IR-2011-115, Dec. 6, 2011

WASHINGTON—The Internal Revenue Service today announced the standards to become an IRS-approved Continuing Education (CE) Provider and the requirements to become an IRS CE Accrediting organization.  The guidance paves the way for the implementation of new CE requirements for certain tax return preparers starting next year.

Individuals who are required to take the Registered Tax Return Preparer competency test before the end of 2013 must begin completing continuing education courses in 2012. The 15-hour annual requirement consists of 10 hours of federal tax law topics, three hours of tax law updates and two hours of ethics and/or professional conduct. Preparers must obtain the courses from IRS-approved providers.

To be an IRS-approved CE Provider, an organization must be one of the following: 

• An accredited educational institution,
• Recognized for continuing education purposes by the licensing body of any state or U.S. territory,
• Approved by a qualifying organization as a provider of CE on subject matters designed for registered tax return preparers, enrolled agents, and enrolled retirement plan agents (such qualifying organizations will be known as accrediting organizations), or
• Any other professional organization, society or business recognized by the IRS as a provider of CE on subject matters designed for registered tax return preparers, enrolled agents, and enrolled retirement plan agents.

Any organization that wants to become an accrediting organization can immediately submit the required documentation outlined in section 4 of Revenue Procedure 2012-12 to the address provided in the revenue procedure. Once approved, any accrediting organizations will be publicized by the IRS and must renew their status as accrediting organization with the IRS every three years.

New provider application process

Organizations in all four categories must obtain an IRS CE provider number. Organizations are able to apply through a new on-line process beginning today.  As part of the process, continuing education providers are required to pay an annual fee to the third-party vendor selected by the IRS to administer the CE provider application and renewal processes. The fee covers costs to maintain a public listing of all approved providers and to collect course completion information from providers, identifying to the IRS, by PTIN, those attendees who have completed a program. There is no additional IRS fee.

To apply for a provider number and program number(s), organizations should visit:  www.irs.gov/taxpros/ce and click on the “Apply to become an IRS Approved CE Provider” link.  Assistance for CE Provider questions is available Monday-Fri, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. EST by calling 855-296-3150 (toll-free) or 202-499-5606.

The IRS will maintain full oversight of approving and reviewing providers. Additional information, including Frequently Asked Questions, is available at www.IRS.gov/ptin and www.IRS.gov/taxpros/ce.

Preparers who no longer have access to the email addresses associated with their PTIN accounts or who do not remember what email address they used when obtaining a PTIN can now update their email addresses without logging into their accounts.

Simply select “Forgot or Cannot Access Email?” from the Tax Professional PTIN System. Preparers must know their Last Name, Date of Birth, PTIN, Social Security Number, and the answer to their Secret Question in order to use this functionality.

IR-2011-100, Oct. 12, 2011

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today advised tax professionals and tax firms that do not have Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs) to start the process to obtain EFINs now so they can meet new e-file requirements for 2012.

Starting in January 2012, any paid preparer or firm that reasonably anticipates preparing and filing 11 or more Form 1040 series returns, Form 1041 returns, or a combination of Form 1040 series returns and Form 1041 returns generally must use IRS e-file. Their clients who file these forms, however, may independently choose to file by paper.

To become Authorized IRS e-file Providers, preparers must create an e-Services account, submit an EFIN application and pass a suitability check. The approval process can take 45 days or more. For a firm or an individual, only one EFIN is needed.

The 2012 requirement will mark the second and final phase of implementing a law that was intended to boost the electronic filing rate of income tax returns for individuals, trusts and estates. In 2011, the e-file mandate pertained to any paid preparer or firm that anticipated preparing and filing 100 or more returns. The e-file rate by paid preparers increased 12 percent in 2011.

Currently, nearly 80 percent of individual tax returns are filed electronically. The IRS has processed more than 1 billion individual tax returns safely and securely since the nationwide debut of electronic filing in 1990.

Preparers can review the process on IRS.gov at Become an Authorized e-file Provider or find additional guidance at the Frequently Asked Questions section.
If the requirement will cause undue hardship, preparers may seek a one-year waiver by submitting Form 8944, Preparer e-file Hardship Waiver Request. If a client wants to file a paper return, the preparer should include Form 8948, Preparer Explanation for Not Filing Electronically, with the return. A taxpayer choice statement should be obtained and kept with the preparer’s records.

Form 8948 does not have to be submitted with returns that are not currently accepted electronically by the IRS or the IRS has instructed taxpayers not to file them electronically. These returns are exempt from the federal e-file requirement. Other limited exemptions may apply.

A six-digit Identity Protection Personal Identification Number or IP PIN is being provided to those victims of tax-related identity theft who have had their identities verified by IRS to avoid delays in processing their federal returns.                      

If your client indicates he or she received IRS Letter 4869CS providing them with an IP PIN, please ask your client for the letter and follow the instructions provided when preparing the return. Important: If your client received an IP PIN, please enter it on the tax return to avoid processing delays. 

For electronic returns, the software will indicate where to insert the IP PIN. For paper returns, enter the IP PIN in the six boxes to the right of the spouse’s occupation in the signature section.

Tax professionals may send general inquiries to-IPPIN.Questions@irs.gov