7 reasons to get out of the office for a Tax Season Updates workshop

You can study tax updates without leaving your desk. But an in-person Tax Season Updates (TSU) workshop gives you something another day in front of a screen cannot: dedicated space to work through the issues coming your way while connecting with other tax professionals before filing season.

If you are wondering whether it’s worth packing your day bag and making the trip, here are seven reasons to go. Explore the TSU map to find an in-person workshop near you or select an available virtual option.

1. Test what you think you know

Rather than read an update and call it settled, tax professionals turn it over and think through how it will play out on an actual return. Being in the room with fellow tax professionals takes that thinking beyond the limits of your own desk.

A live workshop gives you the chance to confirm that you are reading a provision correctly before you rely on that understanding during filing season. You may also hear a question you had not thought to ask, which can expose a blind spot while there is still time to address it.

2. Keep 2026 changes from becoming filing-season surprises

There are always changes to absorb, but the rules affecting 2026 returns deserve focused attention before clients begin arriving.

Day 1 covers essential tax law developments affecting individuals and businesses, including provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and changes affecting Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions. The instructors move beyond announcing what changed to exploring where the new rules require judgment or careful application.

3. See one family’s tax decisions ripple across generations

A single event in a family can change more than one return. On Day 2 of the workshop, a multigenerational case study follows a family through lifetime gifting, retirement distributions, cognitive decline and estate administration.

The case-study format shows how one event can have ripple effects on later filings or planning choices. When a client walks into your office with a similar fact pattern, you’ll have more than a rule to recall. You will have a scenario that helps you recognize the questions worth asking and determine where return preparation ends and a larger advisory conversation begins.

4. Give your screen brain the day off

Sometimes the best way to work on your business is to step out of the usual setting.

Take a drive and grab coffee somewhere new. A workshop gives you fresh scenery and a different pace, along with permission to focus on your professional development without an inbox blinking at you from the next tab. Moving your body through the world and learning in a room with other people has real value.

5. Build a filing-season reference you will actually use

The value of TSU does not end when the workshop does. Registration includes an e-book and print textbook, along with downloadable presentation slides.

Take notes in the format that works for you. Mark the pages you expect to revisit. When a client raises a question months later, you will know where the issue was covered and have a starting point for further research.

Registration also includes a January on-demand webinar addressing last-minute guidance released for the upcoming 2027 filing season.

6. Put year-end CPE to work

For many tax professionals, TSU offers an opportunity to earn year-end CPE while preparing for filing season. Attendees can earn up to 16 CPE for AFSP, EA, CPA, CRTP and CFP® credentials. AFSP participants should confirm how the credits apply to their annual requirements. You can choose one or two days of education based on your CPE needs and the topics most relevant to your practice.

7. Get reinvigorated with your profession

Tax work can become isolating, especially for solo practitioners and remote professionals. Spending time with people who understand your work can remind you that you are part of a larger profession.

You may reconnect with an old friend, meet someone whose experience complements yours or enjoy talking tax without explaining why the conversation is interesting. Those connections may become trusted sounding boards during filing season and well into the future.

More than that, a good workshop can send you home reinvigorated about tax work itself. You’ll land back at the office with greater confidence and more energy and enthusiasm for the season ahead.

Find your change of scenery

Ready to get out of the office? Explore the TSU map to find an in-person workshop near you or select an available virtual option.