I always know when something, especially something bad, is trending on social media. Why? Because I’m not on social media and I still hear about the issue. Lately, I'm getting disturbing reports of the cavalier attitude that many tax practitioners are taking towards the use of AI in their practices. Apparently even the IRS is catching on because in late June 2026 the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) sent a bulletin to practitioners reminding them of their obligations under Treasury Circular 230 and how the circular’s provisions apply to using AI in a tax practice. The bulletin includes a decent list of best practices, and I recommend reviewing the bulletin and the applicable sections of Circular 230 after you finish this article.

For decades, some of America’s largest corporations have used a financial strategy that gives their CFOs greater control over insurance costs, helps them finance risks the commercial market handles poorly and creates an opportunity to retain underwriting profit when losses come in below expectations. Approximately 90% of Fortune 500 companies have captive insurance subsidiaries.¹ Historically, the economics favored organizations with substantial capital, large insurance programs and the resources to support their own insurance operations. Small and midsize businesses rarely had the scale to justify the cost and complexity. That equation has changed. A mature network of specialized insurance professionals and structures now allows qualifying privately held businesses to pursue many of the same risk-financing advantages. Federal tax law can further improve the economics for certain smaller insurance companies. For CPAs and tax professionals, this creates an advisory opportunity. The challenge is recognizing which clients could benefit and what conditions must exist before recommending it.

Structured Installment Sales (SIS) have been making a comeback. Historically low interest rates starting in 2011 made them go out of favor. Starting in 2018, insurers started coming back into offering them. MetLife expanded its SIS solution to 49 states, Puerto Rico and D.C. in 2022. You need to know about SIS and it deserves a place in your toolbox. You might not be using it as often as the toolmakers imply. I took a look at SIS in 2023 and was a little more enthusiastic about it than I am now. Let’s dig in.

When it comes to document retention, my guiding policy is “If I don’t keep it, it can’t be stolen or subpoenaed.” That sounds cynical, but there’s truth in it. The smaller your data “surface area,” the less you have to manage in the event of a data breach (or, if you hold paper documents, in the event of a fire or break in). And, if a client or former client gets really sideways in divorce or criminal court, being able to say “I have a policy in place and I don’t keep records longer than three years” can provide you with a measure of peace. But what should your policy be? It depends, but relevant assessment statutes are a good place to start. This article reviews the IRS rules for assessing tax and provides some best practices for developing document retention policies for return preparation documents in your practice.

If you’re a CPA, you’ve heard it a thousand times. People outside the industry say it like it’s a weather report: “How was busy season?” Firm owners say it to each other, as if it’s a shared badge of honor: “Just get through April 15.” Then it becomes, “After extensions.” Then, “After we rehire.” And after every “busy season,” there’s the crash. The weeks of 60–70 hours. The nights. The lost family time. The feeling that life is on hold until the deadline passes. Here’s the problem: tax deadlines don’t end—they shift. March 15. April 15. September 15. October 15. Year-end planning. 1099s in January. Treating the calendar like the boss means building firms stuck in constant reaction. The truth is, “busy season” isn’t a season. It’s a mindset. And it’s one of the most expensive mindsets we’ve normalized in public accounting.

By now, tax professionals and taxpayers are familiar with the fact that the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) created a new tax deduction for tips received. What we want to look at in this article is — how do self-employed taxpayers handle this deduction?

I have a friend who has been retiring “in about two years” for the last five years. He is 67, runs a successful practice with about 400 returns, and specializes in tax planning. He has never had the practice valued. He also has no succession plan in the event he does not come back from his next fishing trip. This is not unusual. This is typical. The 2020 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) firm succession survey found that only 6% of solo and sole practitioners had a practice continuation agreement in place. Nearly half of those surveyed said they knew they needed one and had no idea how to start. That second figure is the one that gets me, because it is not denial. Our colleagues know exactly what is at stake and are stuck. Let us get unstuck.

When building your book of business, especially small business clients that do the heavy lifting due to their recurring complex tax filings, you might ponder seeking out clients in the video games industry. Salivating at the prospect of capturing just a tiny sliver of that nearly half-trillion market valuation as your social media feeds flood with news and memes from a random indie game you’ve never heard of, you wonder how to attract and retain game developer clients. But there’s several things that tax practitioners should know about how the games industry works, and its innumerable oddities, before diving head-first into taking on game developers as business or individual clients. Ready to press play?