How to find a CPA in Texas and judge the fit

How to find a CPA in Texas starts with checking the record. Confirm the person and, where relevant, the firm in the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy lookup. Then compare the finalists on the same questions: what work they will do, who will do it, whether they can handle an IRS issue, and whether their tax calendar fits your business.

What “best” should mean to an owner

Choose a firm whose credentials and scope match the work you need. The IRS recognizes CPAs, enrolled agents, and attorneys as professionals with unlimited representation rights. ^[8]

Texas lets the public search TSBPA records for individual CPAs, CPA firms, and CPE sponsors. Search by name or license number, and read the status rather than stopping at the firm’s own description. The lookup can display disciplinary actions or enforcement markers. ^[1]

Treat the result as a starting point. TSBPA says an individual license marked “Expired” may not practice public accounting in Texas until requirements are met. A firm with that status may not practice either. ^[2][3]

Use this scoring sheet for how to find a CPA in Texas

Score each finalist from 0 to 2 on each point. A score does not replace your judgment, but it gives two firms the same test.

Compare the written answers after the calls. A side-by-side record makes each firm’s stated scope and point of contact easier to evaluate.

Check the credential behind the title

Texas CPA licenses renew every year by the last day of the licensee’s birth month. The board requires 120 hours of continuing professional education every three years, including at least four hours of Texas-specific ethics every two years. Unused CPE credits do not carry forward. ^[4]

Those rules are useful comparison questions, but they do not tell you everything about the firm. Ask the person who will sign the return what credential they hold and whether another professional will review or handle a specific issue. Federal rules require a valid 2027 PTIN for anyone paid to prepare or assist in preparing federal returns. ^[6]

The IRS directory is another check. It includes people with an active PTIN who also have specified credentials or qualifications, including CPAs, enrolled agents, attorneys, and Annual Filing Season Program participants. It does not list noncredentialed preparers who are not AFSP participants, and some eligible preparers choose not to appear. ^[7]

Match the firm’s work to the work you need

Ask whether you need tax preparation only, financial statements for a lender, or an attest service. Under Texas law, only a license holder or a qualifying practice-privilege holder may offer or perform an attest service. The statute also permits a non-license holder to prepare financial statements, subject to limits on the reporting language used. ^[5]

That distinction matters when a lender, investor, or contract asks for a particular kind of financial statement. Use the exact term from the request when you speak with a firm. It gives the firm a chance to say clearly whether it performs that work and under what credential.

For financial-reporting work, add the type of engagement and the professional who will sign the report to your written comparison. That gives you a clear basis for comparing each firm’s stated scope.

Ask about IRS representation before a problem arrives

The IRS Annual Filing Season Program is voluntary. A PTIN holder can prepare returns for compensation without participating. ^[8] Ask what credential the preparer holds and what work the firm will take on.

Representation rights are a separate question. The IRS says attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents have unlimited representation rights, including audits, payment or collection issues, and appeals. Annual Filing Season Program participants have limited rights for returns they prepared and signed before revenue agents, customer service representatives, similar IRS employees, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service. PTIN holders without an AFSP record or other professional credential may prepare returns but cannot represent clients before the IRS for returns prepared and signed after December 31, 2015. ^[8]

Ask who would handle an IRS notice, whether that person is on the team, and what records the firm expects you to keep. You will get a more useful answer than from a broad claim that the firm “handles everything.”

Put Texas filing dates into the comparison

A tax pro should be able to identify the business deadlines that apply to your entity. When the Texas annual franchise tax report due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the Comptroller moves it to the next business day; the next due date is in the key dates below. ^[9]

Key dates

• May 17, 2027: Texas annual franchise tax report (May 15, 2027 is a Saturday) ^[9]

For 2026 and 2027 reports, the Texas no-tax-due threshold is $2,650,000. ^[9] An entity at or below that threshold is still required to file a Public Information Report or Ownership Information Report. ^[10]

Bring the entity name, prior return, ownership changes, and any notice from the Comptroller to the first conversation. That lets each firm say what it needs to confirm instead of guessing from a short description.

Experience with your kind of business

Dental and medical practices can ask who coordinates the return with the practice’s bookkeeping and who handles questions about financial statements. Law firms can bring their prior return, ownership information, and any lender request. Real estate investors and agents can bring entity records, prior filings, and property or partnership documents they want the firm to consider. Established contractors can bring their current entity documents, prior filings, and notices. Ask each finalist which records it wants before the first work session and who will be your day-to-day contact.

Get connected with a firm

Tell us about the business and we look for a tax firm that works with owners like you, then introduce you if there is a fit.

Tax firms in Texas can tell us about the firm ahead of the directory.

General information from the official sources listed below, checked October 28, 2026. Not tax or legal advice.