Continuing Education
As part of its sweeping new preparer registration rules, the IRS now requires all preparers to take a certain amount of continuing education classes every year. Need to know how many hours you need? Or if you’re exempt? Or who qualifies as a provider? Check out the online resources below.
THE BASICS The IRS now requires Registered Tax Return Preparers to obtain 15 hours of continuing education annually from qualified and IRS-approved learning providers. The 15 hours currently must include two hours of ethics study, three hours of federal tax law updates, and 10 hours of other federal tax law.
The CE requirements for RTRPs do not apply to attorneys, CPAs and enrolled individuals, certain supervised preparers, and individuals who do not prepare Form 1040 series returns.
For the latest news on continuing education requirements, see our Tax News section. For more in-depth IRS resources, visit the links below.
Resources
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The IRS CE Page
The IRS page on Continuing Education for Tax Professionals includes varied resources for providers and accrediting organizations.
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IRS FAQs
The Preparer FAQ page covers which tax preparers need to take CE and where to find it, recordkeeping of CE credits and whether state-issued CE credits count toward the IRS’s CE requirement. There are also FAQs for CE providers, and accrediting organizations.
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Qualified Providers
This evolving list of CE providers for RTRPs includes contact information and the program categories offered.
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The Return Preparer Review
The Return Preparer Review details the immediate history of third-party tax preparation and the IRS’s efforts to “strengthen partnerships” with this growing industry.
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A selection of tax cartoons from Philly tax firm Drucker & Scaccetti's 'Finding Humor in Taxes' exhibit
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Tax Quiz: Round One
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Test your tax knowledge with these questions from the experts at the National Association of Tax Professionals.
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March 5, 2013
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February 20, 2013
The Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants recently surveyed its CPA members about the most creative tax deductions proposed by their clients. Here are some of the most memorable responses from the MNCPA's annual list of strange and unacceptable tax deductions for 2012.
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February 9, 2013
Our monthly collection of statistics from the world of tax, from Beyond415
