Defining Success in the Tax Industry

2025 marks 15 years in the tax industry for me. It’s been a wild ride.

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on the things that have served my career well, as well as the instances where specific people attempted to derail my career, or unforeseen events or other blockages could have halted my career progression.

It’s easy to say that simply making more money is success in this industry. Increasing one's profitability is a plus; however, if it comes at the expense of taxpayers or sound tax administration, I wholeheartedly disagree.

Principles of Success

The following principles are how I view success in this industry.

Client Wins. In addition to resolving a client’s tax pain point (e.g., an IRS issue or filing an accurate tax return), you should provide clear, regular communication and high-quality customer service. The engagement should also be a clear financial win for the taxpayer; the key is to communicate the value provided and put it into context with the fee charged.

Collaboration. Working collaboratively with other professionals, without expecting a reward, often leads to new opportunities and referrals (and possibly financial reward!). Knowing your limits regarding the types of work you can do is essential to meet Circular 230 §10.35 (competence) and not providing services outside the scope of your license.

A robust referral network allows the tax professional to ensure the taxpayer receives the most competent assistance with their tax matters. No one tax professional knows it all; it is unethical to undertake work for a client when you lack the necessary knowledge, skills, and licensure to do so (though I see it all too often, unfortunately).

Ethical Practice. Everything we do in the tax industry must prioritize the client’s interests, and we should zealously apply our professional, ethical, and technological standards (including data security best practices). A taxpayer success that occurs because we violate our own ethical standards is actually a loss for both the professional and the tax system.

Financial Security. Every person has different personal and business financial goals, so the success metric isn’t necessarily “make a ton of money” but instead “make enough profit to meet your goals.” For example, my tax practice itself is intentionally small (ideally no more than five hours per week), which helps me do all the other consulting and educational work that I do; however, it still has gross revenue in the $100,000 to $200,000 range, which is all I need (or have time for) for this business.

Determine the profit you need to achieve to meet all your goals, and use that metric to determine the optimal price point, staffing levels, and number of ideal clients required.

Lifelong Learning. Learning can occur in both formal education channels (such as continuing education for licensure) and informal education settings (including communities, meetings, and social networks). The emphasis should be on quality education with knowledgeable instructors who focus on the Code and authorities, rather than the cheapest content to be completed in the shortest amount of time.

Read 2025 Tax Season: Maintain Your Knowledge for more on this topic.

Pro Bono (or Low Bono) Work. My tax practice has enough well-paying clients that I can choose to help people at low cost or no cost. There is tremendous value in helping people in need who cannot usually afford full-price professional tax services, and having true success indicates you have the time and energy to do this. Similar to the collaboration principle, it often leads to new opportunities and referrals.

Time to Enjoy Life. You can make $1 million a year, but if you miss key family events, time with friends, or activities you love (e.g., sporting events, performances), is it truly worth it? Make time year-round to do what you love; it will actually help you achieve more and provide better results for clients during actual work hours.

What Doesn’t Define Success

The items below often portray a false veneer of success, perhaps due to a failure to adhere to the principles I outlined above.

Being an Influencer. Social media clicks and artificial intelligence (AI) generated posts do not indicate that a purported tax professional provides any value of note or even does actual tax work. In many cases, influencers are earning money from their content and endorsements (which they rarely disclose), but they are not providing accurate or useful information. I ignore them; I recommend that you do as well.

On the other hand, some tax professionals exert a positive influence through their actions, connections, and content. Most of the time, you do not know they are doing it because they do not need to flaunt it.

Credentialism. There are great CPAs, EAs, and attorneys in the tax industry; there are also terrible CPAs, EAs, and attorneys in this industry. I dislike it when EAs claim they are superior because they have a federal credential, and I dislike it when CPAs claim they are superior because they are more recognized (or some other reason). Let’s stop the insanity.

A tax professional should have a credential that authorizes them to represent taxpayers before the IRS and makes their right to practice subject to professional standards and review. This allows the tax professional to provide a full range of services, including IRS representation — it is impossible to avoid interfacing with the IRS in today’s environment, even if return preparation is a firm’s primary focus.

Read Josh Youngblood’s Credential Fragility for more on this topic.

Jealousy. If people are struggling to achieve success or see someone surpass their achievements, jealousy often leads them to try to undermine the person to secure their own success. This is a scarcity mindset — people need to hoard it and prevent others from having it because it is a limited resource.

I believe in an abundance mindset — we can all be successful, and one person’s success does not negate or impact my own. There is more than enough opportunity in this industry for everyone; that’s why collaboration is a principle of success.

Overwork. This industry needs to shed itself of toxic overwork practices that harm the mental and physical health of tax professionals and do not yield the best (and sometimes, correct) outcomes for clients. The client being worked on at hour 13 is not getting the same attention or energy as the client worked on at hour 1. Working 14-hour days is not a badge of honor to be bragged about or forced on employees.

Read 2025 Tax Season: Protect Your Health for more on this topic.

Profit At All Costs. The goal should not be to squeeze every dollar from every client with the least effort possible; however, when looking at a business solely in terms of gross receipts or net income, that is what is being prioritized, and it can lead to this mindset.

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