Top Choices in Tax Software

2016 Annual Survey of New York State Practitioners

Susan B. Anders, PhD, CPA, CGMA, and Carol M. Fischer, PhD, CPA, CGMA

In BriefNew York State CPAs faced significant challenges during the 2016 tax season, but maintained their focus on serving their clients. Tax preparation and research software provided resources that enabled them to meet clients' needs and deal with ever-changing filing requirements and long-delayed release of tax forms. Respondents to the 2016 survey on tax preparation software generally reported satisfaction with tax preparation and commercial tax research packages, although both of the top-ranked tax preparation and tax research packages from last year's survey dropped in the rankings. The overall ratings decreased modestly for tax preparation software, but increased for the third consecutive year for tax research software. Although value for cost continues to be a concern, the 2016 ratings reflected an improvement for both tax preparation and research software, continuing a trend seen in the last few years. Survey participants made widespread use of the IRS and New York State tax department websites and have discovered a variety of other helpful free online resources to assist in tax research.