The Hidden Impact of Tax Season Burnout(And How to Fix It)

TL;DR – A link to a Free Online Burnout Assessment Tool (2 to 3-minute quiz with instant score) is included.

You started your accounting career with a vision.

You wanted to master the numbers, advise clients, solve complex financial puzzles, and maybe even build a practice that gave you freedom.

But somewhere along the way, that vision got buried under 70-hour workweeks, unyielding deadlines, and an inbox that replenishes itself the moment you clear it.

The worst part?

No one does much about it. Not really.

Sure, we hear the usual industry gripes like staffing shortages, fee pressures, and demanding clients.

But burnout? That’s just something to “push through.” Right?

Wrong!

And if you don’t recognize it, it will eat your firm alive.

What exactly is burnout? How do you know it - like really know it?

The Silent Killer of CPA Firms

Burnout in the accounting profession is like slow-moving quicksand. You don’t notice it at first. A little extra work here, a few late evenings there. Then suddenly, the weight of it is everywhere:

• You resent the very clients you used to enjoy helping.

• The thought of another tax season makes you physically sick.

• You are constantly irritated - at staff, at clients, at software that won’t sync (again).

• You lie awake at night, knowing you need to hire but dreading the process.

• You fantasize about quitting, selling, or just disappearing into an off-the-grid cabin where no one can email you.

Sound familiar?

That’s not just stress.

That’s burnout.

And it’s costing you more than you think.

The Real Cost of Burnout (It’s Not Just Your Sanity)

Time to get practical.

What is burnout actually doing to your firm?

1. You are bleeding….profits

Burned-out accountants are inefficient.

Your work slows down.

You are more prone to errors.

You spend more time fixing mistakes than doing value-driven work.

Worse, you start discounting fees because, frankly, you don’t have the energy to fight for your worth.

2. Your best people are quiet, or, quietly leaving

It’s not the struggling employees who leave first. It’s the ambitious ones. The people who see the writing on the wall. The ones who refuse to accept that exhaustion is just part of the job. They’re out.

And when they go, they take knowledge, experience, client relationships (clients invariably follow them), and future firm leadership with them.

3. You are training clients to expect the impossible

Ever replied to an email at midnight?

Jumped on a Sunday call?

Promised last-minute work because “it’s just easier” than saying no?

Congratulations! You have set the expectation that you are available 24/7.

And once you set that precedent, good luck undoing it.

Breaking the Cycle (Without Burning Everything Down)

So, what now? Pack it up? Accept the misery?

Absolutely not.

Burnout isn’t inevitable.

It is a problem with the business model.

If you can create a firm that sustains clients, you can create one that sustains you.

1. Start selling results

The fastest way to kill burnout?

Stop trading time for money.

If your firm is still billing hourly, you are chaining your revenue to exhaustion. Even if you have “fixed fees” but those are fixed based on hours of work anticipated, it still is “accounting for time taken.”

Move to fixed pricing that is based on outcomes, client advisory services, or subscription models where you get paid for value, not volume.

2. Fire your worst clients. But why are they there?

Yes, really. The ones who nickel-and-dime you, disrespect your boundaries, or bring nothing but chaos? Let them go.

Burnout thrives on resentment, and nothing fuels resentment faster than bad clients sucking the life out of you.

Sure, everyone tells you to let go the C (and D…clients) but the bigger question is “why do you have them?” That’s where better “client discovery” comes in. (Laser) Define your ideal client, and sign up only those.

3. Redraw your boundaries (and stick to them)

Want to stop working on weekends? Then, stop working on weekends.

Sounds simplistic, but it starts with you.

Set firm boundaries and communicate them clearly.

“We don’t take unscheduled calls. But here’s our calendar link to schedule them (there may be a fee).”

“We require three business days for requests.”

If clients can’t/don't respect that, they are not your clients.

4. Hire that robot, or two, or more (It’s called automation)

Still manually entering data?

Chasing down client documents?

Approving every little thing?

You are wasting your brainpower on tasks that software could do.

Invest in automation, not just for efficiency but for sanity.

5. Create a real exit plan (Even if you are not ready yet)

Burnout often feels worse when you feel trapped.

What’s your long game?

Do you want to sell? Merge? Step back? Scale up?

Build your firm with an exit in mind.

When you see a way out (even years away), you gain control. Such control is the antidote to burnout.

You Are Not Alone (But You Do Have to Act)

Most accountants won’t talk about burnout. But it’s everywhere.

You see it in the blank stares at conferences, in the “just one more tax season” rationalizations, in the firms that suddenly shut their doors because the owner can’t do it anymore.

But it’s fixable.

You didn’t build your career to be a cautionary tale.

You built it to create something meaningful, profitable, and sustainable.

That future is still possible. But you have to make the first move.

Are you willing?

Check if you are (really) feeling the tax season blues.

Take this Free Online Tax Season Burnout Assessment (2 to 3-minute quiz with instant score).