.

TurboTax Live accounted for more than half of product revenue and grew faster than TurboTax overall. That makes it an important part of the product’s reported revenue mix. The figures do not isolate the contribution of pricing or other factors, and Live’s revenue share is not its share of customers.

These figures refer specifically to TurboTax. Intuit’s broader Consumer segment also includes Credit Karma and ProTax.

H&R Block reported $3.95 billion in total revenue for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, an increase of 4.9%. The company attributed the increase primarily to higher net average charge and company-owned volume in U.S. assisted preparation, international growth, and increased Wave subscription revenue and payments volume.

H&R Block’s figure covers worldwide company revenue, including services beyond U.S. tax preparation. It is therefore not directly comparable with TurboTax product revenue, and the two figures cannot be combined to estimate U.S. market size or market share.

Large transmitters and small practices coexist

An original analysis published in The CPA Journal found that the largest 325 e-filing firms accounted for 46% of transmissions in its 2024 dataset. At the same time, 89% of e-filers submitted fewer than 1,000 filings.

The analysis shows substantial transmission volume concentrated among large firms alongside many smaller participants. This helps explain why a few prominent providers cannot describe the whole business landscape. Transmission share does not measure preparation-revenue share or ownership of client relationships: a transmitter and the practice preparing a return may be different businesses.

The study matched 44% of PTIN holders to a specific e-filing firm, which limits how broadly its matched-sample findings can be applied. The results describe the range of participants in the dataset rather than a universal benchmark for practice size.

Tax preparation fees and pricing trends

The National Association of Tax Professionals’ 2025 Fee Study summary reported that 83% of surveyed professionals raise fees every one to two years, typically by 6–10%. Nearly half use a minimum fee for Form 1040 work and adjust it for complexity or value.

Regular fee reviews were common among respondents, and the use of minimum fees indicates that many priced Form 1040 work from a starting charge adjusted to the engagement. The reported 6–10% increases are survey findings, not a national annual inflation rate. The public summary identifies complexity, credentials, geography and specialization as pricing factors; full dollar-fee tables and sample details are not publicly exposed there.

For practice owners, the useful comparison is between fees for similar work. A return-preparation engagement may have a different scope from one that includes record cleanup, additional filings or ongoing advice. Defining those services clearly makes fee comparisons more useful than an isolated average price.

Records are part of that scope discussion. Practices can point clients who need help organizing receipts, invoices and transaction records to these bookkeeping tips for small businesses.

Digital filing and AI in tax work

Electronic filing and free preparation options

Electronic returns represented 97.3% of individual returns received through May 8, 2026, calculated from the IRS filing table. Electronic delivery is shared by professional and self-prepared returns, so a high e-filing rate can coexist with substantial demand for human preparation services.

Free software also forms part of the filing options available to taxpayers. In its August 26, 2026 guidance, the IRS stated that taxpayers with 2025 adjusted gross income of $89,000 or less could use Free File guided software for federal preparation and filing. The program was available through October 15, 2026.

The IRS also identified Free File Fillable Forms for taxpayers above that threshold who are comfortable preparing their own returns. Some partners offer free state filing for eligible taxpayers. For providers assessing the available alternatives, the relevant comparison is the taxpayer’s eligibility and the services included, since free federal filing does not cover every service or situation.

AI use raises oversight and recruitment questions

Thomson Reuters’ 2026 research on tax and audit professionals found that 35% reported using AI tools their firm had not authorized for work. Another finding was that 26% would not accept a job offer from a firm without access to professional-grade AI.

The findings come from 538 survey responses across 40 countries, gathered in March and April 2026. Approximately one-third came from U.S. firms. They provide international context for this U.S.-focused article, not a U.S.-only adoption rate.

For practice leaders, the findings raise questions about both oversight and recruitment. Unauthorized use suggests a need to understand which tools staff use, while the job-preference finding indicates that access to professional AI matters to some respondents.

A practical response is to assess existing staff use alongside the quality of tool outputs and the work they support. The survey measures reported behavior and preferences; it does not establish time savings, return accuracy or reduced staffing needs.

What these statistics suggest about the industry

Professional preparation continues to serve a substantial filing workload. Both professional and self-prepared electronic submissions increased in the matched May comparison, while the transmission study shows large firms operating alongside many smaller participants. These findings describe an industry with several ways to serve taxpayers, rather than a single dominant practice model.

The commercial picture extends beyond return counts. TurboTax reported revenue growth alongside lower U.S. federal units, and H&R Block identified both pricing and volume among its growth drivers. For practices assessing their own performance, this supports examining fees and service scope alongside the number of returns handled. NATP’s survey adds context: regular fee reviews were common among its respondents.

Technology introduces management questions as well as new filing options. Electronic filing already handles most submissions in the IRS snapshot, while the AI survey points to unauthorized tool use and expectations about workplace technology. For practice leaders, the immediate questions are how services are priced, how staff use those tools, and how the quality of their work is assessed.