Insightful Accountant will recognize up to twenty-five Top Tax Advisors 2026. The Top Tax Advisors are a new group of awards within the 2026 Top Advisor Awards. The Top Tax Advisors will join the Top 100 U.S. ProAdvisors, the Top 25 Up-n-coming ProAdvisors, and the Top 50 International ProAdvisors for 2026.
Two factors contributed to Insightful Accountant's decision to offer this new awards group. The first factor was the growing number of U.S. ProAdvisors documenting a tax focus within their formal applications. The second factor was the formal tax training and credentialing that became available through the Intuit Academy.
While it is appropriate to recognize tax professionals who strive to become the 'best of the best' in offering tax services, regardless of QuickBooks ProAdvisor status, it wouldn't be appropriate to include non-ProAdvisor Tax practitioners within the Top 100 ProAdvisor awards, which is why an entirely new group was established for these Awards, rather than setting up 'Tax' as a Top 100 ProAdvisor Award Category.
For 2026, up to twenty-five Tax Advisors will be recognized for the awards, and one of the twenty-five will be recognized as the 2026 Tax Advisor of the Year.
Tax Advisor Award Requirements for 2026
There are three requirements for recognition in the Top Tax Advisor Awards group. To be considered for these awards:
(1) Applicants must be active Tax Advisors who are residents of the United States (or its territories).
(2) Tax Advisors must:
(a) Have an active Tax Practice consisting of one or more personal or business tax clients, including preparation of tax estimates, tax returns, or tax planning strategies, at any time during 2025 (from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025), even if said assistance was related to a prior 'tax year,' or
(b) Serve as an agent for TurboTax Live or TurboTax Live Full-service (part-time-full-time, independent contractor or employee) who has assisted 12 or more TurboTax Live Clients at any time during 2025 (from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025), even if said assistance was related to a prior 'tax year.'
(3) While nothing requires Intuit Academy participants to earn ProAdvisor certification, nothing prevents ProAdvisors from participating in the Intuit Academy tax training and credentialing. Non-ProAdvisor applicants for the Tax Advisor Awards must hold a current Intuit Academy Tax-Level 1 Certification with an issuance date no earlier than November 1, 2024. They must be prepared to upload a copy of the certificate of completion/certification as documentation of such current certification.
Insightful Accountant encourages all TurboTax Live, or other Tax Live agents, providing services through Intuit as part-time or full-time, independent contractors or employees, to apply for these awards.
Awards Process
The new Tax Advisor Awards process is being conducted as part of the Insightful Accountant 2026 Top Advisor Awards. A single application form for the U.S. Awards (Top 100, Up-n-comer, and Tax Advisor) simplifies the documentation of related requirements, as many of the same objective measures apply across the award criteria.
The 2026 Top Advisor Awards are still underway, and Tax Advisors can apply until 11:59 PM Pacific on March 3, 2026*, to submit their completed formal applications.
A third party can also nominate any Tax Advisor through 11:59 PM Pacific on February 3, 2026.* All nominees will be advised by email within minutes of their nomination. Such nominees can then begin their formal applications.
Applicants are not required to complete their applications in one sitting; they can supplement their applications on a come-and-go basis, allowing them to enter training and certifications as earned, or record apps as used (referred to vendors or implemented for clients).
Following the close of the application period, applicants who meet the minimum criteria will be informed of the next steps in the awards process.
It is anticipated that the Top Tax Advisors will be announced no later than mid-May 2026*. The Tax Advisor of the Year will be announced before July 1, 2026*, along with other top award recipients within the various 2026 Top Advisor Awards.
A centralized Awards Portal allows individuals to apply for these awards or nominate advisors from a single website.
Nominate or Apply for the 2026 Top Tax Advisor Awards HERE.
About Insightful Accountant's Top Advisor Awards
Since its inception, Insightful Accountant has been the awarding entity and administrator for the ProAdvisor Awards Program, which recognizes the best QuickBooks ProAdvisors worldwide.
With the 2026 inclusion of the Top Tax Advisors (who are not required to be ProAdvisors) into the overall awards program, the program is now the "Top Advisor Awards" since not all recipients may hold the title of ProAdvisor.
Applicants for these prestigious programs are ranked based on their performance across various criteria, including QuickBooks knowledge and the use of best-in-class tools & partner apps within the QuickBooks ecosystem that support solid practice growth. Tax Advisors will be held to similar standards based upon Intuit's Tax-offering ecosystem.
Intuit, QuickBooks, and the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program have sponsored the awards in an advisory capacity every year since their inception. (Insightful Accountant actively monitors the nomination and application process to determine candidate qualification and equivalency and coordinates with Intuit officials and the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program should questions arise.)
2026 Award Program Sponsors
Sponsors are the lifeblood of these awards; without sponsors, the Top Advisor Awards would not be possible. We want to thank each of our 2026 Award Sponsors.
You can find out more and support our 2026 Advisor Award sponsors by visiting our ProAdvisor Awards Sponsors webpage!
* - all dates are subject to revision by Insightful Accountant.