Skip to main content

Hot Topics

Broadening Pathways to CPA Licensure

In May 2025, the boards of directors of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) approved expansion of accountancy’s model legislation to include an additional path to CPA licensure. 

The changes add a pathway to CPA licensure requiring a baccalaureate degree, including an accounting concentration, plus two (2) years of experience, and passage of the Uniform CPA Examination. Other revisions include:

  • A shift from state-based mobility to an individual-based practice privilege that maintains a CPA’s ability to practice across state lines with just one license.
  • The addition of safe harbor language that allows CPAs who were licensed under differing education, experience, and Exam requirements as of Dec. 31, 2024, to continue to have practice privileges under mobility.

The additional pathway is included in the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) Ninth Edition, which was released in July 2025. The UAA, jointly published by AICPA and NASBA, provides state legislatures and Boards of Accountancy with a national model that can be adopted in whole or in part to meet the needs of each individual jurisdiction.

In Nebraska, a CPA Licensure Task Force has been formed jointly by the Nebraska Society of CPAs and the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy to evaluate potential licensure models that respond to workforce needs and demographic shifts in the profession and to ensure any proposed changes uphold the rigorous standards and integrity of the CPA designation. 

We’ll keep you informed as this important work continues here in Nebraska.

RESOURCES:

Nebraska Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET)
Oppose Sales Tax on Accounting Services

While we respect Governor Pillen's efforts to reduce property taxes, the Nebraska Society of CPAs is opposed to the elimination of the sales tax exemption for accounting and professional services.

How to Contact Your State Senator:

Additional Information:

Stop the EPIC Tax

Lincoln Journal Star:  Nebraska's "EPIC Option" tax petition fails to qualify for November ballot, organizers say, July 3, 2024

What You Need to Know:  No New Taxes Nebraska Coalition

No New Taxes Nebraska Flier

The Simple Truth About the EPIC Option Consumption Tax

Lincoln Chamber Flier: Nebraska Tax Facts

Nebraska CPA Journal, Issue 5, 2023 - State Tax Briefing:  The Coming EPIC Disaster, What's in Store If the EPIC Option Becomes the Law

Tax Foundation Study:  The Shortcomings of Nebraska's EPIC Option

  • A potential Nebraska ballot initiative, known as the EPIC Option, would eliminate all income, property, and inheritance taxes and replace them with a statewide consumption tax of 7.5 percent.
  • The proposed rate is based on flawed calculations that do not reflect the tax base defined in the underlying proposal.
  • Tax Foundation calculations suggest that the EPIC plan would require a statewide consumption tax rate of 21.6 percent or more.
  • The EPIC Option does not prevent local governments from enacting consumption taxes, meaning the total rate could be much higher than advertised.
  • EPIC would likely result in substantial cross-border shopping, allowing Nebraskans close to a border with a lower sales tax state to avail themselves of the lower rates while leaving taxpayers in the interior of the state to bear the brunt of the newly established consumption tax.
  • The anticipated economic benefits of the proposed tax overhaul are unlikely to materialize under such a high consumption tax rate.
  • Policymakers seeking to constrain property taxes have better-targeted ways to achieve these aims.