This page is for independent tax preparers, enrolled agents and small tax offices that serve individual filers and want more of them each January to April. The window is short, the field is crowded and the buyer compares prices, so the plan has to be ready before the season starts. Ogus Marketing Group runs Google Ads and Facebook Ads for accounting and tax practices; here is how we would set up a preparer’s season, and what it should cost.
Request your free Google Ads audit or call 365-366-2524.
The problem: a 15-week season against two kinds of competitor
The window is short. For 2026 returns, the US dates are February 1, 2027 (employers send Forms W-2) and April 15, 2027 (individual returns), with October 15 for extended returns (IRS Publication 509 (2027), early-release draft). In Canada, most individual returns for 2025 were due April 30, 2026, or June 15 for most self-employed people (CRA). Ads still being built in February miss the early choosers.
Competitor one: the chains. National tax-prep brands advertise heavily and have offices in many towns. You won’t outspend them, but you can be more specific: the same preparer every year, evening appointments, a language, a type of return they handle poorly.
Competitor two: do-it-yourself. By May 8, 2026, the IRS had received 75.3 million e-filed returns from tax professionals and 65.7 million self-prepared e-filed returns, with self-prepared up 1.7% on 2025 (IRS filing season statistics). IRS Free File guided software is available to filers with adjusted gross income of $89,000 or less (IRS Free File). Many “file taxes” searchers will never pay a preparer.
The buyer compares on price and trust. A filer often doesn’t know what a return should cost and is wary of being overcharged. The IRS tells taxpayers to check a preparer’s credentials in its public directory (IRS, Choosing a tax professional) and to avoid preparers “who base fees on a percentage of the refund or who boast bigger refunds than their competition” (IRS).
How to get tax clients: what the best-run seasons have in common
Three things decide how well ads will work:
- Last year’s clients come back. Remind them in early January with a booking link, so the ad budget goes to new clients.
- Your Google Business Profile and reviews are current, because people who click your ads will check them.
- You know your capacity. How many new returns can you take by early April? That sets the budget.
Paid search then adds clients that returning clients and referrals don’t. For the wider plan, see how to market an accounting firm.
How we approach Google Ads for tax preparers
Campaigns by type of filer
A preparer’s account is split by type of return and urgency, not by the service lines a full CPA firm would use.
| Campaign | Example keyword themes | When it runs |
|---|---|---|
| Local individual returns | tax preparer near me, tax preparation [city], tax services near me, income tax preparer | First week of January until early April or until you’re full |
| Self-employed and gig | self-employed tax preparer, 1099 tax preparer, rideshare driver taxes, Schedule C tax help, independent contractor taxes | January to April 15; usually higher fees |
| Life changes and rentals | rental property tax preparer, tax preparer for new homeowners, first-time filer tax help, tax help after divorce | January to April |
| Late, prior-year and extensions | file prior year taxes, unfiled tax returns help, amended tax return preparer, file tax extension help | Late March to October 15 |
| Language | Spanish-language (or other) tax terms, if you serve clients in that language | As local returns, with ads and a page in that language |
| Brand | [your office name], [your name] tax | Year-round, small budget |
For in-person work we set a tight radius around the office and widen it only if you file remotely, so budget isn’t spent on people who will never drive to you.
Negative keywords for tax preparation advertising
Our starting list for a preparer:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| DIY software | TurboTax, TaxAct, FreeTaxUSA, Cash App Taxes, tax software, tax app, e-file myself |
| Free filing | free file, free tax preparation, free tax filing, VITA, AARP tax aide, volunteer |
| Status and look-ups | where’s my refund, refund status, IRS phone number, tax calculator, tax brackets, W-2 copy, transcript |
| Jobs and training | seasonal tax preparer jobs, tax preparer salary, how to become a tax preparer, tax preparer course, PTIN, AFSP |
| Refund loans (unless you offer them) | refund advance, refund anticipation loan, tax loan |
Chain names are a choice, not a default. Google’s trademark policy says it “will not restrict” trademarks used as keywords, but it does restrict competitors using them in ad text (Google Ads trademark policy). Someone searching a chain’s name usually wants that chain, so we exclude them by default; if you want to test them, use a small separate campaign whose ads never mention the brand.
Ad copy: price, credentials and the honest promise
- Publish a starting price. In NATP’s 2025 fee study, nearly half of preparers set a minimum fee and adjust for complexity (NATP). “Returns from $[your minimum]” is the ad version, and it screens out people hoping for free. If you’re a CPA, EA or attorney, Circular 230 lets you publish fixed fees and fee ranges, but a published fee must be honoured for at least 30 calendar days after it was last published (31 CFR 10.30). Pick one you can keep all season.
- Credentials, described correctly. “Enrolled Agent”, “CPA” or “Annual Filing Season Program Record of Completion” where true. Circular 230 bars enrolled agents from using “certified” or implying they work for the IRS (31 CFR 10.30).
- No refund promises. “Maximum refund guaranteed” is the sort of claim the IRS warns taxpayers about. “Every credit you qualify for, checked by the same preparer each year” says the same thing honestly.
- Convenience that chains and apps don’t offer. Evening and Saturday appointments, drop-off service, “we’re here after April 15”, a language you speak.
The landing page a filer needs
The page should repeat the ad: type of return, starting price, what to bring, how to book, and a phone number answered during the season. Offer online booking if you can; some filers would rather pick a slot than wait for a call back. A one-question form (“Individual, self-employed or rental property?”) routes the lead and lets campaigns be graded by return type.
Tracking calls and capacity
A well-run account counts calls from ads and the website as conversions, sets a minimum call length so hang-ups don’t count, and records which leads booked. The other half is capacity: the day the calendar is full, the individual-return campaign is cut back and budget moves to extensions and prior-year returns, or stops. Paying for calls you can’t take sends filers to the chain down the road.
Reviews: the deciding factor for individual filers
In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey of 1,002 US consumers, 31% said they would only use a business rated 4.5 stars or higher, up from 17% a year earlier, and 42% said they were unlikely to use a business that never replies to reviews (BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026).
The rules on collecting them are strict:
- Google’s policy prohibits offering “incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services – in exchange for posting any review”, and prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews (Google Maps user contributed content policy).
- The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews bans buying reviews and offering incentives “conditioned on the writing of consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment” (FTC).
What works within the rules: ask every client, with a direct link, in the message confirming their return was accepted, and reply to every review briefly and without client details. The season gives you the most satisfied clients in the shortest time.
Local Services Ads for tax preparers
Google’s Local Services Ads (LSA) list “Tax services” as a category (Google Local Services Ads Help). You pay when a potential client contacts you through the ad, not per click, and verified businesses carry a Google Verified badge (Google). The older “Google Screened” and “Google Guaranteed” badges have been replaced by that single badge (Google Local Services Help).
- Verification. In the US, Google’s checks include a license check for each tax specialist in the firm and professional liability insurance where local law requires it (Google screening and verification requirements). Google’s page lists tax-specialist requirements for the US only, so Canadian preparers should confirm availability first.
- Ranking. Google says ranking depends on your bid and on how likely you are to get the lead, including responsiveness (“missed calls may negatively affect your responsiveness”), your rating, number of reviews and response time (Google Local Services Help). In tax season, answering the phone is ad strategy.
- It is changing. Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. Home-service categories began moving in August 2026, and Google says all remaining categories will move in 2027 (Google Ads Help). Expect tax services to be managed inside Google Ads, possibly during the 2027 season.
Our view: if you’re eligible, LSA is worth testing alongside search ads, since you pay only for contacts, but with no control over keywords or landing pages it shouldn’t be your only channel.
Facebook Ads for tax preparers
Nobody scrolls Facebook looking for a preparer, but it helps in two ways: retargeting people who visited your pricing or booking page without booking, and reminding a local audience in March that you still have appointments. We add it once search is producing tracked bookings.
Budget: what a season of tax preparer advertising costs
LocaliQ’s 2026 benchmarks don’t break out tax preparation; the closest categories average $3.39 per click (Finance & Insurance) and 5.87perclick(BusinessServices)([LocaliQ,2026SearchAdvertisingBenchmarks](https://localiq.com/blog/search−advertising−benchmarks/)).Watchcostperclickweekly; ifmorecompetitorsbidnearthedeadline, yourcostsrise.Werecommendatleast * *1,000 USD a month in ad spend** during the months you advertise.
Worked example: a two-preparer office
All inputs are assumptions.
| Input | Assumption |
|---|---|
| Season budget, January 5 to April 10 (about 14 weeks) | $6,000 (about $1,850 a month) |
| Average cost per click | $4.50 (between the two LocaliQ categories) |
| Click-to-lead rate (call, form or booking) | 8% |
| Lead-to-client rate | 45% (assumes many in-season calls book an appointment on the call) |
| Average fee per return | $300 |
| Share who return next year | 70% |
The math:
- Clicks: $6,000 ÷ $4.50 = about 1,330
- Leads: 1,330 × 8% = about 106, or about $57 per lead
- New clients: 106 × 45% = about 48
- Ad cost per new client: 6, 000 ÷ 48 = * *125**, against a $300 fee
- First-season fees: 48 × 300 = * *14,400**
- Next season: 70% of 48 = about 34 returning clients, $10,200 in fees with no ad cost
Two checks: can your preparers handle about 48 extra returns by mid-April, and will your average fee hold if most are simple returns? If not, shift budget to self-employed and rental-property campaigns, where fees are higher.
Month-by-month pacing and bids are in our tax season advertising calendar for accounting firms.
Proof
Accounting firm results are on our case studies page. The Brown Law case study shows how we report. Brown Law is a nursing-law practice, so costs don’t transfer, but the measurement does: over 10 months, 141 leads including 86 phone calls, $81.39 per lead and more than 20% of leads becoming clients. Lorie Brown summed it up as “thrilled with the results.”
What happens in months 1 to 3
Month 1 (October or November): plan and build. We agree capacity, fees, the filer types you want and the area you serve. Call, form and booking tracking is set up and tested, and campaigns are built with the negatives above. If you plan to try Local Services Ads, start verification now so it’s done before January.
Month 2 (December): warm up. Brand and prior-year campaigns run at a low budget so tracking is proven before the rush.
Month 3 (January): launch and tighten. Individual and self-employed campaigns go live in the first week. Search terms are reviewed daily at first, and budget moves toward the filer types that book. Each week we compare bookings with remaining capacity.
Selling business returns too? Read Google Ads for accountants. Adding bookkeeping to fill the off-season? See bookkeeper marketing. Everything else is on the marketing for accountants hub.
Frequently asked questions
When should tax preparers start advertising?
Build campaigns in October to December and switch individual-return ads on in the first week of January. W-2s are due to employees by February 1, 2027, and filers start choosing a preparer once their forms arrive. Starting in March means competing only for filers who haven’t chosen anyone yet.
How much does Google Ads cost for tax preparers?
Closest benchmarks are $3.39 (Finance & Insurance) to $5.87 (Business Services) per click, per LocaliQ’s 2026 data; your city and the weeks before the deadline can push that higher. As an illustration, $6,000 over a season at $4.50 a click could bring about 48 new clients at $125 each. We recommend at least $1,000 USD a month while you advertise.
How can a small tax office compete with H&R Block and TurboTax?
Don’t compete on brand. Exclude DIY software and free filing searches, target specific filer types (self-employed, rental property, prior-year returns), publish a starting price, show your credentials and reviews, and sell what chains and apps can’t: the same preparer every year and someone to call after April 15.
Should tax preparers list prices in ads?
A starting price (“returns from $X”) usually improves lead quality by screening out people looking for free filing. If you’re a CPA, EA or attorney, Circular 230 requires you to honour a published fee for at least 30 days after it was last published, so choose one you can keep all season.
Can tax preparers use Google Local Services Ads?
“Tax services” is a Local Services Ads category. In the US, Google checks the license of each tax specialist in the firm and may require professional liability insurance. Verified businesses show a Google Verified badge. Google is moving LSA into Google Ads as Performance Max pay-per-lead campaigns, with remaining categories due to move in 2027.
Can I offer clients a discount for leaving a review?
No. Google’s review policy prohibits incentives such as discounts in exchange for reviews, and the FTC bans incentives tied to positive reviews. Ask every client for an honest review with a direct link when their return is accepted, and reply to every review.
Get a free Google Ads audit
If you already run ads, we’ll review your account and show you where the budget is going: which searches are wasting money, whether calls are tracked, and what you’re paying per new client. If you’ve never advertised, we’ll build a first-season plan with a realistic budget for your market.
Call 365-366-2524 or fill in the form below to request your free Google Ads audit.