The 2014 tax season was as uneventful for software as 2013's was marred by problems. So much for that analysis. What tax professionals really want to know if what changes will hit the products they use for the next tax season. Only a few new features are ready for public view, but then again, a substantial number of tax preparers new their software without seeing the new stuff.

Liberty Tax and TaxAct grew the number of returns they received or processed faster than the rate over overall return growth. The two joined Intuit in that category as only H&R Block this year grew at a slower rate than the number of returns efiled with the Internal Revenue Service through April 18.

Thomson Reuters would probably like to clone its Tax and Accounting business. That unit this week turned in what CEO James Smith called "an exceptional" quarter for the period ended March 31 with tax and accounting leading all of the company's operations in improvements to the bottom line and revenue.