IRS Reopening PTIN System
On June 1, 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the Internal Revenue Service's authority to require the use of a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), but enjoined the IRS from charging a user fee for the issuance and renewal of [...]
IRS PTIN Requirements for Tax Preparers
ALL paid tax return preparers who prepare all or substantially all of a tax return for compensation are required to have a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) before preparing returns. This also applies to anyone who has a designation, like EA, CPA, or attorney, and those [...]
Updates on IRS e-Services and Secure Access
Earlier this month, the IRS announced a new IRS e-Services initiative referred to as "Secure Access". We blogged about this initiative here. On the 14th, the IRS sent out the following update: In the next few weeks, the IRS plans to have discussions with key stakeholders [...]
IRS to Add Two Step Authentication to E-Services in Late October
In an ongoing effort to combat tax identity theft, the IRS is moving all e-Service accounts to two-factor authentication on or after October 24, 2016. They have been strengthening their identity authentication process for other IRS.gov self-help tools. They refer to this process as “Secure Access”, [...]
IRS to Email 434,000 Non-Credentialed Tax Return Preparers
The IRS is sending an email to approximately 434,000 non-credentialed tax return preparers this week. The message promotes the Enrolled Agent (EA) and Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP) credentials. The text of the IRS email: Dear Tax Return Preparer, Set yourself APART! Participate in the Annual Filing [...]
IRS CE Provider System Delay
Today, we received the following message from the IRS Return Preparer Office: Dear IRS Approved Provider, We previously sent you a message on September 1 advising that the old CE system would be shut down on September 14 and a new CE system was tentatively scheduled [...]
