Despite the rise of increasingly slick online tax software, using an accountant is still the most popular way to file taxes.
The Internal Revenue Service received 87.9 million electronically filed returns from tax pros in 2025, compared to 67.1 million returns from those filing on their own with tax software.
Why do taxpayers still turn to accountants at such a high rate? Expertise might be the answer, said Ethan White, CEO of California-based White Sands Tax Services.
“A good tax professional helps reduce avoidable mistakes, asks the right follow-up questions, and makes sure the return is consistent and well-documented,” White told The Independent via email.
The following four benefits are representative of how tax pros improve a taxpayer’s filing experience.
Take it to the max
An accountant can help taxpayers reduce their tax liability (how much they owe) as much as possible, and, in some cases, boost their tax refund.
“[It’s] not because accountants have ‘secret deductions,’” White said. “Most of the time, a tax pro helps lower your tax or increase your refund by making sure you claim everything you are already eligible for, and by avoiding the small mistakes that quietly cost people money.”
Accountants know how to ask the right questions, find the right tax credits and catch costly issues in a return before they are sent to the IRS, White noted.
Yet an accountant’s ability to lower someone’s taxes isn’t just about what they enter on a client’s return.
They offer year-round advice and tips that can apply to clients’ financial decisions from month to month, whether it’s how much to contribute to a retirement plan, when stock should be sold or what to do about a major life change like getting married.
“A professional can also help you make better decisions during the year, not just at filing time, by explaining what changed and what to do differently going forward,” White said.
Priceless peace of mind
When someone hires a certified public accountant, they are paying for peace of mind in knowing that the accountant will help them cut down on errors they might make if they did their taxes on their own.
“For many taxpayers, the biggest benefit is confidence,” White said. “You are less likely to miss income documents, overlook key forms, or misunderstand rules that can affect credits and deductions.”
This is one of the main reasons why freelance personal finance writer Brett Holzhauer, 32, told The Independent that he uses an accountant for his taxes. “The possibility of IRS interactions after a mistake and the stress that comes with it is just not worth it for me,” he said.
Time trap
While online tax prep software can save you money, it doesn’t always save you time, White said. And for those who don’t have a lot of extra hours during tax season, handing off their taxes to a professional can be an efficient choice.
“Time savings vary, but many people underestimate how long it takes to gather documents, reconcile information, and respond to software prompts,” White said. “For anyone with multiple income sources, self-employment, a rental property, or a life change, a professional can save several hours by organizing the process, spotting missing items quickly, and handling the details efficiently.”
Using tax software and hiring a CPA aren’t always mutually exclusive, though. For example, TurboTax gives filers the option to hire a CPA through its online tax platform.
Plain and simple
Holzhauer said one of the things he really enjoys about having a CPA is that his responsibilities during tax season are minimal.
Instead of searching for tax software, working through prompt after prompt, and hoping he avoided mistakes, the freelancer gathers up his required documents, sends them to his accountant and then relaxes.
“I look at it as a simple homework assignment: Get all these documents together, email them to [my CPA], and [he’ll] take care of it,” he said. “It’s worth every penny.”
Instead of a taxpayer having to know the ins and outs of all the deductions and credits they’re eligible for, they can let their accountant do that work for them.
“It often makes sense [to hire a CPA] when your taxes involve complexity, uncertainty, or higher stakes, such as self-employment or 1099 income, owning a small business, receiving multiple forms of income, having rental property, selling investments, moving or working in multiple states, getting married or divorced, having a new child or dealing with major deductions that require good documentation,” White said.
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