AI Tax Research Solution Outlook Report 2026
CPA.com and Blue J's AI Tax Research Solution Outlook Report 2026 (June 2026; n=1,000+) found that 60% of tax professionals use AI for tax research at least weekly, up from 33% in 2025.
33%
60%
Key findings
- 0160% use AI for tax research at least weekly, nearly double the 33% reported in 2025.
- 0284% report time savings; freed time goes to client relationships (50%), staff wellness (47%) and advisory quality (46%).
- 0369% anticipate shifting toward value-based or fixed-fee billing.
By the numbers
60%of tax professionals use AI for tax research at least weekly, up from 33% in 2025
84%agree AI saves them time
69%expect to move to a value-based, hybrid or fixed-fee billing model
What it means for you Draft
For executives at $10–100M companies
Accounting firms are moving from trying AI to relying on it weekly, and many expect billing to shift away from hours as a result. Any services firm that bills by the hour may want to think about what happens to revenue when the same work takes less time.
Limitations
Low trust.Co-published by Blue J, an AI tax research vendor, and CPA.com (AICPA's commercial arm, which partners with vendors); methodology thin.
About the publisher: Blue J sells AI tax research software.
The headline figure measures the “Approved” stage of adoption (sanctioned in a function).Why adoption numbers disagree
CPA.com and Blue J. "AI Tax Research Solution Outlook Report 2026." June 8, 2026. https://www.cpa.com/news/blue-j-and-cpacom-survey-finds-ai-adoption-among-tax-firms-has-nearly-doubled-one-year
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