3 Planning Tips for a Smooth Tax Season With Your Clients

Before the busy season rush, make sure to address these important tax updates with your clients. By Deborah K. Rood, CPA, MST | Digital Exclusive – 2026

Before things become too hectic this tax season, advanced planning and preparation with your clients can help mitigate the risk of an error or omission on their tax forms.

Because clients don’t live and breathe tax law like certified public accountants (CPAs) do, they may expect you to inform them of potential tax planning opportunities and tax law changes that may impact them. With time at a premium during tax season, it can be difficult to meet these expectations. That’s why it’s important to inform clients of significant changes before your schedule fills up.

Here are three important areas to cover:

1. Significant Tax Law Changes

This year, many of your clients may be affected by the provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) and, depending on your client base, other tax legislation. Items to address might include:

• Strategic “bunching” of itemized deductions versus electing the standard deduction.
• Application of the new itemized deduction limits for high-income taxpayers.
• State pass-through entity tax elections that may help work around the state and local tax deduction limit for federal income tax purposes.
• Maximizing the tax benefits of capital expenditures by taking bonus depreciation, leveraging enhanced small business expensing via Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 179, or treating purchases as “manufacturing property.”
• Changes to research and experimental expensing rules, including possible retroactive application and acceleration of the remaining deductions from prior years. The IRS issued guidance on these changes in August 2025 under IRC Section 174.
• The sunsetting of various energy tax credit provisions so clients can manage purchases and receive credits.
• Reporting of digital asset activity and the importance of receiving copies of Form 1099-DA.
• Receipts associated with “gig work.”
• Requirements for S corporations under IRS Form 7203, S Corporation Shareholder Stock and Debt Basis Limitations.
• New deductions on qualified tips and overtime, as well as the new car loan interest deduction. Notably, Forms W-2 and 1099 for 2025 won’t be updated to reflect the reporting needed for these deductions, so it’ll be important for clients to gather the documentation necessary to support these deductions.

Of course, if you’re communicating these above-mentioned technical updates or planning opportunities to multiple clients, be sure to follow best practices by retaining the distribution list and dates transmitted.

2. Impacts of the Modernizing Payments to and From America’s Bank Account Executive Order

Paper refund checks for individual taxpayers were phased out beginning Sept. 30, 2025. While electronic payments to the IRS aren’t mandated at this time, the Modernizing Payments to and From America’s Bank Account executive order states that payments should be processed electronically as soon as practicable. Because your clients may need additional time to prepare for electronic tax payments, giving them sufficient notice is strongly recommended—it’ll save everyone, including you, from the stress of making these payments on time.

3. Security From Bad Actors

In your discussions, you can also help clients add an extra layer of security this busy season by encouraging them to obtain an IRS Identity Protection PIN. This six-digit number helps prevent bad actors from filing a tax return on your client’s behalf and improperly receiving your client’s refund.

Overall, by proactively communicating these three areas with your clients before the busy season rush, you can help them better navigate and prepare for the complex changes under H.R. 1 and avoid costly mistakes. Doing so will help ensure a smoother, more efficient tax season for all involved.

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Deborah K. Rood, CPA, MST, is a risk control consulting director at CNA.

The purpose of this article is to provide information, rather than advice or opinion. It is accurate to the best of the author’s knowledge as of the date of the article. Accordingly, this article should not be viewed as a substitute for the guidance and recommendations of a retained professional. In addition, CNA does not endorse any coverages, systems, processes or protocols addressed herein unless they are produced or created by CNA.

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