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Broadening Pathways to CPA Licensure

The Society Board of Directors has approved the joint Nebraska Society of CPAs/Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy CPA Licensure Task Force’s proposed recommendations for establishing an alternative pathway to CPA under the Nebraska Public Accountancy Act as follows:

  • Add an additional pathway to CPA that includes a bachelor’s degree plus two years of experience;
  • Also change Nebraska’s experience requirements to one year with a master’s degree or a bachelor’s degree plus 30 credit hours of education.
  • Alter the experience requirement so that it would remain the same whether the individual is working in public accounting or in business, government, or academia;
  • Add guardrails to Nebraska’s mobility provisions requiring CPAs who are licensed in other states and practicing in Nebraska to have the same education and experience requirements as Nebraska CPAs; and
  • Add safe harbor language to ensure practice privilege is maintained for CPAs who meet the existing licensure requirements.

The Society is in the process of drafting the bill and working with state legislators to introduce it in January 2026. 

Please contact Joni Sundquist with any questions.

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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. 

RESOURCES:

Paid Sick Time - Nebraska's New Law

October 1, 2025, Effective Date
The new Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act requires businesses with 11 or more employees to provide their employees with paid sick time.

Earlier this week, the Nebraska Department of Revenue posted additional guidance regarding paid sick time to their website. You'll find FAQs, along with a free model notice and poster as well.

Starting October 1, 2025:

  • Employees accrue paid sick time after 80 hours of employment and at a minimum of 1 hour paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. 
  • Employers may cap the leave at 40 hours or 56 hours per year, depending on employer size, or they may provide more leave than what the law requires.
  • Small businesses are employers with 11 to 19 employees and must allow employees to accrue up to 40 hours of paid sick time per year.
  • Employers with 20 or more employees must allow employees to accrue up to 56 hours of paid sick time per year.
  • Employees may use paid sick time, at their own request, free from retaliation, for themselves, a family member, or like family relationship, for mental or physical illness, preventative medical care, or for closure of school or childcare by order of public health emergency.

RESOURCES:

Nebraska Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET)

Nebraska Department of Revenue Resources

NESCPA Resources

Nebraska CPA Journal

Additional Articles & Information

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.