2025 Tax Season: Maintain Your Knowledge

Education cannot end because we are busy during tax season

Education is the lifeblood of being a competent tax professional. The tax law is always changing, and our clients are constantly dealing with new issues that require us to expand the scope of our knowledge.

We cannot stop learning because it is tax season: there are tax law changes and new, relevant guidance year-round. In some circumstances, waiting can cost our clients tax reduction opportunities or cause incorrect returns to be filed.

In 2018, right after the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), I recall a colleague stating he was too busy with tax season to learn about the law changes but would catch up with them over the summer. However, this meant that his clients likely missed out on TCJA tax benefits for some or all of 2018. Tax professionals who got early, accurate education could have advised clients and made entity elections effective January 1, 2018, by March 15, 2018, to take advantage of the new law.

Fast forward to 2025, and TCJA 2.0 is coming: this year, it is more important than ever to stay abreast of industry news and updates during tax season.

I recommend setting aside at least 30 minutes twice weekly during tax season to catch up on education and news in the tax world. This is also a way to recenter during a work day: taking regular work breaks is a positive practice, as discussed in a prior edition.

Education can go beyond official CE/CPE; while EAs and CPAs must get formal education for their licenses, there are many places to participate in valuable informal education that does not offer actual credits.

Tom Talks Taxes will continue to publish regularly during tax season and keep you up-to-date, especially with our monthly “Tax News You Can Use” for paid subscribers. Below, I will discuss some additional resources that I think can be specifically helpful during tax season, some of which I am involved with and some I am not.

Free Resources

Facebook tax groups often contain bad information and/or mean people. I am a moderator of the Compass Tax Educators Network, and it can be a valuable and respectful resource during tax season. It is free and open to all tax professionals.

Ed Zollars, CPA, hosts Current Federal Tax Developments, a weekly podcast. He provides timely, useful, and accurate information, and I recommend it.

Your professional association may offer member resources to help you keep up-to-date and connect with colleagues. For example, the California Society of Enrolled Agents hosts three weekly tax professional roundtables during tax season, and I personally try to attend at least one roundtable per week.

Paid Resources

I am a proud co-founder of InCite, an online technical tax community. I and other knowledgeable industry experts regularly share knowledge and answer questions for members. InCite is different because any comments should have a citation to authority or guidance so that members can do their own research and come to their own conclusions; members are extremely respectful as well. This is a great resource year-round, but especially for issues and questions during tax season.

By far, TaxNotes is the best tax industry periodical. The only downside is its price: it is expensive, and you have to talk to a salesperson to subscribe. I am a subscriber.

Many of you likely subscribe to a paid research program or platform. These platforms often send regular e-mail content with tax news you should know. For example, Parker Tax Library and NovaTax, both of which I use, provide such content. NovaTax content is powered by Tax Analysts, the publisher of TaxNotes.

I am a co-owner of Compass Tax Educators, and those who purchase our annual all-access Pass receive access to seven Tax Season Support Sessions that I teach during tax season and extension season. The sessions, which do not provide CE/CPE and last no longer than an hour, are intended to give you all the latest information on what you need to know to be successful during tax season, including any important changes.

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