Tax preparers across the country are bracing for a materially more complex 2026 filing season after passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The legislation both adds a suite of new tax provisions and makes extensions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, a combination that tax professionals say will reshape individual compliance and planning work for years to come.

The immediate operational consequence is clear: routine 1040 preparation will demand more time and expertise. Tax shops that relied on established workflows will face added schedules, new calculations and greater nuance in diagnosis of client situations. Firms already report that the volume of advisory questions and exceptions tends to rise sharply after major code changes, and sources advising preparers emphasize that “professional-grade automation” and AI-powered research tools will be decisive in maintaining throughput and accuracy.

From a market perspective, the change creates near-term demand for software upgrades, integrations and vendor services. Tax software vendors and research-platform providers are likely to see increased enterprise sales as practitioners replace manual workarounds with automated workflows that can ingest new rules, flag exceptions and generate updated checklists. Accounting firms may also re-price engagements or shift staff allocation toward higher-value planning work rather than rote data entry, changing the economics of client relationships.

Policy implications extend beyond operational headaches. Making TCJA extensions permanent locks certain tax parameters into the code, altering revenue projections and the long-term distributional profile of federal receipts. Permanent provisions reduce legislative uncertainty for planners but can amplify distributional effects over multiple years, meaning advisors will need to reassess withholding, estimated payments and longer-term estate and retirement strategies in light of a more settled tax framework.

Practical timing matters. Thomson Reuters Tax and other industry advisers point to the fourth quarter as an optimal window for onboarding new tax-prep solutions. Implementing software in Q4 gives firms time to map new code into templates, run parallel tests during a lower-intensity season and train staff before filing deadlines begin. Firms that delay until the busy season risk rushed rollouts that increase error rates and staff burnout.

For firms deciding how to respond, the calculus centers on three linked investments: updated technology, personnel training and process redesign. Automation can compress repetitive tasks, AI research tools can accelerate interpretation of the new provisions, and targeted training can reduce reliance on a small pool of experts. Together, these steps can convert a compliance shock into an opportunity to reposition services toward advisory revenue streams.

The broader trend is familiar to industry watchers: tax practice is moving from paper-based forms and ad hoc rule lookups toward integrated, software-driven workflows. OBBBA will accelerate that shift. Firms that begin Q4 planning now — auditing legacy systems, piloting tools and budgeting for change — will be best placed to meet the 2026 season with controlled costs, fewer errors and a clearer client value proposition.