Accredited Tax Preparers

Why Become a Tax Preparer?

By obtaining accreditation as a tax preparer, you may be able to increase your hourly income by up to $100/hour. During tax season, you may earn more money in those four months than you earn the rest of the year. Because taxes are required by the US government and states, your knowledge and skills will always be sought after.

Digging a little bit deeper, close to 80% of people file taxes, either personal or business. When you look at the numbers, including that the tax preparation industry may grow by 4%, it’s easy to see that your knowledge is in demand.

It isn’t easy for everyone to do their own taxes if they don’t have the knowledge of current changes to tax code. So, if you have a certification, this communicates to employers and potential clients that you can help them figure out where each number is and how much they can write off their yearly taxes.

What is a Tax Preparer?

Tax preparers are people who provide professional assistance in calculating, preparing, and filing tax returns for people who request their services. Some tax preparers have earned third-party credentials; others don’t have such credentials. If the tax preparer isn’t a CPA or a tax attorney, they are not legally allowed to defend a taxpayer to the Internal Revenue Service.

What Does a Tax Preparer Do?

A certified tax preparer makes financial calculations and files taxes for people who feel they don’t have the necessary knowledge to do the work themselves or for whom it’s a complicated process and they want to make sure there are no mistakes. Every tax preparer must hold a Preparer Tax Identification Number or PTIN. This number must be included on every return they sign and file.

Tax preparers who work for tax preparation chains or local outlets are often not fully trained; their knowledge and experience may be beginner to intermediate, or anywhere in between. Some tax preparers do the work only seasonally and so have no need for further certification.

Enrolled agents hold a license granted by the federal government. They may have passed an IRS exam or worked for the IRS for at least ten years. They are also required to complete continuing education hours every year in accounting methods and tax regulations.

Certified public accountants (CPAs) are able to assist a client through more complicated financial situations such as retirement and starting or closing a business. If a client’s tax return is under audit by the IRS, a CPA can help represent them before the IRS. They may check the work of another employee to make sure the numbers are accurate. Some tax attorneys spend their time working with clients who have a large amount of assets and business transactions.

Needed Requirements to Become an Accredited Tax Preparer

1. Degree Necessary

A college degree in accounting isn’t absolutely necessary for this certification. If you have math skills (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), along with the ability to do more complex calculations so you can see if you can find a better approach, this will be necessary to be a benefit to your clients.

You should at least have a high school diploma, which ensures you have a few of the skills needed to function as a tax preparer. Clients who see you hold a diploma will be much more likely to consider hiring you. Having a college degree in accounting and tax preparation is not needed, but would enhance your chances of getting hired. Computer skills are useful as tax returns are now mostly a process completed by using a computer. You’ll also need client management skills: attracting clients, interviewing, and good communication skills. The most important thing will be passing the exam to gain certification.

2. Subject Focus

Your responsibilities as an accredited tax preparer will be many. You’ll need to learn everything included on the exam and you earn a passing score to be accredited. Learning what you need so you will be the most effective tax preparer possible means that the tax returns you process and file will be more readily accepted by the IRS and state taxation agencies and are less likely to result in an audit for your client.

Subjects covered by the exam include:

• Preparing most tax forms, including individual and business tax returns

• The IRS Competency Exam

• Interviewing taxpayers

• Determining the filing status of taxpayers and their eligibility for exemptions

• Reporting income and deductions for your clients

• Determining eligibility for credits and deductions

• Learning to compute income for taxpayers’ Schedules C, E, and F

• Understanding depreciation deductions and potential eligibility for Section 179

• Calculating tax refund or balance due for taxpayers

• Providing advice and beneficial tax planning strategies to taxpayers

3. Exams

This exam is offered in two exam windows during the year. The summer window is June1-July 15; the Fall window is Sept 15-Nov 15. You can schedule your exam for any day during this time, but you will want to schedule before the beginning of the window so as not to pay a late registration fee. If you schedule early enough, you will receive a discount for early bird registration.

The exam is offered at Scantron testing centers across the country. Of course, you’ll want to look for dates and times that work best with your schedule, but there’s always the possibility that you may not get the appointment time you want. Be sure when you schedule; rescheduling will cost you a fee and there may be limited testing space on top of the late registration fee if you wait until the last minute.

Once your registration is processed, then you will be able to schedule. The competency test lasts two and one-half hours. Questions are in true/false and multiple-choice formats.

How is the Accredited Tax Preparer Exam Scored?

Tax preparer exams test you on the laws governing personal income tax, along with the theory and practice around tax preparation. To pass your exam, you must score a minimum of 70. You will receive a certificate showing your accredited status and will be able to share this once you receive it in the mail. Your results will be stored indefinitely.

The organization that gives the exam also grades and scores it. However, there is no limit to the number of times you can retest as long as you are willing to pay the $250 fee each time. Failing once will not affect your ability to be registered if you pass a future taking of the exam.

For the tax preparer exam, you will not be allowed to bring any resources, electronic devices, or bookbags into the exam center but will be given paper and a pen/pencil if required.

Study Resources and Preparation for the CTP Exam

The IRS requires all tax preparers, no matter their level, to pass an Accredited Tax Preparer Competency Exam. As long as you have all materials necessary to study and practice for the exam, you should be ready and able to pass the exam.

If you are an attorney, IRS-enrolled agent or CPA, you do not need to take this exam.

Look for “Study Materials,” which you’ll find on the Competency Test Information page on the website. Study Forms 1040, 6521, 2848 and their instructions. It’s also a good idea to study Forms 8879, 8867 and 8821. Study Circular 230 and publications 17, 224, 596, 1345 and 4600.

You can also look for approved continuing education providers and take a test preparation course. If you can’t find any close to where you live, see if any providers offer test prep courses online.

1. Difficulty

Depending on the extent of your study and preparation, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty with this exam. You have several exam review options from which to choose. You could get a textbook, review questions, practice exams, and accompanying answers and explanations for each answer.

Because the exam includes federal tax preparation, ethics, and tax law updates, if you don’t already have experience in this area, you may have to study diligently to pass. If you want to practice more questions on tax law updates and the required ethics and responsibilities, you should look for study packages that include these topics. There are detailed courses available online from the Accreditation Council for Accountancy and Taxation. Just look for the ATP study materials at the link below.

http://www.acatcredentials.org/acat/steps/studymaterials

Practice tests will be about the same length as the actual competency exam.

2. Cost

To take the accredited tax preparer exam, you’ll need to pay for the exam itself. The test itself costs $250 each time you schedule a test time. If you schedule late, there is a $50 late fee and you may find out that there are no more reasonable times available, meaning you might end up taking the test very early in the morning or on a day that is highly inconvenient. If you decide you need to reschedule, you’ll be required to pay a $50 rescheduling fee, and you’re likely to have even more trouble finding a good spot.

What makes a CTA or Click To Take a Look so essential when searching for a tax obligation preparation firm? Some tax experts may give you a business card having lots of various names as well as letters after their professional name. Don't simply believe the business cards as evidence that they are legit.

Make certain you ask exactly how well they will certainly be helping you with your tax obligations, whether it remains in individual or online and ask if they have a site where you can go to get even more info. The website needs to consist of the tax obligation prep work firm's call details.

The following thing you wish to seek is the tax prep work firm's qualifications. Ask to see all the certifications as well as licenses they have actually obtained. Look at their training program and also discover if it is a real organisation that provides solutions.

A good tax preparation company will have a few workers, every one of whom have some sort of education and learning or training in tax. This ought to include courses on the government and state tax obligation codes and will certainly probably consist of some training in economic statements and also budgeting.

Some tax obligation preparers will charge more for training because it takes a lot of time to discover the whole process of the tax code. Consequently it is an excellent suggestion to do your research study prior to choosing which tax preparation company to work with.

You will also wish to look into the history of the certified tax preparation service. If a tax obligation preparation company has a background of scamming people or tearing individuals off, it would be important to avoid them.

When checking into a tax obligation prep work firm, ensure that the internet site you are at is working properly as well as approximately date. The firm's tax obligation prep work web page must likewise be easy to understand as well as browse, not cluttered.

It is additionally crucial to validate that the site of the tax preparation business is appropriately approved as well as has excellent reviews on the web. You do not intend to make use of a site from a tax preparation company that isn't well.

You might likewise wish to know if the tax obligation prep work business is licensed by the Bbb as well as is not known to have any complaints versus it. You do not want to be stuck paying for the services of a tax preparation company that is regularly complaining about the problems it is having with their clients.

One more point you must look for when hiring a tax preparation company is the firm's customer care. If you obtain phone calls at all hours of the day, after that you can feel confident that you will certainly not obtain a fast solution from the staff.

Rather, you desire a quick as well as efficient business that is friendly and also going to address any type of inquiries you might have. Furthermore, you intend to ask about the payment plans they supply as well as if they will certainly work on a credit card. if you have one.

Finally, you would like to know if the tax obligation preparation company wants to use a refund warranty. This ought to be conveniently available, to make sure that if the returns you obtain are not what you anticipate, you can just submit them once more with the Internal Revenue Service.

Find out the length of time the procedure takes. A trusted company should supply you several various choices for filing returns.

Above all, make certain that the business provides you a service that meets your demands and also is within your spending plan. You will certainly likewise would like to know how much the business bills for those services and also what their reimbursement policy is.

The most effective way to find a credible tax prep work service is to ask a few individuals who are operating in the area concerning their services as well as their experiences. You need to be able to discover many references online, too.

Likewise, ask your buddies, household, as well as associates for suggestions of tax obligation preparation organisations. You need to likewise check your state tax company and also see if there are any available Qualified Tax Preparer workplaces. They may have some alternatives readily available for you.

Make sure to finish the forms and returns before mailing them back. When you obtain your income tax return, read it over carefully and see to it that everything is precise. If there are problems, speak to the IRS to fix any errors or issues before they are open to being returned to you.

Some states supply connected solutions to aid those making use of tax commitment options as well as also may have added requirements. You'll have access to the assistance of enlightened Cpa's and also various other seasoned accounting experts throughout your program and past. (You'll be selected to a group of trains to tutor as well as likewise instruct you as required along with use each of this in the reality for as many as 1 to 2 years Your UAC Coaches) Your enrollment furthermore consists of the chance to end up being accredited as an and likewise use the category upon qualification You'll have an assigned to sustain & help construct a tax obligation organisation The complete treatment to start & create an effective tax organisation.

As part of your registration and upon verdict of the program you'll have the possibility to talk with your designated solution trainer along with a. This will certainly be an independent conversation to develop your organisation plan and also a clear advertising and marketing strategy to get you the clients you require. your tutor.

Our tax responsibility educators understand what difficulties you will manage due to the reality that they have been there themselves. (You'll be appointed to a team of trains to tutor and also advise you as needed and also make use of all of this in the genuine globe for as lots of as 1 to 2 years Your UAC Coaches) Universal Audit, the leader in small company tax training has been approved by the California Tax Responsibility Education And Learning As Well As Understanding Council (CTEC) to supply the Professional Tax Preparer Accreditation (PTP) as a variety discovering training course in the state of The golden state.

After finishing the tax obligation preparation program, you really feel the program actually did not meet your expectations, just return the items to Universal, for a 100% refund of any kind of sort of cash paid minus enthusiasm. If you're interested in uncovering more concerning Professional Tax Obligation Commitment Preparer Certification as well as likewise checking out whether Universal Bookkeeping's at-home understanding version is appropriate for you, fill in the kind on this page.

See the reimbursement plan listed here for much more info. Note, sales tax, if appropriate, will certainly be used after the $149 training course material fee.

The Internal revenue service concerns preparer tax commitment identification numbers (PTINs) to any individual approved to legally prepare as well as safeguard tax obligation records for people as well as companies. Yet there are credentials past the PTIN offering tax responsibility return preparers added depiction civil liberties. For individuals curious regarding ending up being a tax obligation preparer, comprehending the tax prep work needs will definitely help them accomplish the career they have a rate of interest in going after.

Not just are lawyers an authorized tax return preparer, they similarly can prepare an authorized defense for a client required in a tax-related lawsuit, also for taxes they did not prepare. The IRS had a program offering Registered Income tax return Preparer qualification to particular preparers. Nevertheless, this program is no more carried out due to a February 2014 choice by the UNITED STATE.

In this obligation, you'll assist credentialed agents in assisting the preparation work of 1040s for TurboTax Live consumers by means of an on the internet on-demand system. To assist you wind up being a certified tax responsibility preparer, you'll have ease of access to developmental programs that will certainly aid you get certifications as a gotten representative. To apply along with find out extra, see the internet site.

Your profession in tax commitment preparation work starts today. Santa Monica College's thorough regional company tax strategy division accreditation program will definitely prepare you for a gratifying profession in tax responsibility preparation. Education and learning and also training can result in you functioning as a tax commitment preparer at a tax responsibility prep job office, becoming a The golden state Registered Tax Preparer (CRTP), or running along with constructing your very own tax commitment technique.

This tax obligation program is a licensed training course by the California Tax Obligation Education And Learning Council (CTEC) in addition to satisfies the requirements to end up being a The golden state Registered Tax Preparer (CRTP). Upon verdict of this program the trainee will certainly have the ability to: Prepare most details tax return. Perform an extensive interview with a taxpayer. Identify a taxpayer's declaring problem in addition to credentials for exemptions.

Furthermore contained are topics concerning California revenues tax responsibility return preparation job as well as specific The golden state adjustments. The California Tax Obligation Education Council has actually approved our training course. Therefore, the successful completion of our program provides students with the very little credentials required to relate to the State of The Golden State Department of Consumer Affairs to be recognized as accredited tax responsibility preparers.

Occasionally we likewise supply a follow-on training course, Book-keeping 105 - Intermediate Federal along with The Golden State Income Tax Obligation Obligations. This training program offers a lot extra in deepness exploration of exclusive profits tax problems, an intro to Company along with Cooperation tax obligations, as well as an intro to tax responsibility research study and also preparation suggestions. For both courses, we give tax responsibility preparation job software programs for student usage, as well as research laboratory assistant aid in our bookkeeping as well as solution laboratories.

Career & Salary

1. Where Might You Work?

Once you take your ATP exam, you want to know where you might be able to find work. Because your new professional role is so specialized, you’ll be able to work in some specific types of professional offices.

Tax Preparation Chains/Local Outlets

The tax preparers in these agencies are required to have some training, though your certification may not be a requirement. In addition, tax preparers who work at these locations may choose to do this work only during the tax season, while others decide to work year-round.

You may also find work in a law firm focused on tax work or an accounting firm. Another choice would be to start at the bottom in a city/state government tax office. This would provide you plenty of opportunity for upward movement if you decide to go back to school or earn more taxation credentials.

2. Career Outlook

The current employment for tax preparers stands at 66,670. Their average hourly wage is $23.82, which is slightly better than for people in other occupations. Their average annual wage is $49,550.

States on the east and west coasts are better positioned to offer employment to more tax preparers than are smaller, more rural states. Eastern states with plenty of available positions include New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; the western state that employs the highest number of tax preparers is California. Rural states, such as Wyoming, have the lowest percentage of tax preparers, according to the BLS.

The average annual wage of tax preparers is the highest in states with higher populations: Texas, Colorado, and California, for instance. Other states where tax preparers earn higher wages include Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.

The BLS projects that job opportunities for tax preparers will decline by 1% between 2016 and 2026. But this projected drop contrasts with the anticipated 7% increase of all other professions in the US. Because of budget cuts at the state and federal levels, job opportunities for tax preparers are expected to fall in response. Most tax professionals work for the IRS and this projected funding decline will also affect their ability to find other tax professional-related positions significantly.

Financial specialists are expected to do much better, since they are looking at a potential increase of 10% in employment opportunities.

3. Jobs

As a tax preparer, you’ll work in an office environment. If you choose self-employment, you might prepare tax returns from your own home. Once you begin working in this field, you can expect to be hired as a tax preparer seasonally, with no additional duties. You should have, at minimum, a high school diploma or GED; having advanced math skills focusing on taxation and statistics will help you.

To improve your job prospects, you could choose to take tax preparation courses at community college and graduate with your associate degree. Taking certification courses and earning either your enrolled agent (EA) or certified public accountant (CPA) certifications would also be greatly beneficial.

With just this certification, you should earn about $14/hour; some positions pay minimum wage, while others may be closer to $40/hour depending on their clientele and the complexity of projects you are able to work on. A potential average salary is $44,000.