Every tax season tells its own unique story. Some firms found this year particularly challenging, while others experienced their smoothest season yet. Whether your firm navigated real difficulties or reaped the rewards of recent improvements, one thing remains constant: the value of a thorough post-season debrief.
Firms that analyze their tax season experiences consistently outperform those that simply move on to the next deadline. In this post, we share highlights from our 2026 Post-Tax Season Survey and walk you through how to run a debrief that actually drives change. For the full data and a deeper framework, watch our on-demand webinar.
Table of Contents
- What is a Tax Season Debrief, and Why Does it Matter?
- How to Prepare for Your Tax Season Debrief
- How to Host an Effective Debrief Meeting
- How to Create a Post-Debrief Action Plan
- Tips and Reminders
What is a Tax Season Debrief, and Why Does it Matter?
A tax season debrief is a structured meeting where your team reflects on the recently completed season, identifies what worked and what did not, and creates a plan for improvement. It matters for four key reasons:
1. Team Recognition
A debrief is the right moment to acknowledge hard work and discuss how your firm rewards staff. Our 2026 survey found the vast majority of firms do recognize their teams after busy season, and the approaches vary more than you might expect.
2. Workflow Optimization
Summer is the best time to evaluate and improve processes before the next deadline arrives.
3. Professional Development
Debriefs create natural opportunities for senior staff to listen to experiences of a broad range of production staff, particularly newer staff who may provide fresh insights
4. Strategic Planning
Examining both wins and gaps helps your firm build targeted strategies for next season, including decisions around staffing and client load.
How to Prepare for Your Tax Season Debrief
1. Schedule at the Right Time
Hold your debrief 7-10 days after the tax deadline while experiences are still fresh. Consider a shorter follow-up after October 15 as well, so extension season lessons do not get lost.
2. Distribute Surveys First
Send a detailed, anonymous questionnaire to all team members before the meeting. Include open-ended questions, and use an AI tool to summarize responses in advance; it surfaces patterns quickly, provides depth of awareness, and saves prep time.
→ Our 2026 survey of 212 firms found that more than half said this tax season went better than last year. But the picture is more nuanced than that headline suggests. Firm size, staffing stability, and technology adoption all shaped how firms experienced the season. Watch the webinar for the full breakdown.
3. Gather Client Feedback
Your clients see your processes from a different angle and can identify gaps your team may miss. Our 2026 survey found a sharp rise in late and incomplete client submissions compared to last year, making client feedback more important than ever.
Ask clients what they liked, what could improve, how easy your digital tools were to use, and whether they would refer others. Their answers often surface issues your internal team has normalized and stopped noticing.
4. Review Your Process Documentation
Before and during the meeting, look for steps that require manual input that could be automated, communication gaps between departments, and anything currently tracked in spreadsheets.
That last one is worth paying special attention to: when a team builds a spreadsheet workaround, it almost always means the underlying system is not doing its job. Those workarounds are exactly the kind of thing a debrief should surface and fix, as in many cases the existing (or a new) application can eliminate the need for duplicative effort in entering and verifying information, since it is done natively in the application.
How to Conduct an Effective Debrief Meeting
Start by setting the tone: this meeting is about improvement, not blame. Then work through these steps:
- Share survey results before open discussion so common themes are visible to everyone.
- Ask newer staff first. Interns and part-time staff are most commonly excluded from debriefs, yet often bring the freshest perspective on where friction actually exists.
- Listen for jokes and legends. Recurring complaints dressed up as humor often point to real process problems.
- Use colored sticky notes (green: what worked, red: what did not, blue: opportunities, yellow: concerns) to organize feedback visually before discussion.
- Limit your focus. Pick one or two improvements per area and implement them fully. Too many priorities at once creates frustration and erodes trust in the process.
- Document every action item with a named owner, a measurable outcome, a realistic deadline, and the resources needed to get it done.
How to Create an Action Plan from Your Debrief
Develop Timesaving Initiatives
Reduce manual work by implementing digital data capture, improving team collaboration tools, and moving any remaining paper-based steps to digital.
Assess Technology Needs
Our 2026 survey points to clear leaders in efficiency gains. A handful of tools stood out well above the rest. Watch the webinar for the full technology breakdown, including cloud adoption rates and what firms plan to implement this summer.
Build Training Programs
Use debrief findings to identify skill gaps. Focus on getting more out of tools your firm already has before adding new ones.
Improve Client Service
Set clear document submission deadlines and communicate early that late submissions will result in extensions. Give clients a checklist through your portal so expectations are clear from the start.
Track the Right Metrics
Shift from pure volume counts toward measures that reflect digital adoption and staff health:
- Percentage of returns delivered electronically
- E-signature and portal usage rates
- One-and-done review rates
- Tax projections completed per client
- Net Promoter Score
- Number of Saturdays worked
Tips and Reminders
Mix up the format.
Try a walking meeting that traces the flow of a return through your office, or move off-site to break out of the usual routine. Keep events practical; a good dinner beats a high-risk activity every time.
Include everyone.
Our 2026 survey found a meaningful share of firms skip the debrief entirely, and those who do hold one often exclude admin staff and contract employees, the people closest to day-to-day friction. Aim for 100% participation with anonymous feedback channels for sensitive topics.
Use the SMART framework.
Every action item should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. “Use AI next year” is not a plan. “Our admin team, led by (person), will use [tool] to import source documents for all 1040 returns beginning June 15,” is.
Make This Year’s Debrief a Competitive Advantage
A thorough tax season debrief is not just a best practice; it is a competitive advantage. The firms that improve year over year are not doing anything magical. They are simply committing to reflect, prioritize, and follow through.
By making the debrief a consistent part of your annual cycle, you build a culture of improvement that compounds over time and makes each busy season a little more manageable than the last.
For the complete 2026 survey findings and a deeper framework for turning your debrief into action, watch the on-demand webinar:
