The Internal Revenue Service is moving a head with a voluntary program that it says is designed to encourage education "and filing season readiness for paid tax return preparers." The program is moving ahead in the face of opposition from the American Institute of CPAs which this month declared the program is not lawful.However, the Administration's Fiscal Year 2015 Budget includes a proposal to explicitly authorize the IRS to regulate all paid tax return preparers.
Meanwhile, the new Annual Filing Season Program allows unenrolled return preparers to obtain a record of completion when they voluntarily complete a required amount of continuing education (CE), including a course in basic tax filing issues and updates, ethics and other federal tax law courses.
"Our program will give unenrolled return preparers a way to stay to up-to-date on tax laws and changes, which we believe will improve service to taxpayers," IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a prepared statement. Those who elected to participate can receive a record of completion that will be included in a database on IRS.gov that will be publicly available in January.
A mandatory program was tossed out earlier this year when the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that the IRS had no legal authority to issue mandatory regulations in 2011. Before that, more than 62,000 preparers passed an IRS-administered competency test and completed requirements to become Registered Tax Return Preparers under the now defunct program.
