How CPA Firms Outsource Tax Preparation

What firms usually send out

The work that moves most easily is the preparation itself: individual returns (Form 1040), partnership returns (Form 1065), S corporation returns (Form 1120-S) and C corporation returns (Form 1120), plus the workpapers, organizers and tie-outs behind them. Firms also send out backlogs of extended returns and routine state and sales tax filings.

What firms keep: the client conversation, the review, the judgment calls and the signature. That split is the normal model, and it answers the question many partners ask first: yes, you can outsource preparation and keep review in-house.

The 2026 deadlines that set the pace

IRS Publication 509 sets the calendar. For calendar-year filers in 2026:

• Form 1065 and Form 1120-S: due the 15th day of the 3rd month, which was March 16, 2026 because March 15 fell on a Sunday. Form 7004 gives an automatic six-month extension, to September 15, 2026.
• Form 1040: due April 15, 2026. Form 4868 gives an automatic six-month extension, to October 15, 2026.
• Form 1120: due April 15, 2026, extendable with Form 7004 to October 15, 2026.
• An extension gives more time to file, not more time to pay.

Rules every outside preparer must meet

The IRS says anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for compensation must have a valid PTIN; the 2026 fee is $18.75. Ask every provider to confirm that each person working on your returns has one.

Section 7216 lets you share return information with another US preparer helping on the return without the client's consent. If the preparer is outside the United States, the taxpayer must first sign a consent in the wording set by Revenue Procedure 2013-14. Our Section 7216 guide covers the details, including the rule for Social Security numbers.

The AICPA Code adds the general rules for any outside provider: check their qualifications, tell clients, and have a confidentiality agreement or client consent before sharing data.

Software and access

Ask each provider which tax software it already works in, whether that is UltraTax CS, Lacerte, Drake or another package, and how it will reach your files. Many firms prefer the preparer to work inside the firm's own environment through remote access, so client data never leaves the firm's systems and the firm controls every login.

What outsourced tax preparation costs

Providers price tax work per return, per hour or per dedicated preparer for the season. Per-return quotes vary with return type and complexity, so ask for a price by return type rather than one blended figure.

Example, for illustration only: a partnership return that takes four hours of preparation costs $48 to $60 of preparer time at $12 to $15 an hour. SF Business Solutions does tax-season prep for CPA firms at $12–$15 an hour, and a full-time accountant for the season starts at $1,500 a month. Ask us which return types we take on.