”Hang Up and Call Back” — NAEA President Jennifer MacMillan on This Year’s Filing Season

NAEA President Jennifer MacMillan joins Roger and Annie to talk about what she's hearing from enrolled agents on the front lines this tax season — including an IRS that's putting undertrained staff on the phones, backlogs that aren't getting resolved, and one practitioner who made 25 calls on a single issue without ever getting an answer. They also dig into the bipartisan push for minimum preparer standards, NAEA's win on Oregon licensing, and why Jennifer thinks managing client expectations around social security, tips, and overtime is going to be one of the biggest challenges of the season.

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Chapters

• (00:00) - Welcome to Federal Tax Updates
• (03:55) - Jennifer's Journey
• (05:55) - Selling a Tax Practice the Smart Way: Timing, Systems, and Profitability
• (08:36) - What NAEA Offers: Community Support, Web Board, and Member Resources
• (09:54) - IRS Service Breakdown: Phone Lines, Staffing Losses, and Backlog Reality
• (12:43) - Real-World IRS Call Horror Stories: POA Issues, Callbacks, and TAS Limits
• (15:09) - Returns & Refunds: E-File Works—But Humans and Paper Still Slow Everything
• (16:34) - Managing Client Expectations in a Misinformation Tax Year
• (20:32) - Pricing Your Expertise: Value Billing, Fee Schedules, and Getting Paid for Knowledge
• (26:30) - Why Community Matters + The Accounting Today Webinar Recap
• (28:43) - Tax season prep: new laws, IRS notices & online accounts
• (30:59) - DC advocacy + NAEA Fly-In (May 5–6): what to expect
• (32:05) - Minimum standards for paid preparers: the bipartisan push
• (34:50) - Why regulation matters: tax gap, weak enforcement & bad actors
• (41:18) - State battles: Oregon licensing surprise + Minnesota win
• (48:09) - Join NAEA: member benefits, volunteering & community
• (51:07) - Wrap-up: upcoming topics and tax-season sendoff

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Annie Schwab

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