Tax preparers are persevering despite being hit with a number of negatives at the start of filing season, including bad weather, the effects of the poor economy, and the demise of several major bank product programs.

"IRS filings are down compared to the same period a year ago," revealed Amy McAnarney, CPA, executive director/vice president of the Tax Institute at tax prep giant H&R Block.

"The IRS predicted that 2 percent less would file this year due to the recession, and we think that's holding true," said John Hewitt, chief executive of Liberty Tax Service. "Our day-to-day filing for February is down because of the snow in the East, but overall Liberty is up 10 percent for the year."

The weather, in the form of several large snowstorms that blitzed the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic region, is responsible for a decline in filing volume, agreed Chuck McCabe, chief executive of Virginia-based Peoples Income Tax.

"We're down primarily because of the snow," he said. "We missed a lot of early business at the end of January when the first snowstorm hit. We shut down two Saturdays in a row at what would normally be our busiest time. But most of those clients will be in later, unless they stayed home during the snow and decided to do their own returns."

McCabe noted that a number of his company's clients have been affected by the recession. "To counter this, we're offering a 50 percent discount for those who are unemployed," he said. "We want to be able to keep our loyal clients, and attract some new ones for an ongoing relationship."

"The average fee of tax preparers is dropping slightly," added Tony Johnson, a Sacramento, Calif.-based CPA and speaker for Gear Up, the CPE provider of the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters. "Our Gear Up attendees expected it to be tough this tax season, and so far it is. Clients want to come in and pour their heart out to the preparer. It's good therapy for the taxpayer, but it can get time-consuming for the preparer." To save time, he suggested offering a discount for clients who mail in or drop off their information.

Johnson views outsourcing as a means to deal with time and staff constraints during tax season. "Outsourcing used to be a buzzword, then it became a bad word," he explained. "But rather than outsource to a foreign country, many preparers are finding it attractive to outsource returns to retired tax professionals who live in their neighborhood. In my own practice, I have a retired IRS Appeals officer who prepares 100 returns during tax season."

YOU STILL NEED TO FILE!

Many workers who lost their jobs during the past year believe that they are not required to file a return, according to H&R Block's McAnarney.

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