Consumers continue to start and complete returns later in the tax season, Blucora CEO Chris Walters, said this month. Walter said the rate of efiling in the first two weeks of this season are “approaching 50 percent below what has been seen in past seasons.”The shift has occurred over several years but accelerated this year, Walters said during the company’s recent earnings webcast for financial results for the year ended December 31.
A week ago, Intuit lower guidance on its revenue for the second quarter ended. January. “Revenue for its second fiscal quarter is expected to be lower than previous guidance due to a slower forming tax season,” the company said in an SEC filing.
Walters also noted areas in which Blucora has worked to improve its TaxAct software. That included changes to the importing of prior-year data that it found could increase user completion rates and improvements to the W2 and 1099 Form import tool. Blucora also launched Xpert assist via which filers can receive guidance from CPAs and tax experts. In addition, the company increased investments in support to provide direct human assistance to a far greater percentage of customers in prior years.
