Why Tax Preparation Is the Best Business Nobody's Talking About

Tax preparation is one of the most overlooked business opportunities in America.

In this opening episode of The MuseSpring Minute, Jason Carr, a licensed tax attorney and founder of MuseSpring, explains why the tax preparation profession needs new people, why the startup costs are far lower than many other business models, and why independent preparers can build real practices with recurring clients and year-round income potential.

Jason also introduces the purpose of The MuseSpring Minute: helping aspiring and new tax preparers understand how to learn the profession, launch correctly, avoid common mistakes, and build a serious independent practice.

This episode is for career changers, side hustlers, stay-at-home parents, retirees, and anyone considering whether tax preparation could become a flexible and profitable business path.

Key Takeaways

• Tax preparation is a recurring service with built-in annual demand.
• The profession needs new entrants as many experienced accountants and CPAs leave or approach retirement.
• You do not need a college degree or CPA license to begin learning tax preparation.
• A new tax preparation business can often be started for a fraction of what it costs to buy a franchise or open a traditional business.
• The opportunity is bigger than seasonal return preparation. With the right systems, a preparer can build a professional practice with repeat clients, referrals, and year-round visibility.
• Training should cover both tax fundamentals and business operations, including software, pricing, engagement letters, client intake, scope management, and marketing.
• MuseSpring was created to help aspiring tax preparers move through three stages: Learn, Launch, and Scale.
  
  

Timestamps

00:00: Why tax preparation deserves serious attention

01:15: The accountant shortage and demand for new preparers

02:25: What modern independent tax preparation looks like

03:40: Why the startup costs are lower than many other businesses

05:05: Why most training options leave a gap

06:35: Who The MuseSpring Minute is for

08:00: Jason’s background as a tax attorney

09:10: The income potential for serious new preparers

10:30: What future episodes will cover

11:45: The Tax Business Blueprint Program and MuseSpring’s Learn, Launch, Scale model

Resources Mentioned

• MuseSpring: https://musespring.com
• Tax Business Blueprint Program: https://musespring.com
• The Law Office of Jason Carr, PLLC: https://carrtaxlaw.com 

Transcript

0:02

You trained for the career. Now build the business. This is the New Spring Minute, where aspiring tax professionals learn to launch and scale their own practice. Here's your host, Jason Carr. I want to start this show by making a very simple case. Tax preparation may be one of the best low-cost business opportunities in the United States right now, and almost nobody's talking about it in a serious way. That matters because if you're looking for a flexible business, a second act career, a side income opportunity, or a professional path that does not require going back to school for four years, tax preparation deserves your attention. The numbers tell the story. More than 300,000 accountants have left the profession since 2020. About three-quarters of CPAs are approaching retirement age. At the same time, the IRS processes somewhere around 900,000 to 970,000 P10 applications each year. A P10 is a prepare tax identification number. If you are paid to prepare federal tax returns, you generally need one from the IRS. Those numbers tell you something very important. People are leaving the profession, but demand is not going away. Tax returns still have to be prepared. Small business owners still need help. Families still need guidance. Self-employed people still need someone who can help them make sense of their records, deductions, credits, notices, and filing obligations. The work is still there. The question is who is going to do it? Most people hear tax preparer and immediately picture something outdated. They think of someone sitting at a folding table in a strip mall in February with a sign taped to the window. That picture is incomplete. Today, an independent tax preparer can run a professional practice from home. You can meet with clients virtually. You can collect documents through a secure portal. You can use professional tax software, scheduling tools, e-signature tools, and AI supported workflows. You can serve W-2 employees, families, side hustlers, self-employed people, landlords, freelancers, gig workers, and small business owners. And if you build the business correctly, it doesn't have to be a random seasonal side hustle. It can become a real practice with a repeat clients, referral relationships, year-round visibility, and recurring revenue. This is what makes this opportunity so interesting. The barrier to entry is lower than almost any other professional service business you can name. You don't need a college degree, you don't need a CPA license. You don't need to become an attorney. You don't need to buy a franchise. You don't need to sign a lease, build out office space, hire a staff, or borrow $100,000 just to get started. At the federal level, the basic starting point is usually a P10 from the IRS. From there you need proper training, professional tax software, a basic business structure, client intake procedures, engagement letters, document security, and a way to market your services. Those things matter. You shouldn't skip them, but compared to other businesses, the startup cost is very manageable. A tax preparation business can often be started for roughly $2,000 and $3,000 if you're thoughtful about it. Compare that to buying a franchise where the initial cost can easily run $50,000 or more. Compare it to opening a restaurant. Compare it to real estate where you might spend months or years chasing commissions before you have predictable income. Tax preparation is different because the need is recurring. People file tax returns every year. If you serve them well, many come back. If they trust you, they refer friends, family members, coworkers, and business owners. The repeat nature is powerful. But if the opportunity is so strong, why is everyone talking about real estate, social media management, bookkeeping, insurance sales, and online coaching while almost nobody talks about becoming an independent tax preparer? I think there are two main reasons. First, the existing training options are fragmented. Some programs teach you how to fill out forms, but they don't teach you how to build your own business. Some courses focus on theory, but they don't give you the practical systems you need to operate. Some training is designed to feed workers into someone else's tax office, not help you launch an independent practice. That leaves a major gap. A new tax preparer does not just need to know where the numbers go in a tax return. You need to know how to choose software, how to get clients, how to price your services, how to handle documents, how to set boundaries, how to use engagement letters, how to recognize when a client issue is outside your scope, and how to protect yourself as the business grows. The second reason is visibility. This career path is almost invisible to the people who need to hear about it most. Career changers are searching for flexible businesses. Parents are looking for income that could build around family responsibilities. Retirees are looking for a second act that uses judgment and life experience. Side hustlers are looking for something more durable than chasing the next online trend. People who are good with details, people, and follow through are trying to figure out where those skills can turn into an income. And almost nobody is saying to them, you should seriously look at the tax profession. That's why I created Musepring, and that's why I'm recording this show. My name is Jason Carr. I'm a licensed tax attorney in Texas, New York, and Oklahoma. I have a JD from Texas AM School of Law and an LLM from Georgetown University School of Law. I run the law office of Jason Carr PLLC, a tax law firm that handles IRS resolution, audit defense, tax planning, and related matters for individuals and small businesses across the country. MuSpring is separate from my law firm. MuSpring is an education and coaching platform I created to train aspiring tax professionals and help them understand how to launch an independent tax practice the right way. I've seen this industry from the legal side, the tax resolution side, the business advisory side, and the preparer support side. And I can tell you this clearly, the profession needs new people. The demand is very real. Small business owners are underserved, middle income families are underserved, self-employed people are underserved, new entrepreneurs are underserved. Many existing firms are short staffed, selective about who they take, or focused on higher net worth clients. That creates room for a trained, ethical, professional, independent preparer who knows how to serve ordinary taxpayers well. And the income potential is very real. A new preparer is not going to build a six-figure practice overnight. That's the wrong expectation. But if you take this business seriously, build your systems, serve clients well, and keep showing up, a practice generating $60,000 to $100,000 or more within two to three years is a realistic goal for the right person. That could mean a strong side business. It could mean replacing a job. It could mean building a family business. It could mean creating a professional practice that grows into bookkeeping, payroll, advisory, tax planning coordination, or referral relationships with attorneys and other licensed professionals. The opportunity is not just about preparing returns. The opportunity is becoming a trusted financial guide for a specific group of people who need help every year. That's the bigger picture. This show, The Mew Spring Minute, is built for the person who is starting at the beginning. If you're a CPA, an enrolled agent, or a seasoned tax professional, you may still find some value here, but you're not the primary audience. The primary audience is the person asking, could I really do this? Do I need a degree? Do I need to be good at math? How much does it cost to start? What software do I need? How do I get clients? How do I avoid making serious mistakes? What happens if a client has a tax problem that goes beyond preparation? How do I know when I'm ready? Those are the questions we're going to answer together. Over the next several episodes, we're going to jump in and cover the legal setup, P10s, EFINs, software, first clients, pricing, AI, common mistakes, scope of practice, client communication, and the path from side hustle to full-time practice. We're going to talk about what your first tax season actually looks like. We're going to look about how to build confidence before you feel fully ready. We're going to talk about why year-round visibility matters. We're also going to talk about why knowing when to refer matter to a CPA, enrolled agent, or tax attorney is a strength rather than a weakness. And we're going to talk about the business side, because this is where many new preparers get stuck. They learn tax forms, but they never learn how to run the business. Musepring exists to fill that gap. The Tax Business Blueprint Program is an attorney-led training program I built for aspiring tax professionals who want a structured path into the profession. It's designed around three stages learn, launch, and scale. You learn the fundamentals, you launch a business correctly, you scale with systems, visibility, and professional support. You can find more at Musepring.com. But before you invest in anything, I encourage you to listen to these first few episodes. I want you to understand the opportunity, the responsibility, and the work involved. Because tax preparation can be a great business, but only if you treat it like a real profession from the beginning. The door is open, the market needs new people. The startup costs are manageable, the work is recurring, the technology is better than it has ever been. And if you're willing to learn, build systems, serve people well, and stay within your lane, this may be the business opportunity you've been looking for. I'm Jason Carr. Thanks for listening to the Mew Spring Minute. Thanks for listening to the Mew Spring Minute. Subscribe and leave a review so other future tax pros can find the show. The Mew Spring Minute is produced by Mew Spring LLC for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. For guidance specific to your situation, consult a qualified professional. Mew Spring LLC is not a little longer.