Filing Season Burnout Is Real. Here’s How Tax Pros Can Avoid It

Whether it’s the day before filing season begins or the day before it ends, the burnout that many tax professionals feel this time of year can damage their performance as well as their mental and physical health.

A heavier workload, tight deadlines, and long hours for weeks at a time can lead to burnout for you and your colleagues. Signs of burnout include fatigue, medical symptoms such as stress headaches, and greater irritability and procrastination. Many of these symptoms are likely familiar to experienced practitioners, and they can make the season even tougher.

But there are ways both practitioners and firm leaders can prepare themselves and their teams to minimize burnout during tax season.

Tips for Practitioners

In addition to the customary factors that make filing season busy, such as complicated tax returns and chasing clients for documents, there may be additional stresses this year, such as the potential for a government shutdown, which could cause a shortage of IRS help, leading to upset clients. To alleviate stress, tax preparers should consider:

Breaking down large goals into smaller tasks. Rome wasn’t built in a day. With tax season officially beginning Jan. 29, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by thinking about what needs to be accomplished by April 15. Setting realistic expectations and breaking down workloads and other to-dos into periodic milestones that can be celebrated will give you what you need to build on for a successful tax season.

Delegating some of those small tasks. We often get sucked into wanting to take on all the things, believing that processes might go faster if we take everything on ourselves. That approach adds to your time, putting more on your plate, and it prevents others around you from developing professionally. Trust in the process, take the time to transition tasks, and give others the opportunity to grow.

Creating boundaries and communicating them clearly. This is easier said than done and must be approached within reason. But meaningfully communicating your limits on interruptions and giving yourself permission to take breaks, shut down, or simply say “no” will help you establish healthy boundaries and allow you to bring your best self, day after day.

Managing clients’ expectations. Be transparent early on about what you need, when you need it, and what happens if they, for whatever reason, can’t meet your deadlines. Does this mean their returns will be extended? It probably depends. Such clarity, however, is needed to manage your workloads and avoid unnecessary surprises for the client during the tax filing process.

Paying attention to personal needs. Determine whether these factors are contributing to a feeling of being overwhelmed. Are you getting enough sleep? Have your diet and exercise patterns changed? Are there additional stressors in your life? The burnout you experience during tax season may not be all about work.

Tips for Firm Leaders

Firm leaders have a vested interest in ensuring teams’ mental and physical well-being, especially during tax season. Firms that invest in their employees’ health during the most challenging times will have a more invested and more productive workforce. Firm leaders should consider:

Keeping lines of communication open. Check in regularly with your team and encourage them to speak up when a problem arises or when they are feeling overwhelmed. Make sure teams know to raise issues with management early—before they get out of hand.

Talking with senior leaders and staff. Brainstorm ways to avoid situations that produced stress in previous years.

Investing in education. Offer staff incentives to complete required and helpful continuing education and training courses before filing season begins. Additionally, encourage staff to complete courses that could help them better manage and handle stress.

Making strategic attempts to manage everyone’s time. For instance, try foregoing some meetings in favor of email updates to save time. Establish realistic expectations for deliverables and deadlines.

Ensuring people are taking breaks during the workday. Find ways to participate in short movement sessions with your team. Consider offering healthy snacks at the office to keep staff fueled and engaged.

Creating boundaries for yourself and your team. Hold off on non-urgent meetings and projects until after filing season is over. Know when to say “no” to requests or projects, and let your team focus on the priority items.

While the stress that accompanies tax season is neither new nor unexpected, people often don’t take the necessary steps to mitigate the impact. Each year brings new and different challenges, and tax professionals continually rise to those challenges.

By preparing for the inevitable stressors that are sure to present themselves this tax season, you can prevent or minimize burnout and enhance workplace performance.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

Author Information

Eva Simpson is the vice president of tax practice and financial planning for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.

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