In our previous article we talked about the importance of keeping up with the changing tax laws, if you haven’t had a chance to read that article yet then you can when you click here. We want to continue the theme of tax education for this article and tackle the topic of education requirements for enrolled agents.
If you are an Enrolled Agent with the IRS then there are certain requirements to maintaining that title, these requirements include continued education, commonly abbreviated as CE. In this article we will be tackling five of the most common questions Enrolled Agents often have about continuing education.
Note: all information for this article was provided by the IRS. Please check out their page for additional details.
How many CE hours do I need to obtain?
Enrolled Agents will need 72 hours of continuing education every three years. This is further broken down into a minimum of 16 hours per year with at least two of the hours covering ethics. All continued education must come from an IRS approved CE provider.
How do I know my education is from an IRS approved CE provider?
You don’t want to sit through a long seminar just to realize the credits you received from it don’t count towards your education. Before you attend your first class verify that the person teaching is an IRS approved CE provider by looking them up on the list published by the IRS here.
Do I need to send anything into the IRS after completing a course?
No, the CE provider will report your credits completed with them to the IRS where you can then look it up on your PTIN account which you can access here.
Do things like identity theft or data security count towards my continued education?
Yes, as long as the program itself meets CE requirements and is put on by the IRS approved CE provider. Ideally this course would focus on increasing awareness of common scams as well as better ways to protect their clients’ data. This should also include a review of publication 4557 and 4524 (links provided).
I became an Enrolled Agent during an enrollment cycle, how many CE credits am I required to complete?
In the above situation you would be required to complete a minimum of two qualifying credit hours per month and two hours of ethics/ professional conduct per year. Once the new enrollment cycle begins you will be required to complete the 72 hours over three years as per usual.
We hope this short read was helpful in shedding some light on the continuing education requirements expected of tax professionals. If you need additional information I would recommend checking out the IRS webpage on CE requirements here. The IRS has also made a simple credit chart to help you track your credits and understand the enrollment cycle, you can download the chart here.
Finally, if you are tired of continued education requirements and are ready to expand your tax business than consider becoming a Tax Service Bureau at the link below.
