The Internal Revenue Service completed its fifth and final 2026 Nationwide Tax Forum in San Diego on Sept. 22, wrapping a series that drew nearly 13,000 tax professionals to events held across the country.
The forums provided workshops, seminars and one-on-one assistance with taxpayer cases, according to IRS release IR-2026-113. The program is the IRS’s primary mechanism for direct professional development outreach to tax preparers and practitioners.
Tax professionals who attend the forums serve tens of millions of American taxpayers, making the program one of the federal government’s largest annual direct-education efforts for an industry that directly affects public compliance with the tax code.
The five forums were held in cities across the United States throughout 2026, with San Diego serving as the final stop. Each forum offered multiple days of continuing education credits, technical updates on tax law changes and opportunities for practitioners to resolve client cases directly with IRS staff.
The nearly 13,000 attendance figure provides a benchmark for the program’s reach and effectiveness. IRS said the forums covered topics including filing season updates, tax law changes, ethics and practice management.
For taxpayers, the quality and currency of their tax preparer’s knowledge directly affects the accuracy of their returns and their exposure to penalties or audits. The forum program is designed to ensure practitioners stay current with evolving tax law and IRS procedures.
IRS said the 2026 forums also included sessions on emerging issues such as digital assets, identity theft prevention and changes to tax credits affecting individual and small business filers.
The agency said planning for the 2027 Nationwide Tax Forum series would begin in the coming months.