Do Tax Preparers Still Have to Complete Fifteen Hours of Continuing Education?
By Tim Frye
Throughout the last few years the IRS has been making determined efforts to increase tax preparation standards and regulations. When you consider the importance of the overall tax filing process to America, the tax preparation industry has been surprisingly loosely regulated,. Sixty percent of tax returns are prepared by tax preparers, so this is a large group of people who have a lot of power to pervert the collection process for their or their client’s benefits. A few years back, the commissioner of the IRS implemented the new standards for tax preparers starting with requiring all those with PTINs to complete fifteen hours of continuing education, or be disqualified from filing returns in the upcoming season. This provision has been overturned as of 2013, with the IRS no longer requiring tax preparers to complete any federal continuing hours whatsoever. Let’s take a look at these events and the consequences this can present for current tax preparers looking to complete their required education.
