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Tom Hood covers the latest on tax preparer registration during his series of professional issues updates. The meetings are free for MACPA members and worth 4 hours of CPE.

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Tax preparer registration: What you need to know

The IRS has put forward a plan that would require all paid tax return preparers to (a) register with the IRS; (b) obtain a "preparer tax identification number," or PTIN; (c) prove their competency by passing an exam; and (d) obtain 15 hours of annual CPE. The plan would also extend the Circular 230 ethics rules to all paid preparers.

CPAs would be exempt from the exam and CPE requirements, but the plan still presents some troubling issues for the profession.

The following resources offer details about the IRS plan and the profession's response to it.

IRS launches online PTIN registration system: The IRS has finalized the rules surrounding its tax preparer registration program. At the same time, it has launched an online registration system that preparers must use to obtain a Preparer Tax Identification Number, or PTIN.
IRS online PTIN registration system: Apply to receive your PTIN here.
IRS resources on proposed tax preparer requirements: The IRS's online resource center. Includes an overview, a webinar and video summary, and comments from other tax preparers.
FAQs from the IRS: Find out what the proposal means for all tax preparers -- including CPAs.
AICPA resources: An archive of related articles from the AICPA.
CPAs to IRS: Take a second look at preparer registration: The AICPA and the MACPA are urging the IRS to slow down a bit and take a more reasoned, thoughtful approach.
Congress revisiting 1099, tax preparer regulations: Don't look now, but Congress is showing signs of -- gasp! -- rationality.
AICPA tax VP tells IRS to 'slow down and get it right': Edward Karl, vice president of taxation for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, urged the Internal Revenue Service to “slow down and get right” its plan to regulate paid U.S. tax preparers.
House members seek changes in plan to regulate tax return preparers: Thirty-one members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a bipartisan letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner urging changes in the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed plan to regulate paid income tax return preparers.
IRS proposes $50 fee tax preparer ID numbers: The Internal Revenue Service has released proposed regulations that would establish a fee for individuals who apply for a preparer tax identification number.