After October 15: A Tax Season Closeout Checklist for CPA Firms

Published October 15, 2026

Introduction

As October 15 arrives, CPA firms can finally start looking beyond the next return. There are still acknowledgments to check, client questions to answer, and files to finish. There is also an opportunity to understand what made this season demanding before those details fade.

A useful tax season closeout covers three areas: outstanding obligations, the economics of the work completed, and changes the firm can make before the next filing season.

The IRS confirms October 15, 2026, as the filing deadline for most taxpayers who requested an extension for their 2025 federal individual income tax return. Some clients have different deadlines, including those eligible for disaster relief or certain military exceptions. For firms, the date is a major milestone, with follow-up work continuing beyond it.

1. Confirm what is complete and who owns what remains

Start with a firmwide list of returns and outstanding actions. Review federal and state filing statuses separately, identify unresolved rejections, and confirm that clients have received their final documents and payment instructions where applicable.

IRS Publication 1345 explains that rejected electronic returns are considered not filed. Assign someone to monitor acknowledgments and resolve rejections under the applicable correction and resubmission rules. Keep that coverage in place while other team members take time off.

For each open item, record the responsible person, the next action, and the relevant deadline. Distinguish an unfiled return from a completed return awaiting client follow-up or an engagement with a later deadline.

The extension generally provided more time to file, while payment remained due earlier. Make sure any unresolved balance or payment question has a documented next step.

2. Give the team a break, then capture what happened

Once urgent filing follow-up is covered, allow time to recover. Schedule a short debrief while the season is still fresh, with input from preparation, review, administration, and client service.

Ask each person to bring one example of work that moved smoothly and one that required unnecessary effort. Specific engagements are more useful than broad comments such as “clients were late” or “we needed more people.”

Find out where the work actually waited. Was the return missing information? Was a technical question unresolved? Did completed preparation sit in a review queue? Did the team repeat work after receiving revised documents?

Record successful practices as well. A clearer organizer, a better assignment process, or an effective client reminder may be worth applying across the firm.

3. Review engagement profitability beyond the invoice

Two returns billed at the same fee can require very different amounts of effort. Compare fees with the time spent collecting information, preparing, reviewing, correcting, and communicating.

Where time records are incomplete, use a consistent estimate and identify it as such. The purpose is to find patterns that warrant a closer look.

A useful review separates three causes of extra work:

• Greater complexity: The engagement required more technical work than originally scoped.
• Coordination effort: Staff spent substantial time requesting information or clarifying instructions.
• Internal rework: The firm repeated tasks because preparation, review, or handoffs needed improvement.

Each calls for a different response. Complexity may warrant revised pricing or specialist support. Coordination may require clearer client expectations. Internal rework may point to training or a process change.

Review unbilled work and outstanding invoices alongside these findings so the firm's assessment reflects both effort and collections.

4. Reset client expectations before the next organizer goes out

Identify the client situations that repeatedly created pressure. Avoid treating every extension as a problem; some clients reasonably depend on information that arrives later.

Focus instead on expectations the firm can clarify. Explain when documents are needed, what constitutes a complete submission, how additional work is scoped, and when clients should tell the firm about significant transactions.

For a business client whose books required extensive cleanup, consider whether periodic bookkeeping reviews would improve readiness. For a client with multiple investment accounts, a tailored document list may be more useful than another generic reminder.

Discuss changes before the next busy season. Clients should understand the service, fee, and information requirements before the team begins the work.

5. Turn return findings into year-end planning conversations

The return just completed describes 2025. A planning conversation in October needs an updated picture of 2026.

Use preparation and review notes to identify clients with changed income, a business sale, retirement plans, new investments, or recurring payment surprises. Request current information before making recommendations.

The IRS recommends reviewing withholding after a tax bill, a large refund, or significant life changes. For clients making estimated payments, IRS Publication 505 explains that changes in income, deductions, or credits may require recalculating estimated tax.

Create a focused planning list with a reason for each conversation, the information needed, and a person responsible for scheduling it. Confirm the scope and fee if the work falls outside the existing engagement.

This gives the client a clear connection between what the firm learned during preparation and what deserves attention before year-end.

6. Build next season's capacity plan around the bottleneck

Use the debrief to identify the type of capacity the firm needs. Additional preparers may help a preparation backlog, but a review bottleneck requires a different response.

Estimate workload by return type and complexity, then consider when that work is likely to arrive. Include time for client questions, review, staff development, and planned absences.

Evaluate training, workflow automation, seasonal hiring, and outside support against the specific constraint. Test changes on a manageable group of engagements before relying on them during peak volume.

For firms exploring external capacity, SAMPrep provides tax preparation and review support through U.S.-based licensed CPAs and EAs. Define which assignments would benefit from that support and how they would fit the firm's existing review process.

7. Assign a small number of improvements

A debrief becomes useful when someone acts on it. Choose two or three changes that address recurring problems and give each an owner, a completion date, and a measurable result.

For example, an operations lead might revise the document-request process and track follow-up time on a pilot group. A tax manager might update preparation standards and measure how often reviewers return work for missing support.

Set a date to review the results before the next filing season. Include the people who will use the revised process so the firm can identify practical problems early.

Conclusion

Closing extension season deserves the same attention as preparing for it. Resolve outstanding work, give the team room to recover, and use the experience to make specific decisions about clients, pricing, planning, and capacity.

The next few weeks offer a chance to turn this season's lessons into changes your team can see when the 2027 filing season begins.